Although, the presence of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur in coal facilitates the energy generation in coal combustion, some pollutants including COx, SOx, NOx, particulate matter (PM) and heavy metals are accumulated in air and water and lead to severe environmental and health impacts as a result of leaching, volatilization, melting, decomposition, oxidation, hydration and other chemical reactions.
These include active metabolism in which metals are accumulated inside the cell; and passive metabolism, where metals adhere to surface biomolecules of the cell.
If the contaminations, such as heavy metals, are accumulated in crop plants, they will also accumulate in the fruit body of mushroom, posing a severe threat to human health through food chains (Järup and Åkesson 2009; Podazza et al. 2012).
Once absorbed, heavy metals are accumulated in liver where they bind to metallothioneins (MTs).
Many metals are accumulated by lysosomes, but known effects of metals on the function of these organelles in sequestering and storing organic compounds are few.
These metals are accumulated in waters, sediments, and biota, generating resistance in microorganisms that leads to environmental and public health problems.
In phytoremediation heavy metals are accumulated in plant parts like roots, twigs, and leaves and improper disposal methods increase the risk of back contamination.
Most of the substances absorbed by the intestine pass first to liver, where toxins and heavy metals are accumulated and inactivated [ 26].
Heavy metals are accumulated in the kidney and liver, for this reason it is more accurate to estimate degree and duration of exposition to them, by measuring their concentrations in renal and hepatic tissues than in blood.
