Ecosystems and Human Health: Toxicology and Environmental Hazards

Since the second edition of this text was published, many new environmental incidents have occurred, including another nuclear disaster, a mine disaster in the United States, and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Updated throughout the text, Ecosystems and Human Health: Toxicology and Environmental Hazards, Third Edition explores the broad range of environmental and human health aspects of chemical and biological hazards--from natural toxins and disasters to man-made pollutants and environmental crises.

The book begins with the basic principles of pharmacology and toxicology, risk analysis, and air, water, and soil pollution. It then examines various toxicants and hazards, such as airborne hazards, halogenated hydrocarbons, metals, and organic solvents. Chapters also discuss food additives and contaminants, pesticides, hormone disrupters, radiation hazards, and natural environmental hazards such as venomous and toxic animals. The text reviews the Chernobyl nuclear crisis and the Walkerton drinking water tragedy, as well as other disasters, assessing some of their long-term effects, now that sufficient time has elapsed since their occurrence.

With updates in every chapter, this third edition contains significant expansion of information on the genetics of chemical carcinogenesis, global warming, food additives, invasive species in the Great Lakes, nuclear accidents, and more. The book describes how chemical toxins and biological hazards can impact the environment and the people who live in it. The author presents numerous examples of the relationship between ecosystem health and human health. He emphasizes the need to consider the environmental impact of human activities and includes many real-world examples and new case studies.

Richard Philp, D.V.M., Ph.D., is an emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at The University of Western Ontario. He conducted research in the physiology of deep sea diving, investigations into arterial thrombosis, and, for the last 15 years of his 40-year career, taught a course on environmental toxicology. He also authored two textbooks on the subject. Professor Philp has conducted studies on heavy metal pollution of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and was a member of the Thames-Sydenham Regional Source-water Protection Committee. He has served as a consultant in environmental toxicology to citizens’ groups and to Santa Cruz County, California. He has also published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 6 books, mostly on environment-related subjects.