Climate Change and Chemicals – Environmental & Biological Aspects

The book Climate Change and Chemicals - Environmental and Biological Aspects has addressed the two key environmental issues : climate change and chemical impacts on human health, environment and agricultural production with reference to chemistry, Ecotoxicology, toxicology, and biology. The book reviewed and summarised research results and information from both developed and developing countries including Asia-Pacific, Australasia and other parts of the world. Part-1 of the book Climate Change Impacts provides an account of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) and its relationships with climate change and likely impacts on water resources, agriculture and livestock, fisheries and aquatic ecosystems and human health. The key data and information provided in Part-1 are as follows: Climate change and greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide emissions from different countries of the world; measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including key mitigation technologies; and projections for future climate changes (temperatures and sea levels; precipitation; glaciers and cyclones) and Kyoto protocol and Copenhagen Accord (COP 15). Water resources: World freshwater resources and projections for future climate change impacts on water resources (surface waters; floods and droughts; ground water; water quality; snows and glaciers melting; sea level rise; shared water resources) and adaptation measures. Agriculture and livestock : Future worlds agricultural and livestock production relating to climate changes (enhanced CO2 effect on C3 and C4 plants/crops; effects of higher temperature; precipitation, water availability, irrigation; extreme events and climate variability; sea level rise; and pests and diseases) and adaptation measures. Fisheries and aquatic ecosystems : Effects of climate change on world fisheries and aquaculture production and projected impacts on freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems (rising temperatures, dissolved oxygen and hypoxia; toxicological effects of contaminants; rising CO2 and acidification of oceans; rising temperatures and fish growth and fish recruitment) and adaptation measures. Human health : Observed climate change related health effects in the world; Projected impacts of climate change on human health (heat waves; ultra violet radiation; floods and storms; drought; forest fire; El Niño; diseases malaria, dengue, cholera; food poisoning and aeroallergens) and adaptation measures. Part-2 of the book Chemical Impacts highlights the impact of arsenic, heavy metals, pesticides, dioxins, endocrine disrupting chemicals, pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary drugs) and freshwater and marine biotoxins. The key data and information provided in Part-2 are as follows: Arsenic (As) : Arsenic contamination in the global environment; arsenic speciation; environmental and biological impacts (toxicity of arsenic to biota, plants and human; environmental and food safety guidelines for arsenic) and arsenic contamination in Bangladesh. Heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Zn) :- Physico-chemical properties; speciation; bio-availability and bio-uptake, environmental and biological impacts (bio-accumulation; toxicity on aquatic organisms and human health; water and food quality guidelines), global trends in heavy metals in road dusts. Pesticides : insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, their chemical classes, and chemical properties (half-life, water solubility, Koc, Log Kow, pKa), pesticide usage in Asia, Australia and in the world, physico-chemical properties (bio-accumulation; persistence; mobility; mode of action), environmental and biological impacts (toxicity and ecotoxicity for mammals, birds, fish, daphnia, algae and bees), effects on biota and human health, pesticides residue in human breast milk from developed and developing countries. Dioxins (PCDDs), furans (PCDFs) and PCBs : Physico-chemical properties (persistence; bio-accumulation; mode of action; toxicity and toxic equivalent factors for mammals, birds and fish), environmental and biological impacts (global environmental concentrations in the air, soil, sediments, vegetation, food, human women milk; effects on biota and human health; guidelines), dioxins related compounds in the Asia-Pacific and Australia region (e-waste recycling sites, human breast milk and agriculture produce). Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) : (Estrone; 17b-estradiol; 17a-ethynylestradiol; estriol; nonylphenol; octylphenol; bisphenol-A; phthalates; tributyltin) - physico-chemical properties and fate and transport; environmental and biological impacts (EDCs in worlds environment surface waters, sediments, groundwater, rainwater, biota, drinking water; ecotoxicity and toxicity of EDCs; ; effects on biota and humans health; drinking and water quality guidelines), endocrine disrupting chemicals in Asian mussels, USA streams and Australian rural environment. Pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary) : Classification; usage; physico-chemical properties (fate; persistence; excretion), environmental risk assessment; environmental and biological impacts (concentrations in worlds environmental waters WWTPs, surface waters, groundwater, and drinking water); ecotoxciological effects on biota; effects on human health; environmental water quality guideline and management of pharmaceuticals in the environment. Biotoxins (freshwater and marine) : freshwater biotoxins (anatoxin-a; anatoxin-a(s); saxitoxins; microcystins; nodularins; cylindrospermopsin): conditions for algal blooms; cyanobacteria species; physico-chemical characteristics of cyanotoxins (chemical nature; persistence and degradation), environmental and biological impacts (cyantoxins from surface waters of the world; bio-accumulation; effects of cyanotoxins on terrestrial plants, biota, drinking water, mammals and human; species causing off-flavour compounds; regulations and guidelines for cyanotoxins); marine biotoxins: amnesic shellfish poisoning (domoic acid); diarrhetic shell fish poisoning(okadaic acid); neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (brevitoxins); paralytic shellfish poisoning (saxitoxins); ciguatera fish poisoning (ciguatoxins), toxic marine algal species; chemical nature; toxicity to aquatic organisms and human; cases and outbreak in the world; preventive measures and regulatory limits of marine biotoxins. The book would be beneficial to academic and research institutes and university students (under-graduates and post-graduates), agriculturists, bio-medical scientists, chemists, chemical/hydro-engineers, ecotoxicologists, environmental scientists, fisheries biologists, health professionals, hydro-geologists, water and public health scientists, and government planners, regulators and environmental campaigners.

Golam Kibria, Ph.D (Australia): Senior Environmental Scientist, Goulburn Murray Rural Water Authority, Victoria, Australia,

A. K. Yousuf Haroon, Dr. Sci. (Norway),National Adviser, Strengthening Institutional Capacity of DoF Project, DoF- Danida, Dhaka, Bangladesh,

Dayanthi Nugegoda, Ph.D (U.K),Professor of Ecotoxicology, RMIT University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia,

Gavin Rose B.A (Hons) (Australia), Senior Research Scientist, Future Farming Systems Research Division, DPI, Werribee, Victoria, Australia