Influence of Heavy Metals on Quality of Raw Materials, Animal Products, and Human and Animal Health Status

Abstract

Heavy metals constitute one of the threats to the natural environment and the health of living organisms. The sources of contamination of the environment with heavy metals are mainly industry, thermal and chemical processing of mineral resources, burning of coal, gases and liquid fuels, municipal economy (rubbish dumps, sewage), and agriculture consuming mineral fertilizers, plant protection agents, utilizing huge loads of pollution accompanying animal production. Accumulation of toxic elements in plant tissues leads to disturbances in plant reproduction and thus to lowering of their nutritional value. In humans and animals, in turn, it may cause poisoning and the occurrence of various disorders and diseases, including cancer. There are different ways to reduce the penetration of heavy metals into crops and deactivation in animal organisms—by using the tolerance of plants to heavy metals, cleaning the environment through phytoremediation, the use of antagonistic type interactions to reduce bioaccumulation in animal tissues, as well as the properties of compounds of organic and mineral origin. The aim of the chapter is to present the problems of environmental pollution and accumulation of heavy metals (mainly cadmium, mercury, and lead) in tissues of farm animals, their impact on human and animal health, as well as the possibility of inactivation of heavy metals in animal organisms.