• Brilliance Onyinyechi Anyanwu, Anthonet Ndidiamaka Ezejiofor, Zelinjo Nkeiruka Igweze, and Orish Ebere Orisakwe.
• World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence in Oilfield Chemicals Research, University of Port Harcourt, PMB, 5323 Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. brillianceanyanwu@gmail.com.
• Toxics. 2018 Nov 2; 6 (4).

AbstractThe drive for development and modernization has come at great cost. Various human activities in developed and developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have given rise to environmental safety concerns. Increased artisanal mining activities, illegal refining, use of leaded petrol, airborne dust, arbitrary discarding and burning of toxic waste, absorption of production industries in inhabited areas, inadequate environmental legislation, and weak implementation of policies, have given rise to the incomparable contamination and pollution associated with heavy metals in recent decades. This review evaluates the public health effects of heavy metals and their mixtures in SSA. This shows the extent and size of the problem posed by exposure to heavy metal mixtures in regard to public health.

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