Health Hazards of Toxic and Essential Heavy Metals from the Poultry Waste on Human and Aquatic Organisms

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the impact of some essential heavy metals used as a supplement during animal feed formulation and the toxic from unregulated discharges of untreated poultry waste into water bodies on man and aquatic organisms. During the processing of poultry feed, certain heavy metals are used as a supplement such as selenium, copper, zinc, iron etc. to enhance poultry meat and egg yield which is also increase the daily discharge of anthropogenic wastes into our environment that contain high concentration of heavy metals discharges into aquatic environment globally, especially in underdeveloped where this waste are not treated before discharge or used in agriculture as an organic fertilizer in planting crops as a result of this it become absorb by plants and could pose a serious health risk to man and aquatic species as well as affect the ecological balance that can be transfer to humans via the food chain. Some organisms are kills as a result of the toxic heavy metals in water and can affect their growths. Bio-accumulated in the body of certain species, such as fish, which are eaten by humans that causes devastating diseases such as Minamata and Itai-Itai. Regulation of the use some heavy metals as a supplement in feed production or complete removal of it in animal feed should be adopt in order to minimize the human health risks and environmental contamination associated with these animal waste.

Assessment of Sargassum sp., Spirulina sp., and Gracilaria sp. as Poultry Feed Supplements: Feasibility and Environmental Implications

“…The use of algae as feed is also likely to benefit the marine environment since a substantial amount of biomass can be harvested that quenches metals and radionuclides. In spite of this quenching, the level of metals within the analyzed algae is within the safe limits of usage as feed [76]; this will help maintain levels of dissolved metals in seawater. The utilization of the algae in poultry feed will also have a positive economic implication, as up to 10% of algae can be added to the feed, saving a considerable amount of soya and corn.…”

Assessing the Sustainability of Broiler Waste Management Strategies in Thailand through Analytical Hierarchy Process Analysis

“…This could cause environmental and health problems. Heavy metals are introduced to broiler chicken feeds as minerals to prevent diseases, and to obtain better feed conversion efficiency for enhancing weight gain [10]. Metal concentrations in manure often reflect the metal concentrations in chicken feed.…”

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“…Lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and arsenic (As) are heavy metals that have been linked to an increased risk of cancer, with excessive exposure or ingestion promoting the growth of skin, bladder, lung, liver, colon, and kidney cancers (Mokhtar et al, 2022) (Figure 2). Despite these risks, heavy metals such as As, Cu, Co, Fe, Se, Mn, and Zn are continuously added to poultry feed at levels greater than those permitted by regulatory authorities such as the National Research Council (NRC) and the European Union (EU), primarily for disease prevention and to increase weight gain and egg production in poultry (Adekanmi, 2021). According to Bolan et al (2010), approximately…”

“…As a result, safe levels of heavy metals in poultry manure must be established for land application to avoid these negative consequences. Besides, using these supplements raises the daily discharge of anthropogenic wastes into the environment, particularly the aquatic environment, posing a severe health danger to humans and marine life (Adekanmi, 2021). With these risks and implications, there is a need for suggestions to ease this issue and to ensure that the use of poultry manure is beneficial rather than detrimental.…”