Arsenic in the Environment, Part 1

JEROME O. NRIAGU is a professor in the Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, School of Public Health, the University of Michigan, and an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo. For many years he was a research scientist with the National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario. He is the editor of the Wiley Series in Advances in Environmental Science and Technology and has edited, among many other volumes, Nickel and Human Health, Food Contamination from Environmental Sources, Gaseous Pollutants, and Aquatic Toxicology. Dr. Nriagu received BSc and DSc degrees from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, an MS from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD in geochemistry from the University of Toronto. He has published extensively in leading geochemical and environmental science journals and has received a number of awards for his work. lie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Far from unusual, arsenic exposure is actually a common occurrence, a natural consequence of eating poultry or seafood, using an insecticide, or handling treated plywood. The ubiquitousness of arsenic, particularly in minute quantities, is a fact of modern life that has few professionals concerned. Yet arsenic poisoning resulting from high-dose exposure is a real, everpresent health problem, second only to lead poisoning. Arsenic in the Environment is a two-volume work that presents the most complete and up-to-date investigation of arsenic available. Part I covers cycling and characterization. Part II: Human Health and Ecosystem Effects examines the complex and potentially deadly chemistry of arsenic and reveals its effect on human health and the surrounding ecosystem. Beginning with a clear, detailed chemical analysis of arsenic as well as its biochemical effects, the book proceeds to examine, through contributions from some of the world's leading researchers, new and unexplored aspects of the legendary toxin:

Partial table of contents: Arsenic: Historical Perspectives (J. Azcue & J. Nriagu). Arsenic Distribution in Soils (H. Yan-Chu). Arsenic Mobilization and Bioavailability in Soils (D. Bhumbla & R. Keefer). Mobilization of Arsenic in Contaminated River Waters (W. Mok & C. Wai). Removal of Arsenic in Drinking Water Treatment (M. Jekel). Biotransformation of Arsenic in the Freshwater Environment (S. Maeda). The Chemical Forms of Arsenic in Aquatic Organisms and Their Interrelationships (D. Phillips). Arsenic in Several Chinese Estuaries and Coastal Seas (L. Xiankun, et al.). Arsenic in Vegetation of Wetlands (M. Otte & W. Ernst). Arsenic Minerals Formed at Low Temperatures (F. Schaufelberger). Index.