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Anthropogenic Pollution in Greece: A Scoping Review of Environmental Contaminants, Exposure Pathways, and Policy Effectiveness
Summary
This scoping review assessed the types, sources, and health impacts of anthropogenic pollutants in Greece, finding contamination from heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals in air, water, soil, and food. It evaluated the effectiveness of existing regulatory responses and identified gaps in monitoring and enforcement.
Background: Industrial operations, intensive agriculture, urbanization, and poor waste management are the main causes of Greece's environmental degradation, which is becoming more complicated due to new threats including microplastics and pharmaceuticals. This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of contaminant types, sources, exposure pathways, impacts, and the effectiveness of regulatory responses. Methods: The review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, with searches in PubMed and Scopus covering the period 2000–2025. After screening 940 records, 50 eligible studies were included, covering evidence on air, water, soil, and marine pollution. Results: The scoping review suggests that heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are common in Greece. Major hotspots include coastal regions like the Saronic Gulf, agricultural basins, and urban centers like Athens and Thessaloniki. These pollutants are connected to respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurodevelopmental consequences and provide serious ecological dangers. Regulatory initiatives and economic downturns have resulted in localized improvements, but enforcement is uneven and monitoring is still dispersed, especially when it comes to new toxins. Conclusions: To protect public health and ecosystem integrity in Greece, this review emphasizes the critical need for interdisciplinary research, robust regulatory frameworks, and integrated monitoring systems.