Over 400 years ago, Swiss alchemist and physician Paracelsus (1493-1541) cited: "All substances are poisons; there is none that is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy." This is often condensed to: "The dose makes the poison." So, why are we overtly anxious about intoxications?In fact, poisons became a global problem with the industrial revolution. Pesticides, asbestos, occupational chemicals, air pollution, and heavy metal toxicity maintain high priority worldwide, especially in developing countries. Children between 0 and 5 years old are the most vulnerable to both acute and chronic poisonings, while older adults suffer from the chronic effects of chemicals. This book aims to raise awareness about the challenges of poisons, to help clinicians understand current issues in toxicology.
Environmental Toxicology is the third volume of a three-volume set on molecular, clinical and environmental toxicology that offers a comprehensive and in-depth response to the increasing importance and abundance of chemicals of daily life. By providing intriguing insights far down to the molecular level, this three-volume work covers the entire range of modern toxicology with special emphasis on recent developments and achievements. It is written for students and professionals in medicine, science, public health or engineering who are demanding reliable information on toxic or potentially harmful agents and their adverse effects on the human body.
Essentials of Toxicology for Health Protection is a key handbook and course reader for all health protection professionals. It covers the basics of toxicology and its application to issues of topical concern including contaminated land, water pollution and traditional medicines.
The term “heavy metals” is used as a group name of toxic metals and metalloids (semimetals) causing contaminations and ecotoxicity. In strict chemical sense the density of heavy metals is higher than 5 g/cm3. From biological point of view as microelements they can be divided into two major groups. a. For their physiological function organisms and cells require essential microelements such as iron, chromium (III), cobalt, copper, manganese, molidenium, zinc. b. The other group of heavy metals is toxic to the health or environment. Of highest concern are the emissions of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Tl. The toxicity of heavy metals is well known at organizational level, while less attention has been paid to their cellular effects. This book describes the toxicity of heavy metals on microorganisms, yeast, plant and animal cells. Other chapters of the book deal with their genotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. The toxicity of several metals touch upon the aspects of environmental hazard, ecosystems and human health. Among the cellular responses of heavy metals irregularities in cellular mechanisms such as gene expression, protein folding, stress signaling pathways are among the most important ones. The final chapters deal with biosensors and removal of heavy metals. As everybody is eating, drinking and exposed to heavy metals on a daily basis, the spirit of the book will attract a wide audience.
This book is concerned with heavy metals, which are considered to be the most hazardous pollutants present in the water system. Heavy metals are extensively studied and their effects on human health are reviewed here. Although several adverse health effects of heavy metals are known for a long time, exposure to heavy metals continues and is even increasing in some parts of the world. This books deals with the source of heavy metals in the environment and possible mitigation measures for metal recovery. The technology available for the detection of heavy metals and the latest remediation techniques are also discussed in detail. In this way, the book also addresses general background to polymers and their composite materials for removal of specific toxic heavy metals from waste water. The different adsorption isotherm models and adsorption mechanism using biosorption methods are also described. The widespread applications of low-value agricultural products, ion-exchange, coagulation, precipitation, flocculation, ultra-filtration and electrochemical methods are mentioned. The book reviews the essential issues and will be of interest to academicians, research scholars and industries. It will be the precious resource for all undergraduate and postgraduate students at institutes and universities.
The aim of this book is to give an overview of the most important aspects of physiological and biochemical basis for metal toxicity and tolerance in plants. The book is expected to serve as a reference to university and college teachers, students of plant sciences, environmental biology, environmental biotechnology, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, plant molecular biology, and genetics.
Metals are important environmental pollutants and their toxicity is a problem of increasing significance for ecological, nutritional, and environmental reasons. These pollutants, ultimately derived from a growing number of diverse anthropogenic sources (industrial effluents and wastes, urban runoff, sewage treatment plants, boating activities, agricultural fungicide runoff, domestic garbage dumps, and mining operations), have progressively affected more and more different ecosystems. Even agricultural lands are progressively becoming enriched of metals due to long-term use of phosphatic fertilizers, sewage sludge application, dust from smelters, industrial waste and bad watering practices in agricultural lands.Among these metals, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo and Zn are pivotal micronutrients, while Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb and V and are non-essential for plants and have no known function as nutrients and seem to be more or less toxic to all plants and microorganisms. Sodium excess deserves particular attention. Several agricultural lands are indeed becoming familiar with the problem of salinization, due to the use of fresh water which contains a high level of NaCl or due to intensive fertilization, especially in arid and semi-arid environments characterized by poor rainfalls. Overall, the presence of both essential and non-essential metals in the atmosphere, soil and water, in excessive amounts, can cause serious problems to all organisms. Knowledge of plant-metal interactions is important for the safety of the environment, but also for reducing the risks associated with the introduction of trace metals into the food chain. Although intense research has been conducted during the last 30 years, many aspects remain to be clarified concerning the effect of metals in higher plants.Our goal for this book is to critically review existing literature related to the specific effects of different metals in plants, as well as to provide new evidence about plant-metal interactions in order to clarify mechanisms of metal uptake, translocation, and partitioning and the effect of metal toxicity. Consequences related to accumulation of metals in food products have been described. Physiological and biochemical mechanisms adopted by plants to cope with metal excess and possible implications for phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils are also discussed. Therefore, we believe that this book will provide a comprehensive overview regarding some aspects of metal toxicity in plants and it will be useful for scientist working in this field of research, but it will also be of practical interest to environmentalists, policy-makers, and resource managers working on the topic. We wish to thank all the authors who joined this book project by contributing their valuable work. Lastly, we extend our sincere thanks to Nova Science Publishers for their efficient support.
In recent years, urbanization and industrialization have produced large amounts of heavy metals, which are highly toxic to both humans and the environment. This book presents a comprehensive overview of heavy metals including their physiochemical properties, toxicity, transfer in the environment, legislation, environmental impacts, and mitigation measures. Written by experts in the field, chapters include scientific research as well as case studies.
Cancer risk factors include exposure to certain substances, which may contribute to the development of cancer. However, substances can have different levels of cancer-causing potential, and the risk of developing cancer is dependent on several factors, including individual genetic background and the amount and duration of the exposure. This book focuses on various cancer risk factors, covering numerous known, probable, and possible carcinogens; their role in carcinogenesis; mechanisms of carcinogenicity; and methods for detecting carcinogens. And due to the growing concerns over the effects that substances and environmental exposures can have on human health, the chapters also emphasize on the vital need for further topic-related research as well as development and implementation of beneficial approaches.
