Boron minerals are a sought-after raw material. The European Union’s total dependence on imported borates means that this has been a critical material since 2014. Due to the increased use of borates in modern economies, data on the predicted boron demand in the coming years indicate that it may become a critical element on a global scale. Formerly, the high boron content in groundwater was the basis for qualifying it as medicinal water (boric water). Nevertheless, the current information on the potential toxicity of boron and the narrow margin between deficiency and toxicity of boron in the human body has caused a tightening of the limits of this element in water intended for human consumption. For this reason, metaboric acid has lost its position as a specific component of curative waters. However, despite the fact that boron is not currently a specific component of curative waters, it is found in measureable concentrations in Polish medicinal water considered therapeutic based on other valuable specific components. High boron content in curative water may be the cause of the problems in some spas when obtaining certificates confirming the therapeutic properties of waters. Literature data indicate that waters with high boron content (above 25 mg/L) should not be freely available for drinking in pump rooms and other places in health resorts. To identify the situation with Polish health resorts, the content of boron in 248 curative water samples was analyzed. In 154 of these samples, the boron concentration was relatively low and did not exceed 5 mg/L. However, in the remaining 94 samples, the boron content exceeded 5 mg/L, and 38 samples had boron content exceeding 30 mg/L. Ten of the 248 samples of curative water had a boron concentration above 100 mg/L, which may be a potential source of boron for industrial recovery. The highest concentration of boron was noticed in a water sample from the Wysowa health resort and was 187.6 mg/L. Unfortunately, most of water intakes with a high concentration of boron (above 100 mg/L) are low-yielding wells. Based on the data collected, Rabka appears to be the best candidate for small-scale boron production in terms of boron content and water resources values.

The inflow of saline water reduces water quality and limits its use as drinking water. The risk of seawater intrusion into groundwater along the Polish coastline was assessed using two methods. The vulnerability method (GALDIT) considered six aquifer parameters. The second method focused exclusively on the chemical parameters of groundwater: EC, seawater mixing index (SMI), rHCO₃/rCl, rNa/rCl, and the concentrations of Cl⁻ and Br. The analysis focused on monitoring results collected from points located within 5 km of the Baltic Sea coastline. Both risk assessment methods used a division into three risk classes (low, moderate, and high), but the results differed between the two approaches. A comparison of the results from both classification methods was conducted, followed by a comprehensive risk assessment integrating the outcomes of both approaches. No straightforward relationship was observed between individual threat assessment parameters and distance from the sea. However, when the overall assessment, incorporating multiple parameters, was considered, such a relationship emerged. The classes of seawater intrusion risk differ in terms of the medians and ranges of individual parameters. Ratios such as rHCO₃/rCl, rCa/rMg, and Cl/Br play a significant role in risk assessment, whereas the rNa/rCl ratio has a relatively smaller impact. Seawater intrusion risk should be assessed based on multiple parameters. The highest risk of seawater intrusion occurs within approximately 800 m of the coastline.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of synthetic halogenated organic compounds used in numerous polymer-based commercial and household products such as textiles, furniture, and electronics, to increase their flame ignition resistance and to meet increasingly strict fire safety standards. Release of PBDEs to the environment can occur during manufacturing and processing operations, throughout the service life of articles containing PBDEs, and when articles that contain PBDEs are disposed of. Within highly populated areas, elevated concentrations in air, water, sediment, and soil are associated with proximity to manufacturing, recycling, and waste disposal facilities, signifying that these may serve as point sources of PBDEs in abiotic media. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) can be transported in the environment for long distances from their primary sources and pose a risk to human health and the environment. There is increasing regulation and phasing-out of production of PBDEs due to their widespread presence in the environment and potentially deleterious effects on ecosystems and human health. According to the regulations of the Minister of the Environment in Poland, PBDEs are in the group of priority substances for which environmental quality standards have been established. In many cases the determination was not performed due to the lack of standardized methods. The main issue addressed in this paper – the potential occurrence of PBDEs in waters in the hypergene zone – was investigated based on available information about PBDE levels in surface waters, soils, and sediments. Levels of PBDEs in aquatic environments presented in the article and based on the review of the cited paper, reveal that the threat of PBDEs in Poland could be real. However, the current expertise in this field is still too limited to allow a reliable assessment of the scale of the problem.