Environmental Toxicology and Human Health is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.

Toxicology is the study of harmful effects of chemicals on biological systems. Humans, animals, and plants are increasingly being exposed to chemicals in the environment. The ever-increasing use of chemicals in industries has also resulted in further pollution of the environment. As toxic chemicals are widespread in the environment, there is a potential for these chemicals to cause significant damage and harmful effects on human health. The volume on Environmental Toxicology and Human Health discusses matters of great relevance to our world such as: Environmental Toxicology and Human Health; Health Effects from Exposure to Acute Levels of Industrial Chemicals; Health Effects from Exposure to Chronic Levels of Industrial Chemicals; Control Strategies; Pediatric Lead Poisoning of Residential Origin; Insecticides; Herbicides; Rodenticides; Virus-Induced Diseases; Fungus and Actinomycete-Induced Diseases; Sportfish Consumption: Socio-Cultural and Economic Aspects, Ethnicity and Effectiveness of Health Advisories; Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Residential Indoor Air Quality and Human Health; Social Concerns for Environmental Exposures to Toxic Substances; Environmental Justice as a Component of Environmental Decision-Making; Minamata Disease in Japan; Mercury-Contaminated Grain in Iraq; Case Study of Air Pollution Episodes in Meuse Valley of Belgium, Donora of Pennsylvania, and London, U.K.; Case Study of the Bhopal Incident; Case Study of Lyme Disease; Case History: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in Zaire, 1995; Case Studies of Anthrax Outbreaks; Case Study of Health Effects of Cryptosporidium in Drinking Water . These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers, NGOs and GOs.

Editor(s) Biography

Tetsuo Satoh, Ph.D., Director, Biomedical Research Institute, Chiba, Japan; Professor Emeritus, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. Dr Satoh’s major research areas include disposition and metabolism of drugs, pesticides, and environmental pollutants; role of biotransformation in chemical-induced tissue injury; and pharmacogenetics, with a focus on genetic polymorphisms of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of drugs and other xenobiotics. He has published more than 250 scientific papers, invited reviews, and book chapters. His review article entitled “The Mammalian Carboxylesterases: From Molecules to Functions” was published in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1998. Dr Satoh is a member of numerous national and international scientific organizations including the Japanese Society of Toxicology, Pharmacological Society of Japan, Japanese Society of Clinical Pharmacology, Society of Toxicology (USA), American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASPET), and International Society for Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX). He has served on numerous committees of the scientific organizations. He has a number of awards, including the 1st Visiting Professor Award of the American Society of Toxicology in 1996, Education Award of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, and the Merit Award of the Japanese Society for Study of Xenobiotics. He was elected as the Founding Secretary-General of the Asian Society of Toxicology(ASIATOX) in 1994, and in 1995 he was appointed the Vice President of the International Union of Toxicology(IUTOX). He was a member of the Scientific Program Committee for the 8th and 9th International Congresses of Toxicology in 1998 and 2001, respectively. He has served as a member of editorial boards and review committees for a variety of international and national journals including Toxicological Sciences (Society of Toxicology, USA) and (as Associate Editor) Regulatory Pharmacology and Toxicology (USA). Salmaan H. Inayat-Hussain was born in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia and grew up in Dungun, Terengganu, where he attended primary and secondary education. He attained a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology with honours in 1991 from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He then worked for Pfizer (Malaysia) Pte Ltd until the end of 1992 prior to joining Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In 1993, he went to the MRC Toxicology Unit, Leicester, UK and obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemical Toxicology in 1997. He is currently a faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He also spent a year (1999–2000) as a Visiting Research Associate at the Molecular Toxicology and Environmental Health Program, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado, USA, under the supervision of Professor David Ross. Dr Inayat-Hussain’s main research interest is understanding the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by various toxicants including benzene metabolites especially hydroquinone and the antipsychotic remoxipride. He has also developed an interest in the mechanisms of plant natural products induced apoptosis as potential anti-cancer lead compounds, as well as safety evaluation of commercialized plant extracts. In addition to research, Dr Inayat-Hussain has also been involved in teaching toxicology to the Biomedical Science, Occupational and Environmental Health and Pharmacy undergraduate programs as well as the postgraduate program in Occupational Health. He has been appointed as a consultant to carry out toxicological assessment of chemicals, as required in the Environmental Impact Assessment exercise. He has been awarded numerous fellowships including ones from the Wellcome Trust, Nippon Trust, and UNESCO, and has been involved in editorial and review work for toxicology journals such as Chemical Research in Toxicology. Currently he is an editorial member of Chemico-Biological Interactions and an Associate Editor of Journal of Toxicological Science (The Japanese Society of Toxicology). Dr Inayat-Hussain is also a full member of the British Toxicology Society and Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology