Main description:

Pollution has no borders. This popular 70’s saying from early ecologists is surprisingly still true nowadays despite overwhelming scientific evidence and public awareness of the occurrence of artificial toxic substances in water, food, air, living organisms and the environment. This book presents advanced reviews on pollutant occurrence, transfer, toxicity and remediation. The chapter on school air quality by Dambruoso et al. highlights the overlooked health issue of airborne pollutants in buildings. Children are particularly threatened because they spend 90% of their time indoors, even in summer. The chapter on industrial wastewater pollutants by Dsikowitzky and Schwarzbauer reviews pollutants from textile, petrochemical, paper, tire, chemical and pharmaceutical plants. The authors describe advanced analytical methods and ecotoxicity tests. Industrial pollutants include dioxins and furans that are also reviewed in the chapter by Mudhoo et al. The chapter on fly ash by Gianoncelli et al. presents many techniques to treat fly ash and, in turn, decrease pollutant concentrations. The authors also explain that fly ash can be recycled in agriculture, buildings and geopolymers. The chapter on antifouling paints used for ship protection, by Sousa et al., highlights the occurrence of toxic organotins in human organs such as heart, liver and breast milk. The chapter on surfactants by Rebello et al. focuses on safety concerns for humans and the ecosystems. Remediation techniques and green surfactants are presented. The chapters on toxic metals by Nava-Ruíz and Méndez-Armenta, Abarikwu and Ristić et al. describe sources, monitoring and diseases induced by lead, mercury, cadmium and thallium. The chapter on carcinogenic nitrosamines by Li et al. presents techniques and materials such as zeolites to remediate liquids and smoke containing nitrosamines.

Feature:

Features chapters on artificial toxic substances in the environment

In particular includes readings on indoor air pollution and health related issues

Looks at pollutants from industrial wastewater from, amongst others, textile and petrochemical plants

Explains how fly ash can be recycled in for instance agriculture and includes techniques to remediate carcinogenic nitrosamines

Contents:

1. School air quality: pollutants, monitoring and toxicity.- 2. Organic contaminants from industrial wastewaters: identification, toxicity and fate in the environment.- 3. Fly ash pollutants, treatment and recycling.- 4. Organotin compounds from snails to humans.- 5. Surfactants: chemistry, toxicity and remediation.- 6. Cadmium, lead, thallium: occurrence, neurotoxicity and histopathological changes of the nervous system.- 7. Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury: occurrence, toxicity and diseases.- 8. Plants as monitors of lead air pollution.- 9. Carcinogenic nitrosamines: remediation by zeolites.- 10. Dioxins and furans: sources, impacts and remediation.