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Book review

Handbook on the toxicology of metals, Gunnar F. Nordberg,Bruce A. Fowler, Monica Nordberg, Lars T. Friberg (Eds.),third edition, Academic Press(2007), ISBN: 978-012-369413-3,992 pp, $ 299.95 (hardcover)

Since the second edition of the handbook appeared in 1986,this third edition contains an updating and inclusion of novelelements relating to new technology. Also chapters dealingwith recent progress in medical sciences, like immunotox-icology of metals, have been included. Development of ana-

S C I E N C E O F T H E T O T A L E N V I R O N M E N T 3 9 1 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 1 6 8

ava i l ab l e a t www.sc i enced i rec t . com

www.e l sev i e r. com/ loca te / sc i to tenvThehandbook is aweighty collection of 47 essays in the fields oftoxicology and ecology of metals, reflecting a wide range ofspecialist knowledge from authors of several parts of theworld.It promotes awareness of health threats of the general public aswell as of professionals in various occupations, constituting avaluable reference source for physicians, toxicologists, scien-tists in several areas, legislators and managers of environmen-tal and occupational safety organizations.

The scope of the handbook is wide and multidisciplinary,integrating human and environmental ecology. In generalterms the handbook accounts for metal flow and life cycleassessment in the whole ecosystem, thus allowing us tofollow an element from production to distribution in theecosystems and accumulation in the human body, linked tohuman health and welfare. Special emphasis has beendirected to toxic effects of metals, dealing with diagnosis,treatment and prevention of poisoning. The handbook intro-duces to the reader general chemical concepts of the 31elements and their compounds.

Examples of topics covered are: chemical state, analyticalmethods, biological monitoring and biomarkers, routes ofuptake, elimination patterns, doseresponse relationships,metabolism in the human body, metal interactions, riskassessment, mechanisms of metal toxicity and carcinogenityat the molecular level, geneenvironment interactions as wellas adequate daily intake of elements.doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.11.010lytical techniques has progressed fast during last decades,allowing a large number of samples to be analyzed rapidlywith a high degree of sensitivity and precision, opening a newworld in the understanding of biological processes, which hasfurther been highlighted in the handbook.

Exposure conditions in various working environmentshave been drastically changed during a few decades in severalcountries, moving workers from traditionally dirty factorywork to highly automated work often linked to computersand robots, while the exposure conditions have been changedto low level exposure of agents of often limited knowledgerelated to health impact. The handbook serves as a valuabletool to elucidate such structural transitions, identifying futuretrends to protect mankind and his environment.

It is desireable that the handbook will find its way to manybookshelves at hospitals, industrial and governmental librariesand several research institutes in every part of the world.

Dag BruneBakkehaugveien 16, 0873 Oslo, NorwayE-mail address: dagbrune@online.no.

31 October 2007

Book review