10 chemicals of public health concern

1 June 2020

Chemicals are part of our daily life. All living and inanimate matter is made up of chemicals and virtually every manufactured product involves the use of chemicals. Many chemicals can, when properly used, significantly contribute to the improvement of our quality of life, health and well-being. But other chemicals are highly hazardous and can negatively affect our health and environment when improperly managed.

The production and use of chemicals continues to grow worldwide, particularly in developing countries. This is likely to result in greater negative effect on health if sound chemicals management is not ensured. Multisectoral action is urgently needed to protect human health from the harmful effects of improperly managed chemicals. WHO provides scientific evidence and risk management recommendations for 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.

@WHO/WPRO_Jose Abcede
Water and gotong royong (self-help) propelled many Sarawak kampongs or long-houses to cleaner environment. This drive to healthier living was powered by a scheme of the Sarawak health services. In about eight years' time it changed the lives of almost 200.000 people in 771 kampongs. The use of young men trained as multipurpose workers to motivate their own communities was partly responsible for the success of this venture. Individual kitchen taps at kampong Lebor make household chores much easier. Women and children used to fetch water from rivers or streams File name: WHO_A_007871.jpg

Arsenic

Arsenic is a metalloid element that forms a number of poisonous compounds. It is widely distributed throughout the Earth’s crust, and can be released into the atmosphere and water through natural and human activities.

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@WHO_Diego Rodriguez
File name: WHO_059589.jpg Illustration about water supply, sanitation and hygiene in India. Safe and sufficient drinking-water, along with adequate sanitation and hygiene have implications across all Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from eradicating poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating infectious diseases, to ensuring environmental sustainability. Dharavi, Mumbai. March 2015.

Asbestos

All types of asbestos cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and ovary, and asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs). Exposure to asbestos occurs through inhalation of fibres in air in the working environment, ambient air in the vicinity of point sources such as factories handling asbestos, or indoor air in housing and buildings containing friable (crumbly) asbestos materials.

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WHO_PAHO_SafiaOsman
Beijing traffic Beijing, China.

Benzene

Human exposure to benzene has been associated with a range of acute and long-term adverse health effects and diseases, including cancer and haematological effects. Exposure can occur occupationally, in the general environment and in the home as a result of the ubiquitous use of benzene-containing petroleum products, including motor fuels and solvents. Active and passive exposure to tobacco smoke is also a significant source of exposure.

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batteries

Cadmium

Cadmium exerts toxic effects on the kidneys as well as the skeletal and respiratory systems. It is classified as a human carcinogen. It is generally present in the environment at low levels; however, human activity has greatly increased levels in environmental media relevant to population exposure. Exposures potentially of particular concern for children include disposal and recycling of electronic and electrical waste, as well as toys, jewellery and plastics containing cadmium.

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WHO_PAHO_Alistair Ruff
Electronic waste,Workshoplady9DSC_0115 A lady heats up the underneath of circuit boards. Whilst there are fans to disperse the lead-tin toxic solder fumes the damage to the respiratory system after daily exposure has become evident in the workers of Guiyu.

Dioxins and dioxin-like substances

Dioxins and dioxin-like substances, including PCBs, are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) covered by the Stockholm Convention. They can travel long distances from the source of emission, and bioaccumulate in food chains.

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WHO / Fid Thompson
Janet Samai collects water for her family from the Cockerill community tap, which provides drinking water. This community is particularly vulnerable to water-borne diseases due to the lack of toilets. When tidal waters from the nearby bay rise, water sources are contaminated with sewage and trash.

Inadequate or excess fluoride

Fluoride intake has both beneficial effects – in reducing the incidence of dental caries – and negative effects – in causing tooth enamel and skeletal fluorosis following prolonged high exposure. The ranges of intakes producing these opposing effects are not far apart.

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@WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
Children playing on swings at a playground. Playground equipment is often painted with lead paint. Deteriorating lead paint is a source of exposure to lead.

Lead

Lead is a toxic metal whose widespread use has caused extensive environmental contamination and health problems in many parts of the world. It is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems, including the neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal systems. Children are particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of lead, and even relatively low levels of exposure can cause serious and in some cases irreversible neurological damage.

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© WHO / Anna Kari
A girl in a hammock next to the coal fires on the street in Tondo, Manila, Philippines

Mercury

Mercury is toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life. Mercury exists in various forms: elemental (or metallic); inorganic (e.g. mercuric chloride); and organic (e.g., methyl- and ethylmercury), which all have different toxic effects, including on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.

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© WHO / Simon Lim
A farmer sprays pesticide at one of the many large scale banana plantation on the outskirts of Menglong, Yunnan Province, China. 21 May 2010.

Highly hazardous pesticides

Highly hazardous pesticides may have acute and/or chronic toxic effects, posing particular risk to children, and are recognized as an issue of global concern. Their widespread use has caused health problems and fatalities in many parts of the world, often as a result of occupational exposure and accidental or intentional poisonings.

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WHO / Anna Kari
Nilo Fernandez making coal. Slum area in Tondo, Manila, Philippines

Air Pollution

Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. WHO is working with countries to monitor air pollution and improve air quality.

From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate. The combined effects of ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution cause about seven million premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.

More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO guideline limits, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures, both indoors and outdoors.

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Information on other chemicals

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