Xanthates are organic synthesized substances with a potentially wide range of applications. They may serve as essential components of many compounds or materials that also play a vital role in various industrial and socio-economic processes. Addressing the question of the use of xanthates without considering their toxicity, and their decomposition process and products would be ecologically and healthily less sustainable. To date, related information is still dispersed and less known to the public. Therefore, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the existing information on the essentiality, fate, ecotoxicity, and health effects of xanthates and associated compounds. According to available information from scientific, technical, and professional circles, xanthates are diverse, usually with a carbon chain of two to six carbon atoms. They play a crucial role in the sectors of the mining and mineral processing industry, agriculture, wastewater treatment, metal protection, rubber vulcanization, the pharmaceutical industry, and medicine. Xanthates’ degradation under different factors and mechanisms, which determine their fate in the environment, leads to the formation of toxic substances, mainly carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen peroxide. Xanthates and xanthates degradation products are seriously hazardous to humans, animals, soil and aquatic organisms, enzymatic system, etc. Simultaneous exposure to xanthates and metals results in the magnification or reduction of their toxicity level, depending on the exposed organisms. Such toxicological dimensions should attract more scientific and public attention for more safe production, use, storage, and disposal of xanthates. Due to the high affinity of xanthates for metal, xanthates-modified compounds are efficient metal chelating agents. Such a property should be explored to develop potentially low-cost and effective alternatives for metal removal and recovery from contaminated media. The same applies to developing appropriate methods for the evaluation and management of the simultaneous presence of xanthates and metals in the environment.
