Regional Distribution and Human Health Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Zhejiang Province

Introduction: Polymer products have become inexpensive, convenient and widely used in all spheres of everyday life recently. Microplastics are found in seawater, wastewater, fresh water, foodstuffs, and air. Over the past few years, the presence of microplastics in treated tap and bottled water has been reported, raising questions and concerns about their potential human health effects. Objective: To summarize and systematize the results of studying health effects of exposure to microplastics in potable water. Materials and methods: A literature review was done based on ten topical articles and reviews published in 2014–2021 out of 64 sources found in the PubMed and Scopus international databases and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). Results and conclusions: Generalization and systematization of the published research data demonstrated the lack of strong evidence to draw conclusions about human health effects of microplastics. Information on toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of ingested microplastic particles is absent just like the studies of the most common shapes and sizes of plastic particles and health risks from exposure to such particles in drinking water.

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Human Health Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Dioxins and Health ◽

10.1007/978-1-4899-1462-0_15 ◽

1994 ◽

pp. 487-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

William J. Nicholson ◽

Philip J. Landrigan

Keyword(s):

Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Effects ◽

Human Health Effects

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Evaluating Risk After a Hazardous Waste Treatment Plant Released Persistent Organic Pollutants. Part 1. Background and Policy Issues

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2017.000711 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tee L. Guidotti

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Risk Management ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Hazardous Waste ◽

Organic Pollutants ◽

Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Treatment Plant

On 16 October 1996, a malfunction at the Swan Hills Special Waste Treatment Center (SHSWTC) in Alberta, Canada, released an undetermined quantity of persistent organic pollutants to the atmosphere. An ecologically based, staged health risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the human health risk, the findings of which are presented in Part 2, on Ecotoxicology and Human Health Risk. The incident resulted in the largest fine for an environmental infraction in Alberta history up to that time. Despite the incident, the province of Alberta has continued to subsidize the facility and has kept it in operation, with changes in management. The policy rationale is that if the facility were not available, accumulation and possible diversion of hazardous waste into illegal disposal alternatives would threaten the environment much more than operation of the plant. This case study illustrates an ecological approach to risk assessment and an attempted culturally sensitive approach to risk management. Incidents in which people are exposed to toxic substances do not occur in a social vacuum. Risk management strategies must be adapted to groups with different cultural values and expectations. Community and individual responses to such incidents, and the development of health advisory messages, may depend on presenting information on exposure and risk in terms consistent with cultural patterns among subpopulations in the community.

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Chromium in the Canadian environment

Environmental Reviews ◽

10.1139/a95-005 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 121-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jerome O. Nriagu ◽

Abdul Kabir

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Health Effects ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Soil Microorganisms ◽

Local Scale ◽

Aquatic Biota ◽

Chromium Toxicity ◽

Toxicity Threshold ◽

Environmental Media ◽

Human Health Effects

The widening use of chromium and its compounds by local industries has led to a growing concern about the effects of chromium contamination on the Canadian environment. This report summarizes the data on Canadian sources and the concentrations of chromium in air, water, sediments, soil, terrestrial wildlife and aquatic biota. It reviews what little is currently known about the cycling of chromium in Canadian ecoystems, and the need for measuring Cr(III) and Cr(VI) rather than total Cr in the environmental media is emphasized. The potential effects of elevated levels of chromium on plants, soil microorganisms, wildlife, and aquatic biota are discussed. The human health effects are not covered. The conclusion is reached that chromium pollution has become a threat to Canadian ecosystems, especially at the local scale where the ambient chromium concentrations in some surface waters, sediments, and soils are now close to or above the toxicity threshold for a number of the more sensistive organisms.Key words: chromium pollution, chromium toxicity, chromium chemistry, chromium emission, bioaccumulation of chromium.

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