As society has become increasingly aware of the potential threats to human health due to exposures to toxic chemicals in the environment and the workplace and in consumer products, it has placed increased demands upon the still-fledgling science of toxicology. As is often the case when science is called upon to supply firm answers when pertinent information and fundamental knowledge are lack ing, both the scientific and the social issues become confused and new tensions develop. One of the major purposes of this book is to focus on those aspects of the science of toxicology that pertain most to social issues-namely, analysis of risk for purposes of human health protection. Although it is apparent that the discipline of toxicology is not yet prepared to provide firm answers to many questions concerning human risk, it is important that the rigorously derived information be used in the most objective and logical way to yield the closest approximation to the truth. This book is designed to sup ply as much guidance for such tasks as is permitted by the current state of our knowledge. Its emphasis is thus placed on interpretation of toxicity data (broadly defined) for assessing risks to human health. In this way, it differs from other basic toxicology texts, most of which emphasize methods for performing studies or describe various toxicological endpoints and classes of toxic agents."

Safeguarding economic prosperity, whilst protecting human health and the environment, is at the forefront of scientific and public interest. This book provides a practical and balanced view on toxicology, control, risk assessment and risk management, addressing the interplay between science and public health policy. This fully revised and updated new edition provides a detailed analysis on chemical and by-product exposure, how they enter the body and the suitability of imposed safety limits. New chapters on dose, with particular emphasis on children and vulnerable subpopulations, reproductive and developmental toxicants and toxicity testing are included. With updated and comprehensive coverage of international developments of risk management and safety, this will have broad appeal to researchers and professionals involved in chemical safety and regulation as well as the general reader interested in environmental pollution and public health.

Safeguarding economic prosperity, whilst protecting human health and the environment, is at the forefront of scientific and public interest. This book provides a practical and balanced view on toxicology, control, risk assessment and risk management, addressing the interplay between science and public health policy. This fully revised and updated new edition provides a detailed analysis on chemical and by-product exposure, how they enter the body and the suitability of imposed safety limits. New chapters on dose, with particular emphasis on children and vulnerable subpopulations, reproductive and developmental toxicants and toxicity testing are included. With updated and comprehensive coverage of international developments of risk management and safety, this will have broad appeal to researchers and professionals involved in chemical safety and regulation as well as the general reader interested in environmental pollution and public health.

After a long career in science, which has involved a great deal of science writing for general audiences, Joseph V. Rodricks has turned out a powerful work of fiction. OFF TELEGRAPH takes the reader into a working laboratory and into the minds of working scientists. It also offers the reader a suspenseful story of deception and psychological disintegration, and of a brilliant young scientist's struggle to hold on to his ideals. PFAFFIDINE - a complex molecule from an exotic plant, with good potential as an anti-cancer drug. Will Getz's research project involves finding a way to synthesize pfaffidine in the lab. After many failed attempts to complete the synthesis, Will, in a moment of weakness, devises a way to fake it. He is sure his fraudulent act cannot be uncovered, but its consequences soon began to emerge in unexpected ways. Will's attempts to recover his integrity follow a twisted and tension filled path to a heart-wrenching climax. Will's painful story plays out in the 1960s in Berkeley, California, center stage for the social and political turmoil of that era. His life intersects with those of many other extraordinary characters who in different ways, some truly insane, hope to remake the world. Among these are the two highly intelligent women in Will's life- the ambitious and sensuous Elaine and the passionate but sensitive Gina -who try to help Will defeat his demons, and by doing so uncover new truths about their own lives. This is a passionate and suspenseful novel that masterfully and intelligently explores the unclear boundaries between science and competing world views, and does so at a very human level. "As tight and daring a plot as one could imagine -- it should not be missed." Robert Harris, Princeton University