Review Paper
Year: 2023 | Month: August | Volume: 10 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 794-810
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.202308103
The Impact of Heavy Elements on Public Health
Hassan Alzain
Environmental Protection Organization, Saudi Aramco, Al-Midra Tower, Dhahran 31311, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
ABSTRACT
Although many heavy metals have bio-toxic effects on human biochemistry, some of them have bio-importance as trace elements. The most frequent heavy metals to cause human poisonings are arsenic, mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, and iron. Their wide distribution in the environment and detrimental effects on people are the results of their numerous industrial, domestic, agricultural, medical, and technological applications. These metals' carcinogenicity has been attributed to defects in DNA repair following the induction of oxidative stress and DNA damage by these metals. Metal toxicity is dependent on the dose ingested, the route of exposure, and the duration of the exposure, and it can cause a variety of disorders as well as excessive damage from oxidative stress brought on by the production of free radicals. In this review, their manufacturing and use, potential for human exposure, and molecular mechanisms of toxicity are all examined. The purpose of this article review is to discuss the effects that specific heavy metals may have on human health.
Keywords: heavy metals, occurrence, uses, potential effect, toxicity mechanism
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