Description
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 information on the effects of environmental toxicants on living systems. It focuses on the chemical and biological characteristics of major pollutants found in the air, water, and soil and relates them to the health and well being of humans, animals, and plants.
Surveying the environmental and health changes that have occurred in recent decades, the book discusses the sources, metabolism, and damage process of toxicants, and the environmental, biological, and nutritional factors that may influence toxicity. It looks at natural defense systems, including the mechanisms for detoxification—such as endogenous antioxidants and free radical scavenging enzymes—on a cellular level. The text examines the major toxicants: EPA criteria air pollutants, environmental fluoride, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), environmental metals and metalloids involved in soil and water pollution, and pesticides and related material such as PCBs and dioxins. It then addresses their relationship with endocrine disruption and environmental cancer. This comprehensive approach offers insight into the interaction of various chemical agents with DNA. The book also introduces the process of ecological risk assessment.
Fully revised and expanded, the third edition of this popular book includes new and updated material as well as a new chapter on occupational toxicology. Appendices cover the process of ecological risk assessment, carcinogens, and PCB nomenclature. Based on research from more than 35 years of teaching environmental toxicology and related courses, this textbook is a useful resource for students, professionals, and researchers interested in the effects of pollutants on living systems.
What’s New in This Edition
A new chapter on occupational toxicology, covering indoor air quality, chemicals in the workplace, nanoparticle exposure, and more
An updated chapter on environmental changes and health, including significant environmental changes that have occurred since the last edition
An updated chapter on environmental cancer, including changes in death rates of respiratory cancers
New material on the importance of nitrous oxide (N2O) in stratospheric ozone layer depletion
An expanded discussion of environmental disasters
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Environmental Changes and Health
3. Occurrence of Toxicants
4. Toxic Action of Pollutants
5. Factors Affecting Xenobiotic Action
6. Biotransformation: Metabolism of Xenobiotics
7. Responses to Environmental Toxicants
8. Air Pollution: Inorganic Gases
9. Air Pollution: Particulate Matter
10. Environmental Fluoride
11. Volatile Organic Compounds
12. Soil and Water Pollution: Environmental Metals and Metalloids
13. Pesticides and Related Materials
14. Occupational Toxicology
15. Endocrine Disruption
16. Mutagenic Pollutants
17. Environmental Cancer
Appendix 1: Ecological Risk Assessment
Appendix 2: 11th Report on Carcinogens
Appendix 3: List of Cigarette Smoke Carcinogens
Appendix 4: Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Nomenclature
Index