Toxic fumes from burning materials is harmful.

It acts as an antiviral, similar to AZT, but less toxic.

Only recently have investigators considered using these plants to clean up soil and waste sites that have been contaminated by toxic levels of heavy metals–an environmentally friendly approach known as phytoremediation.

Research has focused on the toxic effects of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and aluminum; however, even copper and zinc, which are essential elements, can become toxic in high concentrations.

As an example, plants make chemicals toxic to fungal and bacterial parasites, along with ones toxic to predatory animals (sometimes they are the same chemicals).

Because they lack oxygen, marsh sediments are high in sulfides that are toxic to most plants.

But this was toxic soil and toxic runoff, the acid and metals in the soil made the once clear rivers flow bright orange.

Big clouds of sulfuric smoke, which was toxic to the trees, formed over the areas.

In fact, they may contain up to two and a half times the concentration of toxic metals found in the soil they grow in.

Now going back to the absorption of toxic metals into the body of the fungus, let's turn our attention to mushrooms. 

And a filamentous fungus can adsorb toxic heavy metals, bind them to the surface of its enormous network of filaments, and thereby detoxify a large soil ecosystem.

This toxin can be concentrated in such filter-feeding organisms as clams and mussels, rendering them toxic to humans.

These products are not toxic to humans.