The aim of the study was to determine totoxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) and its derivatives (bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)) due to its high accumulation in environment. The performed analysis revealed the toxicity of the BPA, BPF, and BPS againstKurthia gibsoni,Microbacterium sp., andBrevundimonas diminutaas the most sensitive, reaching microbial toxic concentrations in the range of 0.018–0.031 mg ∙ L−1. Moreover, the genotoxicity assay shows the ability of all tested compounds to increase in the β-galactosidase level at the concentration range 7.81–500 µM (inEscherichia coli, PQ37). In turn, the matbolic activation of tested bishpenols has caused the enhacement of the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effect. Interestingely, the highest phytotoxicity effect was pointed for BPA and TBBPA at the concentrations of 10 mg ∙ L−1and 50 mg ∙ L−1, which cause the inhibition of root growth by 58% and 45%, respectively (especially forS. albaandS. saccharatum). Furthermore, the cytotoxicity analyses show the ability of BPA, BPS, and TBBPA to significantly decrease the metabolic activity of human keratynoctes in vitro after 24 h of treatment at the micromolar concentrations. Simialry, the impact of the certain bisphenols on proliferation-, apoptosis-, and inflammation-related mRNA expression was shown in tested cell line. Summarizing, the presented results have proved that BPA and its derrivatives are able to show high negative effect on certain living orgnisms such as bacteria, plants, and human cells, which is strict related to pro-apoptotic and genotoxic mechanism of action.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-023-27747-y.