Pentachlorophenol And Some Related Compounds

This volume of the IARC Monographs provides evaluations of the carcinogenicity of pentachlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene, aldrin, and dieldrin. Pentachlorophenol, aldrin, and dieldrin are classified as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention. Pentachlorophenol has been widely used as a wood preservative and insecticide, but its production and use are now restricted. 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol has also been used as a wood preservative and insecticide, and in the synthesis of some fungicides. Aldrin and dieldrin are synthetic organochlorine pesticides used as broad-spectrum soil insecticides for the protection of various food crops, as seed dressings, and to control infestations of pests such as ants and termites. In several countries their use has been banned or severely restricted since the early 1970s. 3,3',4,4'-Tetrachloroazobenzene is not manufactured commercially but is formed during the production and degradation of chloroanilide herbicides such as propanil, linuron, and diuron. Exposure to all five agents considered may occur in the general population as well as in various occupational settings. An IARC Monographs Working Group reviewed epidemiological evidence, animal bioassays, and mechanistic and other relevant data to reach conclusions as to the carcinogenic hazard to humans of environmental or occupational exposure of these agents.

This volume of the IARC Monographs provides evaluations of the carcinogenicity of some organophosphate insecticides and herbicides, including diazinon, glyphosate, malathion, parathion, and tetrachlorvinphos. Diazinon acts on a wide range of insects on crops, gardens, livestock, and pets, but most uses have been restricted in the USA, Canada, and the European Union since the 1980s. Glyphosate is the most heavily used agricultural and residential herbicide in the world, and has been detected in soil, air, surface water, and groundwater, as well as in food. Malathion is one of the oldest and most widely used organophosphate insecticides, and has a broad spectrum of applications in agriculture and public health, notably mosquito control. The insecticide parathion has been largely banned or restricted throughout the world due to toxicity to wildlife and humans. Tetrachlorvinphos is banned in the European Union, but continues to be used in the USA and elsewhere as an insecticide on animals, including in pet flea collars. The IARC Monographs Working Group reviewed epidemiological evidence, animal bioassays, and mechanistic and other relevant data to reach conclusions as to the carcinogenic hazard to humans of these agents.

This edited book focuses on the application and implementation of bioremediation and other strategies to create a sustainable and healthy environment. It provides a collection of approaches to environmental biotechnology for wastewater treatment, removal of soil heavy metals, degradation of pesticides, removal of dyes, waste management, and microbial conversion of environmental pollutants. This book brings to the fore contributions of certain globally important environmental biotechnologist. Bioremediation is a popular branch of biotechnology that involves the use of living organisms such as microorganisms (microbial remediation), bacteria, fungus (mycoremediation), and plants (phytoremediation) to bind, extract, and clean up contaminants, pollutants, and toxins from soil, groundwater, and other environments. This book is of interest to researchers, scientists, and academic faculty in environmental sciences. Also, it serves as additional reading and reference material for undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdocs in environmental, agriculture, ecology, and soil sciences. National and International policy makers will also find valuable information from this book.

Pentachlorophenol and its salts are used as biocides. Although they are used mainly for preservation and treatment of wood, their antimicrobial, antifungal, herbicidal, insecticidal and molluscicidal properties led to a widespread application of PCP formulations. Bevenue and Beckman reviewed the literature up to 1967 on the chemistry, toxicology and environmental residues of PCP (Residue Rev. , 19: 83- 134, 1967). Significant advances in analytical methodology, recurrent incidents of mortalities of non-target organisms exposed to PCP, regulatory actions pertaining to PCP usage in countries such as Japan and Sweden, and detection of the ubiquitous distribution of PCP in the environment, added to the wealth of recent literature on pentachlorophenol. In spite of the usage of PCP as an antimicrobial agent in drilling and packer fluids during oil-drilling operations in the marine environment, little is known of the toxicity of PCP to marine and estuarine organisms. The purpose of this volume is to present up-to-date information (including a number of new studies on marine and estuarine organisms) on the chemistry, pharmacology and environmental toxicology of pentachlorophenol. This volume is a collection of papers presented at an international symposium sponsored by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and The University of West Florida, held at Pensacola Beach, Florida, June 27-29,1977. I am grateful to Norman L.