Depending on the amount of fertilizer consumed and the toxic metals that fertilizers have. It may cause disturbances of the kidneys, lungs and liver and even cause cancer.

I hope my following comments and references are useful.

In various research works, the biological and ecological implications of fertilizers in soil biota and human health are discussed due to the accumulation of elements or molecules that are generated due to the transformation process. However, recently, nano-level fertilizers have been studied to have implications for the life cycle of plants. For example, effects on physiological and chemical parameters, highlighting the production of ROS and the transfer of nanomaterials in herbivores.

Other studies highlight the possible transfer of nanofertilizers in humans and possible health implications.

See the following investigations.

J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011, 59, 8, 3485–3498

Publication Date: March 15, 2011

https://doi.org/10.1021/jf104517j.

Uptake, translocation, and transformation of metal-based nanoparticles in plants: recent advances and methodological challenges. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EN00645H.

Effect of engineered nanoparticles on soil biota: Do they improve the soil quality and crop production or jeopardize them ?. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3595

Nanotechnology in agriculture: Current status, challenges and future opportunities. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137778.

Regards.

Nitrogen contamination of shallow wells can exceed public health standards giving an increase in blue baby syndrome.

In addition, the rise of spinal defects traces the use of nitrogen application for maze production.

Nitrogen as nitrate can stimulate conditions of spinal defects such as spinal Bifida.

The use of ammoniated fertilizer can lead to liming requirements that when not satisfied will lead to reduced nutrient condition and soil toxicities such as Manganese, Aluminum, and Iron.

The world health can be affected by the degrading of soils and the decreased nutrition grew of them.

Finally the excess nutrients from inappropriate fertilizer usage is a major cause of dead zones which have prolerated in ooastal estuaries.

These nutrients can also be implacted in red tides which make fish products toxic to the fish and their consumpers.

The largest application of chemicals is glyphosate which is now considered a carcinogen.

Most transgenic field crops are bred to depend on this herbicides which is applied at rates reaching billions of kg over its lifetime.

Lawns are using chemicals called weed and feed.

The synthetic fertilizer is combined with a cocktail of growth regulator phenoxy herbicides which also were ingredients of agent orange which has a long history of demonstrated health issues including increased cancer incidence demonstrated amply in veterans involved in the application and the civilian who would apply in the operations.

Cocktails are of particular interest as the combinations are generally not evaluated for their effects in combination.

Depending on the amount of fertilizer consumed, it may cause disturbances of the kidneys, lungs and liver and even cause cancer. This is due to the toxic metals that fertilizers have. Nitrogen is essential for plant growth, but it can be very dangerous when present at high levels in humans.

I would like to focus my answer on fertilizer being taken up by plants. As far as I know if large amount of nitrate nitrogen is accumulated in thr plant tissue and being taken up bu humsn thru food intake, nitrate N is crucial in the development of blue babies.

But of course if the fertilizer material is ingested directly by human beings n livestock, it iwill affect human health.

Chemical fertilizers can be poison to human health if they are inhaled or accidentally ingest. This may cause skin irritation, and ingesting it may be poisonous. Some chemical fertilizers may cause waterway pollution, chemical burn to crops, increased air pollution, acidification of the soil and mineral depletion of the soil.

Any kinds of chemical fertilizer is harmful for soil, water and environment as well human being. Chemical fertilizers transformed into different toxic substances after their application to the soil. These toxic things enter into human body through crops, crop plants, crop residues etc. and their current and residual effect expose in human body in course of time. Skin irritation, kidney and lung infection and even cancer may cause due to use of excess chemical fertilizers.

Interesting discussion. I have my own reservation about the effect of chemical fertilizers on human health. There is hardly any residue left into the soil , unlike herbicides/pesticides/fungicides to incur any such damage to human health. Most of the domesticated crops are not hyper-accumulators of nutrients in any toxic limit. Off course , there are evidences of excessive nitrate leaching into the groundwater and causing processes like eutrophication etc...

I will be happier to compare the impact on human health taking fertilizers versus pesticides or fungicides or herbicides....

Depending on the amount of fertilizer consumed and the toxic metals that fertilizers have. It may cause disturbances of the kidneys, lungs and liver and even cause cancer.

It seems Mr. Panda's is looking for an answer as to whether fertilizer use in agriculture can cause cancer in human beings. Well, fertilizers are used to supply nutrients like N, P, K, Zn to plants when their supply in the soil is not adequate. All the nutrients supplied by fertilizers are already present in the soil and all the plants are taking up these nutrients irrespective of whether fertilizers are applied or not. Thus there is no possibility that fertilizer use in agriculture can cause cancer in consumers using the grains or straw produced by applying fertilizers. However, some fertilizers, particularly phosphatic fertilizers are produced from rock phosphate and may contain some elements like Cd and some other heavy metals which are not required either by plants or humans. Once these elements reach the food chain in large amounts (possibility of which is very low), these may prove harmful. Another possibility of harmful effects of fertilizers, particularly nitrogen fertilizers, is that when these are applied in excess of crop requirement, a substantial amount of N may leach down as nitrate and contaminate the groundwater to be used for drinking purposes. Nitrates more than 50 mg/L when present in drinking water are harmful to humans. There are unconfirmed reports that these may also prove carcinogenic.