Nigeria has been urged to urgently tackle environmental toxins, with the warning that unchecked exposure poses serious risks to brain health and public safety.

Speaking at a forum recently, biomedical researcher, Olowokere Olanike, drew attention to the growing but often overlooked danger of cadmium in Nigeria, stressing that weak regulation and poor hygiene fuel a silent public health threat.

Olowokere explained that cadmium, commonly associated with industrial pollution, is increasingly present in everyday living spaces and poses profound neurological risks, particularly for children, students and young adults.

Describing the metal as “a quiet but deadly intruder”, she said millions of Nigerians may be unknowingly exposed to the toxic substance on a daily basis.

According to her, cadmium exposure in Nigeria goes beyond factories and industrial zones, as the metal can be found in common household and environmental sources such as cosmetics, rechargeable batteries, pigments and dyes, cigarette smoke, household dust, soil, air, and cadmium-resistant bacteria thriving in poorly maintained domestic environments.

She noted that limited consumer-product regulation and environmental hygiene challenges have made exposure far more widespread than many Nigerians realise.

“Many Nigerians don’t realise that cadmium is not just an industrial toxin,” she said. “It can be present in household dust, soil, the air we breathe and everyday consumer products. With repeated exposure, cadmium accumulates silently in the body and disrupts brain function.”

Her study examined cadmium’s effects on brain biochemistry, revealing that exposure induces oxidative stress, disrupts neurotransmitter balance, impairs learning pathways and leads to memory deficits.

As part of the research, she said she investigated rutin, a natural antioxidant found in apples, citrus fruits and moringa leaves, as a possible protective agent against cadmium toxicity.

“We found that rutin significantly counteracted the biochemical and behavioural damage associated with cadmium toxicity,” she explained. “Its antioxidant properties helped stabilise neural pathways and reduce oxidative markers in the brain.”

She also highlighted the use of the Morris Water Maze, a globally recognised neurobehavioural technique for assessing learning and memory, noting that such advanced tools were rarely applied in Nigerian undergraduate studies at the time.

Olowokere warned that even low-level cadmium exposure can impair cognition, trigger inflammation and increase long-term risk of neurological disorders, especially in communities with poor waste disposal, unregulated household items and weak environmental monitoring.

Receiving validation from Prof. Ganiyu Oboh of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, (FUTA), he described the study as evidence-based and relevant for policymakers addressing environmental and public health risks.

Olowokere urged the country and government officials to take environmental toxins seriously, stressing that awareness, stronger regulation and timely scientific intervention are critical to preventing irreversible neurological damage.