Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world’s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Plastics are used widely everywhere in our life and without plastic, modern civilization would indeed look very diverse. This study focuses on the toxic effects of plastic on human health and environment and possible consequences of health risk assessment in Bangladesh. Plastics are essential materials in modern civilization, and many products manufactured from plastics and in numerous cases, they promote risks to human health and the environment. Plastics are contained many chemical and hazardous substances such as Bisphenol A (BPA), thalates, antiminitroxide, brominated flame retardants, and poly- fluorinated chemicals etc. which are a serious risk factor for human health and environment. Plastics are being used by Bangladeshi people without knowing the toxic effects of plastic on human health and environment. Different human health problems like irritation in the eye, vision failure, breathing difficulties, respiratory problems, liver dysfunction, cancers, skin diseases, lungs problems, headache, dizziness, birth effect, reproductive, cardiovascular, genotoxic, and gastrointestinal causes for using toxic plastics. Plastics occur serious environment pollution such as soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. Application of proper rules and regulations for the production and use of plastics can reduce toxic effects of plastics on human health and environment.

Heavy metals are toxic in nature, and their contamination in foodstuff is a matter of concern for human health. The present study was conducted to assess the concentrations of chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, and lead in rice and vegetables and their possible human health risks in Tangail district, Bangladesh. Metals were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave digestion system. The average values of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb in rice and vegetables were 16.26, 16.11, 13.99, 2.28, 1.86, and 7.93 mg/kg, respectively. The average metal concentration in rice and vegetable species was in the decreasing order of okra > chili > bitter gourd > papaya > brinjal > bean > bottle gourd > rice > cucumber > sponge gourd > Indian spinach. The estimated daily intake (EDI) values of all the metals except Cu were higher than the maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI). The target hazard quotients (THQs) values of Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb exceeded the threshold value of 1 through consumption of rice and vegetables, indicating significant health risks to both adult and children. The target carcinogenic risk (TR) of As and Pb through consumption of rice and vegetables was higher than the USEPA threshold level (10⁻⁴). From the health point of view, this study clearly revealed that consumption of these contaminated rice and vegetables definitely poses carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks.

The present study was conducted to assess the pollution level and distribution of heavy metals and their ecological and health risk in sediments of the Rupsa River, Bangladesh. Heavy metals were measured by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The mean concentration of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb in sediments was 25.26, 42.40, 68.81, 9.31, 3.78, and 32.57 mg/kg, respectively. Metals in sediment during winter were higher than summer season. Multivariate principal component analysis revealed significant anthropogenic contributions of Cr, Ni, As and Cd in sediment. The enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (I_geo), pollution load index (PLI), and contamination factor (Cⁱ_f) demonstrated that most of the sediment samples were heavily contaminated by Cd. The sum of toxic units in most of the sampling sites during winter season was greater than 4, indicating a moderate to serious toxicity of heavy metals in sediment. In view of the potential ecological risk, sediments of Rupsa River showed low to very high potential ecological risk. The chronic daily intake of metals were higher than oral RfD which was the result of metal contamination. The total hazard index for adult and children, about 100% sampling location possess (HI > 1) indicating pose non-cancer risk. The carcinogenic risks from As and Pb at all sites via ingestion and dermal contact were higher than acceptable ranges (10⁻⁴). This study suggested that more attention should be directed to the comprehensive risk assessment of heavy metals of this riverine aquatic environment.

This study was conducted to assess the potential ecological and human health risk of toxic metals in agricultural soils near the industrial areas of Bangladesh. In this study, six toxic metals (chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, and lead) were assessed in 58 soil samples of five different sampling sites around the industrial areas of Jhenaidah and Kushtia districts in Bangladesh. Toxic metals were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Potential ecological and human health risk were assessed through enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (C_fⁱ), geoaccumulation index (I_geo), pollution load index (PLI), toxic unit analysis, chronic daily intake through exposure pathway, hazard quotient, and hazard index. The mean concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb were found to be 5.78, 21.0, 31.8, 8.05, 1.20, and 19.2 mg/kg, respectively. Metals concentrations were found below the recommended value set by Dutch standard, Canadian guidelines, and Australian guidelines except Cd. Principal component analysis indicates that most of the metals in agricultural soils are coming from industrial sector. The mean values of EF, I_geo, C_fⁱ, PLI, and toxic units were found safe level for all metals except Cd. In the view of potential ecological risk (PER), soils from all sampling sites indicated moderate to very high PER. Total target hazard quotients for all the studied metals in total sampling sites were <1 and cancer risk values were <10⁻⁶ indicating low noncarcinogenic and cancer risk for adult and children.

Heavy metals contamination is a serious threat for the toxicity and bioaccumulation in food chain. Aquatic environment contamination has become a global concern because they have toxic effects on fishes. The concentration of heavy metals like arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in commercially fishes (Tenualosa ilisha, Gudusia chapra, Otolithoides pama, Setipinna phasa, Harpadon nehereus, Polynemus paradiseus, Sillaginopsis panijus and Pampus chinensis) collected from Karnaphuli River in Bangladesh were (fish muscles) assessed with health risk during summer and winter season. These heavy metals are toxic in nature and can come to human food chain through fish consumption. The mean concentration of As, Cr, Cd and Pb was found 1.59, 0.73, 0.41 and 1.13 mg/kg in summer and 1.81, 0.92, 0.52 and 1.45 mg/kg in winter, respectively. Cr and Pb concentration of all fish species were found to be higher than Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/(WHO) tolerable concentration assuming these metal pose risk to human. The hazard quotients value of heavy metals in Harpadon nehereus was found higher than one resulting non-carcinogenic risk for consumption of this fishes. Carcinogenic risk value for As and Pb were remaining 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁴ indicating continuously consumption of studied fish samples may cause cancer risk.