Toxic heavy metals: impact on the environment and human health, and treatment with conducting organic polymers, a review

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 24; pp. 29927 - 29942
• Main Authors: Sall, Mohamed Lamine, Diaw, Abdou Karim Diagne, Gningue-Sall, Diariatou, Efremova Aaron, Snezana, Aaron, Jean-Jacques
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-08-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic organisms; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cadmium; Carbon black; Catalysis; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Chromium; Contaminants; Cytotoxicity; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental science; Exhaust emissions; Ferrous ions; Fourier transforms; Free radicals; Heavy metals; Hepatoma; Hot springs; Incineration; Infrared spectroscopy; Iron oxides; Liquid wastes; Magnetic measurement; Mercury; Nanoparticles; Natural waters; Nickel; Organic chemistry; Oxidation; Oxidative stress; Pollution levels; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polymers; Reactive oxygen species; Remediation; Review Article; Scanning electron microscopy; Sediments; Slurries; Sodium; Sodium persulfate; Solid wastes; Sulfates; Superconducting quantum interference devices; Toxicity; Volcanoes; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; X-ray diffraction; Removal of heavy metals; Toxicity; Environmental impact; Conductive organic polymers; Heavy metals
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09354-3

Water pollution by heavy metals has many human origins, such as the burning of fossil fuels, exhaust gases of vehicles, mining, agriculture, and incineration of solid and liquid wastes. Heavy metals also occur naturally, due to volcanoes, thermal springs activity, erosion, infiltration, etc. This water contamination is a threat for living beings because most heavy metals are toxic to humans and to aquatic life. Hence, it is important to find effective techniques for removing these contaminants in order to reduce the level of pollution of the natural waters. In this work, we have reviewed the toxicity of several heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel), their impact on the environment and human health, and the synthesis and characterization methods of conducting organic polymers (COPs) utilized for the removal of heavy metals from the environment. Therefore, this review was essentially aimed to present recent works and methods (2000–2020) on the environmental impact and toxicity of heavy metals and on the removal of toxic heavy metals, using chemically and/or electrochemically synthesized COPs. We have also stressed the great interest of COPs for the removal of toxic heavy metals from waters.