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This book presents mercury toxicity with respect to remediation and health issues. It covers sources of mercury contamination, its impact on human health, and prospective remediation by both bioremediation and phytoremediation with the application of recent advanced techniques such as genetic engineering and nanotechnology.Both anthropogenic activities and natural processes cause the release of mercury into different spheres of the environment resulting in severe adverse impacts. Increased anthropogenic discharge of mercury leads to disturbance in its natural biogeochemical cycle, which results in unenviable diseases and hazardous health effects. Mercury pollution is responsible for causing neurobehavioral, kidney, heart, gastrointestinal, liver, and other diseases. Many published works about the impact of mercury on health are also available worldwide; however, there is no complete understanding available on toxicological studies of mercury that covers the broader spectrum of findings ranging from sources of exposure to mercury toxicity to its remediation strategies.This book brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability, and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by mercury contamination. The book also proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches.The book contains three sections. The first part describes the different sources and distribution of mercury in soil and plant ecosystems. The second part explains the health risks linked to mercury toxicity. The third part addresses sustainable mercury toxicity mitigation strategies and the potential applications of recent technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals working in the field of mercury contamination.

This book discusses problems, challenges, and mitigation strategies in the wake of environmental degradation. It suggests proactive solutions to problems of environmental degradation for strategic planning as well as their effective delivery, and problems arising due to growth in population, industry, and land use change. The uniqueness of the book is its broader spectrum of coverage with related interconnections and interdependence of various aspects. Presenting a wide spectrum of viewpoints and approaches, the book covers topics, such as deforestation impacts (land use and land cover, soil erosion); impacts on climate change and human health; treatment of industrial, municipal, biological waste disposal and their impacts on soil, water, and air; recovery/remediation processes and technologies; impacts of pesticides and chemical fertilizers on soil degradation and groundwater; socio-economic environmental sustainability; and socio-economic health impacts. Particularfocus is placed on strategic planning and methodological handling of environmental degradation and remediation through various processes and treatment technologies. This book will be useful to researchers, professionals, policy makers, and environmental engineers.

Exposure and Risk Assessment of Pesticide Use in Agriculture: Approaches, Tools and Advances offers an overview of the different methods available in toxicology for pesticide exposure and risk assessment, ranging from the regulatory field, to in-field research studies. The book provides technical background on each method, describing known and grounded tools, new uses of tools and development prospects. This book is ideal for researchers in pesticide toxicology, exposure toxicology, toxicologic risk assessment, occupational hygiene and medicine, and pesticide toxicology as well as occupational health and industrial hygiene practitioners, regulatory experts of corporate and public bodies, and advanced students. - Covers pesticide exposure and risk assessment, ranging from fundamentals to advanced theory - Explains methods that are useful for both experts and non-experts - Details the use of each method for exposure and risk assessment, also including links to additional resources and further reading

In this book, both basic and advanced concepts are discussed for considering mixtures from initial exposure characterization through evaluation of risk associated with combined exposures. This book will provide an introduction to key issues and multiple options for evaluating both the toxicity of mixtures as well as the risk associated with exposure to mixtures. Additionally, promising tools adapted from other disciplines will be discussed in the context of mixtures toxicology and risk assessment. Finally, the discussion will move beyond chemical mixtures to address incorporating non-chemical stressors into toxicity studies and cumulative risk assessments. Although exposure to multiple chemical and non-chemical stressors is the rule, not the exception, consideration of mixtures in toxicology and risk assessment continues to be a significant challenge. This book will be an essential resource for researchers and professionals in the fields of toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science,risk assessment, and statistics.

The purpose of risk assessment is to support science-based decisions about how to solve complex societal problems. The problems we face in the twenty-first century have many social, political, and technical complexities. Environmental risk assessment in particular is of increasing importance as a means of seeking to address the potential effects of

Many of the world's societies face an unprecedented demographic challenge. They are aging at such a rapid rate that it threatens to overwhelm their resources and economies. Of all the problems this creates, the foremost is declining health. As populations age, they place rising demands on medical care systems but no longer produce the wealth required to sustain them. Aging is not a disease. We possess no therapies for it, only for its manifestations. However, the stresses it imposes on society would be more manageable if the burden of disease and disability could be diminished. This book focuses on how chemical agents may affect the health of aging populations. Most research in this area has focussed on early development, but it is not the only life stage where responses to the adverse effects of chemicals are intensified. Vulnerability to toxins climbs again late in life and, in many ways, repeats the imperfect defences deployed by the immature organism. One feature common to both early and late phases is a reduced capacity to compensate for damage. In the first case, the functional mechanisms have yet to evolve. In the second, they have passed into a post-mature decline. The chemical revolution has flooded the world with new chemicals that penetrate every aspect of our lives. Although they bring significant benefits, they exact a heavy price. We are now exposed to thousands of chemicals whose toxic properties still elude us and whose chemical signatures can be found in our tissues. By improving our knowledge of how our contaminated environment contributes to declining health, we can act to avert further strains on our beleaguered societies. Written by experts on the environmental exposures that jeopardize optimal aging, this book serves as an excellent foundation for policy decisions. It will be read primarily by those engaged in environmental or aging research. More general readers will benefit from learning about the chemicals to avoid.

They work at some of America's most hazardous jobs, have few protections, and receive some of the lowest wages. Latino Farmworkers in the Eastern United States describes this understudied and underserved population. Taking a social justice stance, this volume examines the health and living conditions of workers in agriculture, while advocating for equality. Contributors cover all major areas of illness and injury (including occupational, environmental, infections, and pesticides), while also focusing on systemic social conditions, from lax industry regulations to lack of basic services—problems that are exacerbated by workers'status as recent immigrants. Mental health burdens from the effects of discrimination to substance use, as well as the cumulative impact of workers'separation from families are discussed for a comprehensive, meticulously documented resource. Written to serve both the seasoned professional and the newcomer, Latino Farmworkers in the Eastern United States is a bedrock source of information for those providing health and social services in the community, for researchers investigating health and safety disparities, and for advocates and policymakers working to correct them.

The scope of environmental impact on reproduction is very large. It aims at covering all aspects of reproductive problems and their links to the environment. Therefore, it deals with female and male reproductive impairments, whatever their severity and their sites, gonad or extra-gonad. For women, effects include direct lesions of the oocyte, with possibilities of chromosomal abnormalities but also malformations of the reproductive tract. Reduced fertility and in some cases total infertility may also result from menstrual irregularities, which can at times include anovulatory cycles. Hormonal changes, even in the absence of menstrual irregularities may also lead to decreased fertility. In addition to congenital malformations, other impairments of the reproductive apparatus may occur, as in the polycystic ovarian syndrome or in endometriosis. Finally one can also include effects during pregnancy leading to spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery still birth or altered sex ratio. Impacts on age at menarche and age at menopause lead to a change in the duration of reproductive life.