Heavy metal exposure among industrial workers mechanisms of toxicity biomonitoring strategies and public health risk assessment

Exposure to heavy metals is still a significant occupational health issue in the manufacturing industry and millions of workers globally are exposed to heavy metal substances. Many industrial processes, such as mining, smelting, welding, electroplating, battery manufacturing, and electronic waste recycling, result in exposure to airborne fumes, dust, and contaminated surfaces, leading to inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption of metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel, and manganese. Chronic exposure results in oxidative stress, inhibition of enzymes, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic alterations, culminating in detrimental health effects on the nervous system, kidneys, liver, and cardiovascular system. A biomonitoring assay that tests blood, urine, hair, and nails can fully check for internal exposure in addition to environmental monitoring and provides the opportunity to detect subclinical toxicity early. Guidance is given by established reference values and occupational exposure limits, while biomarkers of effect, either renal or neurobehavioral indicators, serve as the basis for risk assessment on the basis of exposure. This review highlights current research on sources and pathways of occupational heavy metal exposure, elucidates the molecular and systemic mechanisms of toxicity, and identifies biomonitoring strategies for risk assessment. Focus is on co-exposure scenarios, vulnerable worker populations, and the application of biomarker-based surveillance in prevention with occupational health in the workplace as part of occupational health prevention programs. In conclusion, combining ecological surveillance with biomarker-based biomonitoring is a strong way to find and stop heavy metal–related occupational diseases promptly, especially when people are exposed to more than one substance at a time. To safeguard vulnerable workers and lower long-term health risks, it is important to strengthen this kind of monitoring in occupational health initiatives.