الفهرس 
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Abstract
Toxicity caused by heavy metals and mycotoxins exposure is becoming recognized as a wide spread environmental problem and is continuing to attract public attention. This survey collects many reviews about levels of mercury, lead, aflatoxin and ochratoxin in human body samples from different countries all over the world with focusing on the magnitude of this problem in Egypt in relation to other countries. Mercury:Mercury (Hg) is a silvery-white shiny heavy metal with unique chemical and physical properties. It has been used worldwide for many centuries for commercial and medicinal purposes. It has half-times longer with methyl- mercury (49-65 days in human blood) than with inorganic compounds (3-28 days in human blood). Also, it has toxic properties and severely affects the environment and humans, especially developing fetuses and infants.The mean level of Hg in blood samples from non-exposed Egyptian persons in Mansoura city has been reported to be 8.5 ± 2.83 (range 4.4-12.1) μg/L [WHO referenc value for total mercury levels in blood is 10 μg/L]. This level is higher than some levels reported in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Canada, Sweden, Japan, USA,Denmark, Poland and Germany.Reported mean urine Hg level in non-exposed Egyptian persons was 0.48 ± 0.22(range 0.21-0.95) μg/g Cr. [H.B.M. reference value; 7 μg/g Cr.]. This level is lower than some levels performed in Algeria, Iran, China and Slovenia.Occupational exposure to mercury vapors may lead to renal alterations because inorganic mercury induces cellular injury and death in all three segments of proximal tubule. Urine is a common indicator used to assess occupational mercury exposure; The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) adopted a biological exposure index (BEI) for urinary mercury concentration of 35μg/g Cr. Among Egyptian workers exposed to mercury vapor, the mean urinary Hg level was found to range from 17.3 to 28.2 μg/g Cr. These levels are lower than those reported in other researches in Tanzania, Algeria, China, Slovenia and Brazil.