Preface
This book is written with the objective of providing fundamental knowledge
concerning the biological and health effects of environmental pollutants on
living systems. The book emphasizes the chemical and biological characteristics
of major pollutants found in our environment and their impacts on the health
of living organisms, including not only humans and animals but also plants.
The volume consists of seventeen chapters. The first chapter, Introduction,
introduces the reader to the theme of the book. The chapter begins with a
definition of environmental toxicology and discusses the relationship between
human activities and their impacts on the environment. This is followed by a
brief history of environmental pollution and related laws in the U.S. The
chapter ends with discussion of the importance of environmental toxicology as
a field of study. Chapter 2, Environmental Change and Health, presents an
overview of our changing environment, with statistics of the major causes of
deaths in the U.S. from 1950 to 2000. A possible link between our changing
environment and the changing pattern of human diseases is discussed. Included
in the discussion are such diseases as cancer, birth defects, reproductive
damages, respiratory diseases, and heavy-metal-induced diseases. Emphasis is
also placed on the relationship between developing economies and growing
pollution-related health problems in several countries. Chapter 3, Occurrence
of Toxicants, identifies ways in which the occurrence of environmental
toxicants may be recognized. This is followed by a brief review of major
environmental pollution episodes or disasters that occurred in recent decades.
Chapter 4, Toxic Action of Pollutants, discusses general ways in which
environmental toxicants may cause deleterious effects on living organisms.
The chapter includes processes involved in toxicant uptake, transport, storage,
metabolism, action, and wherever applicable, excretion, highlighting several
ways in which toxicants cause damage to plants, animals, and humans.
Chapter 5, Factors Affecting Xenobiotic Action, discusses several factors that
influence the toxicity of xenobiotics (environmental toxicants). Included in the
discussion are physical and chemical characteristics of toxicants, environmental factors, biological factors, and nutritional factors.
The metabolism of environmental chemicals – biotransformation – is
discussed in Chapter 6. The chapter introduces Phases I and II reactions and
stresses the importance of biotransformation for living systems and the
consequences of the process. Main topics covered in this chapter include
detoxification of xenobiotics, possible production of free radicals by biotransformation, and the action of cellular antioxidant defense systems, including
endogenous antioxidants and free radical scavenging enzymes. In Chapter 7,
[17:19 15/9/04 T:/4365 MING-HO.751 (1670)/4365-Prelims.3d]
Ref: 4365 MING-HO YU Prelims Page: v 4-24
v
This book is written with the objective of providing fundamental knowledge
concerning the biological and health effects of environmental pollutants on
living systems. The book emphasizes the chemical and biological characteristics
of major pollutants found in our environment and their impacts on the health
of living organisms, including not only humans and animals but also plants.
The volume consists of seventeen chapters. The first chapter, Introduction,
introduces the reader to the theme of the book. The chapter begins with a
definition of environmental toxicology and discusses the relationship between
human activities and their impacts on the environment. This is followed by a
brief history of environmental pollution and related laws in the U.S. The
chapter ends with discussion of the importance of environmental toxicology as
a field of study. Chapter 2, Environmental Change and Health, presents an
overview of our changing environment, with statistics of the major causes of
deaths in the U.S. from 1950 to 2000. A possible link between our changing
environment and the changing pattern of human diseases is discussed. Included
in the discussion are such diseases as cancer, birth defects, reproductive
damages, respiratory diseases, and heavy-metal-induced diseases. Emphasis is
also placed on the relationship between developing economies and growing
pollution-related health problems in several countries. Chapter 3, Occurrence
of Toxicants, identifies ways in which the occurrence of environmental
toxicants may be recognized. This is followed by a brief review of major
environmental pollution episodes or disasters that occurred in recent decades.
Chapter 4, Toxic Action of Pollutants, discusses general ways in which
environmental toxicants may cause deleterious effects on living organisms.
The chapter includes processes involved in toxicant uptake, transport, storage,
metabolism, action, and wherever applicable, excretion, highlighting several
ways in which toxicants cause damage to plants, animals, and humans.
Chapter 5, Factors Affecting Xenobiotic Action, discusses several factors that
influence the toxicity of xenobiotics (environmental toxicants). Included in the
discussion are physical and chemical characteristics of toxicants, environmental factors, biological factors, and nutritional factors.
The metabolism of environmental chemicals – biotransformation – is
discussed in Chapter 6. The chapter introduces Phases I and II reactions and
stresses the importance of biotransformation for living systems and the
consequences of the process. Main topics covered in this chapter include
detoxification of xenobiotics, possible production of free radicals by biotransformation, and the action of cellular antioxidant defense systems, including
endogenous antioxidants and free radical scavenging enzymes. In Chapter 7,
[17:19 15/9/04 T:/4365 MING-HO.751 (1670)/4365-Prelims.3d]
Ref: 4365 MING-HO YU Prelims Page: v 4-24
v