Human Health Hazards and Risks Generated by the Bioaccumulation of Lead from the Environment in the Food Chain

Taking into account the significantBioaccumulation health concerns generated by heavy metalsHeavy metal, the assessment of lead exposure from foodstuff consumption is a representative topic in the evaluation of human health riskHuman Health Risk (HHR). Human exposureExposure to lead is associated to numerous harmful effects, in particular, in children and pregnant women. The transfer of lead from soilSoil and waterWater to plantsPlants and through food sources to humans is the main route of exposure. BioaccumulationBioaccumulation is a dynamic process that plays a key role in the uptake of lead from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and transfer to higher levels of the food chainFood chain by biomagnification. BioaccumulationBioaccumulation mechanism is governed by the bioavailability, uptake/absorption, bioconcentration, and biomagnification. The present study synthetically analyzes the mechanisms and processes involved in the accumulation of lead from the abiotic environmentEnvironment and the trophic transfer by food webs in order to identify the potential risks generated for humans. Also, the study comprehensively surveyed the literature and discusses the main methodologies applied for assessing the human health risksHuman Health Risk (HHR) generated by lead-contaminated food consumption.