Biochemical Effects Of Environmental Pollutants

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 d

How are pollutants transformed after their release into the environment? How are organisms exposed, and how do physiological alterations impact population dynamics and community structure? What direct or indirect impacts occur? As early as the 50s and 60s people living near industrial plants began to recognize undesirable changes in their environment - and to ask these very questions. The discipline of environmental toxicology addresses these questions. Written by an expert with over twenty years experience, Environmental Toxicology covers the physiological and toxicological effects of environmental toxicants on living systems. It explores the sources, and the physical and chemical characteristics of toxicants. It goes further to highlight their impact on plants, animals, and humans. The author furnishes information on the mechanism of action of individual chemicals and chemical combinations including cellular damage at the molecular level. He defines environmental toxicology and discusses the relationship between human activities and their impacts on living systems. He furnishes an overview of our changing environment and the possible link between that environment and the changing pattern of human diseases. Environmental Toxicology provides fundamental knowledge on the toxicological effects of environmental chemicals on living systems. Its fifteen chapters cover the occurrence of toxicants, air pollution, environmental metals, pesticides and related materials such as PCBs and dioxins, mutagenesis, and environmental cancer. This useful resource will enhance your knowledge of the impacts of environmental toxicants on living organisms.

Human survival depends on the availability of clean air, water, and food and on the welfare of plants and animals. However, anthropogenic and naturally occurring chemicals can cause adverse effects on living organisms and ecological processes. Environmental Toxicology: Biological and Health Effects of Pollutants, Third Edition presents fundamental

The study of the relationship between environmental pollution and human health is in its infancy. The number of substances and mixtures that have been identified in uncontrolled hazardous waste sites or that have been in advertently released into the environment is large and data on how thes~ substances are modified as they interact with one another as they migrate through soil, air, and water are limited. There are also limits on our un derstanding of how these substances may be ingested, inhaled, or absorbed by people. The complexity of possible interactions between biological, chemical, and physical components in a given environment makes it virtually impossible to evaluate the potential for adverse biological effects ade quately in the laboratory. Other, more comprehensive methods which provide realistic and interpretable results must be used. Many scientists believe that humans represent the ultimate sentinel species of a toxic exposure re sUlting from environmental pollution, however such exposures may also se verely impact environmental health. There exists a wide variety of organ isms in the natural environment that could be used to provide an early warning for potential human health effects as well as to indicate adverse ecological effects. The issue of effective utilization of sentinel species for environment al monitoring is a rapidly developing area of research which has grown in importance during the last decade.

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

This two-volume work is an effort to provide a common platform to environmental engineers, microbiologists, chemical scientists, plant physiologists and molecular biologists working with a common aim of sustainable solutions to varied environmental contamination issues. Chapters explore biological and non-biological strategies to minimize environmental pollution. Highly readable entries attempt to close the knowledge gap between plant - microbial associations and environmental remediation. Volume 1 focuses on important concepts such as biological remediation strategies to enhance soil quality at contaminated sites; synergistic influences of tolerant plants and rhizospheric microbial strains on the remediation of pesticide contaminated soil, and the role of plant types such as hyperaccumulator plants in the cleanup of polluted soils. Readers will discover mechanisms and underlying natural inherent traits of various plants and microbes for tolerating, excluding, remediating, accumulating, or metabolizing a variety of pollutants.