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Environmental Toxicology - Introduction and History

Environmental Toxicology

Introduction and History

Course Objectives

•          Elucidate basic principles of toxicology as they apply to both ecological and physiological systems

•          Evaluate sources, effects, and fates of toxins in individual components of ecosystems

•          Promote understanding of how toxic effects are integrated within ecosystems and on a global scale

•          Increase knowledge of current issues in environmental toxicology

Why teach Environmental Toxicology?

•          A relatively new science that grew out of two phenomena
1.       Dramatic presence of human species on the landscape
2.       Awareness of environmental degradation (either real or potential) the importance of a healthy environment in maintaining the quality of life




Ecology vs  Toxicology vs  Environmental Toxicology

•          Definitions

Ecology – the study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and the environment

Toxicology – study of biological effects of toxins

Environmental toxicology

•          Truhart, 1969 -  study of adverse effexcts of chemicals and physical agents on living organisms

•          Duffus, 1980 – study of effects of toxic substances in both natural and human-created environments

•          Moriarity, 1985 – study of the fate and effects of toxic compounds on ecosystems

•          Calow, 1993 – protection of ecological systems from adverse effects by synthetic chemicals

•          Landis and Yu - ?

Environmental toxicology: an interdisciplinary science

•          Encompasses multiple disciplines
–        Ecologists
–        Chemists
–        Molecular biologists
–        Geneticists
–        Pharmacologists
–        Mathematical modelers and statisticians

Happens because fundamental interaction of toxicants is at the molecular level but effects occur across multiple biological and physical scales  (see Fig. 1.1)




History of Environmental Toxicology

•          A relatively new discipline

–        2006 = 30th annual symposium of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) and 27th meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists (SETAC)

–        Initial science directed at efficacy testing of pesticides in 1940’sà moved thru cleanup of burning rivers, polluted lakes and wildlife kills of 1960’s à environmental risk and life cycle assessments of recently developed compounds



Environmental Science is driven by protective legislation

  1. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
  2. Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA)
  3. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and  Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
  4. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, Superfund)
  5. Clean Water Act (CWA) 1974
  6. Clean Air Act (CAA) – last amended in 1990
Note: can often have overlap of regulations with different standards   Ex. EPA reg. for Hg in wild fish is 10X less than that allowed by FDA in supermarket fish

Areas interacting within environmental toxicology

•          Scientific community (academia)

•          Governmental agencies

•          Industry

•          General Public

Scientific community (academia)

–        Intellectual and industrial force driving environmental research

–        Mostly financed by governmental grants

–        Dissemination of information by peer-reviewed publication, symposia and conferences, workshops

–        Most work accomplished by graduate students (Thank you, graduate students!)

Governmental agencies

•          Includes federal, state, provincial (Canada!) and municipal agencies

•          Mostly act as developers and enforcers of policy

•          Prime examples - US EPA, AR DEQ, AR G&F

•          Also includes

–        FWS

–        ACE

–        NMFS

–        USCG

•          Lots of jobs paying decent $

Industry

•          Generally includes businesses that mine, manufacture, transport, or use chemicals

•          Most environmental regulations designed to control above

•          Industry has to test for toxicity, determine levels of chemicals, design treatment systems

•          Often use environmental consulting firms or in-house environmental staff

•          Fewer jobs but they can often pay ridiculous amounts of $

General Public

•          Per Landis includes NGOs

–        Citizen’s groups

–        Rotary, Kiwanis

–        Unions

–        Environmental advocacy groups
•          Sierra Club
•          Audubon Society
•          World Wildlife Fund
•          Defenders of the Environment
•          Etc

•          Primary avenues of action
–        Informing layperson’s
–        Lobbying legislators

–         ?
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