Concepts in Toxicology

J H Duffus (BSc, PhD, DSc, CChem, FRSC, CSci, CBiol) is Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Toxicology. He has acted as a consultant to the International Programme on Chemical Safety, the World Health Organization and the European Commission as well as to various industrial bodies and law firms. Dr Duffus is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Environment, Health, and Safety Committee and Chair of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Subcommittee on Toxicology and Risk Assessment. (IUPAC). As well as being included in the Institute of Biology Register of Environmental Biologists and UK Register of Expert Witnesses, he is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a member of numerous scholarly societies. He has also contributed to many scientific publications in chemistry, biochemistry and toxicology. Monica Nordberg is a Professor in the Institute Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. She has acted as a consultant to the International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Indian Medical Research Council and US National Academy of Science. Professor Nordberg is also Chair of the Scientific Committee on the Toxicology of Metals (International Commission on Occupational Health), Swedish Representative of the EU Strategy on Environment and Health, Technical Working Group on Indicators and Priority Diseases and project leader on several IUPAC initiatives. She is a member of several academic societies, the editorial boards of a number of learned journals and has contributed to numerous books and journals in the field. Douglas M. Templeton is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto He is President of IUPAC division VII (Chemistry and Human Health), Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee of the Thalassemia Foundation of Canada, Past Chair of the Pharmacology and Toxicology Grants Panel of the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Toxicology has never been more important. Advances in chemistry and technology, offering improvements in the quality of human life, have become ever more rapid, bringing with them the need for appropriate management to ensure that the benefits of new substances are not accompanied by problems of toxicity. Safe use of chemicals requires a common understanding of scientific terminology and of its usage, between scientists in related disciplines, between scientists and regulators, and between regulators and the public, at both national and international level. Concepts in Toxicology is a one-stop reference for all those who now need to understand the fundamental toxicological concepts that underlie both the scientific development of the subject and its practical application in regulation and management of chemical safety. These concepts are often taken for granted by practitioners and the inherent assumptions are left unstated. This book provides full explanations of the meaning and use of toxicological terms chosen for their frequent occurrence in the literature and their importance in merging chemistry and toxicology. Concepts in Toxicology reflects current scientific knowledge and is designed to provide a readily available aid in responding to new demands from regulators for risk assessment and for the implementation of appropriate risk management to protect human health and the natural environment. Concepts in Toxicology should be an essential reference for anyone working in toxicology, chemicals management, or the implementation of legislation such as the new REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation now being implemented throughout the European Union. It will also help those concerned with the development of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) that may eventually supersede REACH. The authors have written a text designed to be a guide to concepts in toxicology that are fundamental both to where the subject is today and where it is going tomorrow.

Chapter 1: Concept Group 1. Concepts Applying to All Levels of Toxicology; Chapter 2: Concept Group 2. Concepts Applying to Molecular and Cellular Toxicology; Chapter 3: Concept Group 3. Concepts Applying to Whole Organism Toxicology; Chapter 4: Concept Group 4. Concepts Applying to Environmental Toxicology; Subject Index