期刊缩写       ENVIRON TOXICOL

期刊全称       ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY 环境毒理学

期刊ISSN      1520-4081

2013-2014最新影响因子     2.562

期刊官方网站       http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1522-7278

期刊投稿网址       http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tox

通讯方式       JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN, USA, NJ, 07030

涉及的研究方向    环境科学-毒理学

出版国家       UNITED STATES

出版周期       Bimonthly

出版年份       1999

年文章数       73

 

 

Edited By: PAUL B. TCHOUNWOU

Impact Factor: 2.562

ISI Journal Citation Reports ? Ranking: 2013: 14/79 (Water Resources); 36/87 (Toxicology); 68/215 (Environmental Sciences)

Online ISSN: 1522-7278

 

Environmental toxicology, also known as entox, is a multidisciplinary field of science concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms. Ecotoxicology is a subdiscipline of environmental toxicology concerned with studying the harmful effects of toxicants at the population and ecosystem levels.

 

Rachel Carson is considered the mother of environmental toxicology, as she made it a distinct field within toxicology in 1962 with the publication of her book Silent Spring, which covered the effects of uncontrolled pesticide use.

 

Organisms can be introduced to toxicants at various stages of their life cycle. The degree of toxicity can vary depending on where the organism is found within its food web. Bioaccumulation occurs when molecular compounds are stored in an organism's fatty tissues. Over time, this leads to the establishment of a trophic cascade and the biomagnification of specific toxicants. Biodegradation releases CO2 and water as by-products into the environment. This process is typically limited in areas affected by environmental toxicants.

 

Harmful effects of chemical and biological agents can include toxicants from pollutants, insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers all of which can impact an organism and its community through shifts in species diversity and abundance. Resulting changes in population dynamics impact the ecosystem by altering its productivity and stability.

 

Legislation has been implemented since the early 1970s to ensure that harmful effects of environmental toxicants are minimized for all species. Unfortunalety, according to McCarty (2013) we are facing the risk of entering in a "dark age" due to longstanding limitations in the implementation of the simple conceptual modes

 

What is Environmental Toxicology?

 

Environmental toxicology is a field of environmental science that studies how exposure to toxic chemicals can directly change the health of individuals or indirectly affect us by disrupting or defiling the content of lakes, oceans, forests, and the atmosphere. Environmental toxicologists also assess the potential risks of substances that may be deemed harmful to people, animals, or other aspects of the environment.

 

The Air We Breathe

 

As an interdisciplinary science studying every aspect of the biosphere, environmental toxicology has focused on the effect of man-made pollutants on our atmosphere for the past 40 years. Since discovering that rates of skin cancer were rising along with evidence that the ozone layer was deteriorating, environmental toxicologists have kept detailed statistics on the increasing amount of pollution in the atmosphere and its detrimental effects on human and animal life. Environmental toxicologists cite evidence of rampant pollution in the erosion caused by acid rain.

 

Aquatic Systems and Excess Nutrients

 

Although we抮e taught we should make sure we get plenty of nutrients in our daily diet, environmental toxicology has found evidence that an excess amount of nutrients in runoff from agricultural fields can devastate an aquatic system. Although phosphorous, carbon and nitrogen are essential to proper growth, too much of them can cause a harmful surplus of plant and microbial growth that can choke and kill ecological systems. This causes eutrophication in lakes and streams, which is usually the reason behind massive fish kills. Environmental toxicologists investigate these kinds of habitat disruptions and advise on how to resolve them.

 

Heavy Metal

 

Since the industrial revolution of more than 150 years ago, consumer and factory waste products, which erode soils and release heavy metals into our natural water supply, have rapidly contaminated our drinking water. Environmental toxicology researches the amount and effects of these metallic elements that are considered high density and toxic to humans in minimal doses. Some of the more common heavy metals are mercury, arsenic, lead, and chromium, which can accumulate in our bodies. Creating substances that can counteract the effects of these metals is another facet of environmental toxicology.

 

DNA Mutations

 

Environmental toxicology encompasses a broad area of the sciences and sometimes overlaps with biotechnology. Research in how environmental toxins can affect DNA structure and produce mutations in both human and animal organisms is another area environmental toxicologists cover. In addition, they also examine detailed aspects regarding the intake, metabolism, and excretion of toxic elements in the air or water. An example of this type of research involves the detrimental consequences on human health resulting from the radioactive fallout following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster.

 

The Big C ? Cancer

 

A major area of research in the field of environmental toxicology involves how toxic elements released into the environment precipitate the emergence of cancers such as leukemia, lung cancer, lymphomas, and melanoma. An environmental toxicologist will investigate the incidences of such cancers and how intensely exposed an individual or groups of people suffering from cancer have been to certain chemicals. Some of these harmful chemicals include pesticides, asbestos, solvents, and herbicides. In addition, environmental toxicologists are often activists who try to lobby for regulations on these chemicals.

 

The creation of chemicals meant to facilitate our lives sometimes backfires. At these times, the field of environmental toxicology steps in to determine these chemicals? effects, what we can expect if we continue to use them, and how we might reduce the harmful effects of such damaging chemicals on ourselves and on our environment.