"Up to 17 percent of the planet’s agricultural land may be contaminated by toxic heavy metals, a new study has found.

As many as 1.4 billion people reside in areas with soil dangerously polluted with compounds like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel and lead, according to the study, published in Science.

Toxic heavy metal pollution can come from a range of sources, including both natural and human activities, noted the multinational team of researchers, led by Deyi Hou of China’s Tsinghua University.

Regardless of the source, such pollution threatens both ecosystems and human health, the scientists warned. Many of these persistent metals can jeopardize biodiversity, water quality, crop yields and food safety, via bioaccumulation in farm animals."

Sharon Udasin reports for The Hill April 18, 2025. [2]