Environmental Toxicology: Biological and Health Effects of Pollutants, Second Edition
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Summary
An Indispensable Reference of Air, Soil, and Water Pollutants
This second edition of Environmental Toxicology focuses on the biological and health effects toxins have on living organisms. It also stresses the relationship between human activity and the environment, relating changes in the environment with the changing patterns of human diseases, and exploring the parallels between developing economies and pollution-related health problems.
The book deals with a large number of environmental toxicants, discussing their damage process, metabolism (biotransformation), and metabolism, toxicants and their damage process, and environmental, biological, and nutritional factors that may influence toxicity. It also describes several natural defense systems and the mechanisms for detoxification, including endogenous antioxidants and free radical scavenging enzymes on a cellular level. The book continues its comprehensive analysis of EPA Criteria Air Pollutants (SO2, NO2, O3, CO, particulate matter), and volatile organic compounds, as well as soil and water pollution, and expands the chapters on fluoride, environmental metals and metalloid (lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, and arsenic), pesticides and related material such as PCBs and dioxins, and their relationship with endocrine disruption (a new chapter) and environmental cancer, offering more insight on the interaction of various chemical agents with DNA.
Based on research from nearly 30 years of teaching environmental toxicology and related courses, the author concludes this text with an introduction to ecological risk assessment and its role in regulation and policymaking.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Study of environmental toxicology
Worldwide development in recent decades
Environmental pollution and law
Importance of environmental toxicology
Toxicity testing - a brief review
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND HEALTH
Our changing environment
Our changing disease pattern
Examples of environmental diseases
OCCURRENCE OF TOXICANTS
Introduction
Smoke or smog
Offensive odors
Agricultural damage
Intoxication of animals
Injuries to humans
Acute and chronic effects
DAMAGE PROCESS AND ACTION OF TOXICANTS
Introduction
Plants
Mammalian organism
Mechanism of action
FACTORS AFFECTING XENOBIOTIC ACTION
Introduction
Physicochemical properties
Dose/concentration
Duration and mode of exposure
Environmental factors
Interaction
Biological factors
Nutritional factors
METABOLISM OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
Introduction
Types of biotransformation
Mechanism of biotransformation
Consequence of biotransformation
Factors influencing biotransformation
Characteristics of the cytochrome P450s
DEFENSE RESPONSES TO TOXICANTS
Introduction
Responses of humans/animals
Responses of plants
AIR POLLUTION – INORGANIC GASES
Introduction
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide
Ozone
Carbon monoxide
AIR POLLUTION – PARTICULATE MATTER
Introduction
Characteristics
Formation of particulates
Health effects
Silica
Beryllium
Asbestos
ENVIRONMENTAL FLUORIDE
Introduction
Occurrence and forms of fluoride
Sources of environmental fluoride
Industrial sources of fluoride in the environment
Effects on plants
Effects on animals
Effects on humans
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
Introduction
Sources
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION - ENVIRONMENTAL METALS AND METALLOIDS
Introduction
Lead
Cadmium
Mercury
Nickel
Arsenic
PESTICIDES AND RELATED MATERIALS
Introduction
Insecticides
Herbicides
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Polybrominated biphenyls
Dioxin
ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION
Introduction
Review of hormonal function
Characteristics of endocrine disrupters
Mode of action
Examples of endocrine disruption
Hormonal cancers
Testing estrogenicity
MUTAGENIC POLLUTANTS
Introduction
Types of mutation
Effect of mutations
Induction of mutation
ENVIRONMENTAL CANCER
Introduction
Causes of cancer
Stages in the development of cancer
Metastasis
Classification of carcinogens
Metabolism of chemical carcinogens
DNA repair
RISK ASSESSMENT/TESTING
Introduction
Basic components of a risk assessment
Use of ecological risk assessment
Importance of ecological risk assessment
Frameworks for ecological risk assessment
Usefulness of ecological risk assessment predictions
Editorial Reviews
“The book extending over 339 pages, is aiming to provide fundamental knowledge concerning the biological and health effects of environmental pollutants on living systems. The chemical and biological characteristics of major pollutants found in our environment and their impacts on the health of living organisms, including not only human and animals but also plants, are issues to be found in this book. The volume consists of seventeen chapters. … Every chapter of the book appears as a well-defined work, able to give to the reader the information connected with the subject, to illustrate the real stage of the researchers in the field, and to suggest future development ways. The extended bibliographies enable the interested reader to have easy access to the original literature.”
— Lecturer Adina Dunitrascu, Technical University ‘Gh. Asachi’ of Iasi, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, in IPM – Iasi Polytechnic Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 1 / 4, March/December 2005
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