Persistent toxic substances: sources, fates and effects
-
Ming H. Wong
,
Margaret-Ann Armour
Abstract
Persistent toxic substances (PTS) include the Stockholm persistent organic pollutants, like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxin/furan, etc., and organometallic compounds, like organomercury, organotin, and organolead, which all share the same characteristics of being persistent, toxic, bioaccumulative, and able to travel long distances through different media. The adverse health effects of some of the emerging chemicals like pentabromodiphenyl ether, bisphenol A, and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, which are widely used in daily appliances (e.g., TVs, computers, mobile phones, plastic baby bottles), have become a public health concern due to more evidence now available showing their adverse effects like disturbance of the endocrine system and cancer. This article is an attempt to review the current status of PTS in our environment, citing case studies in China and North America, and whether our existing drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment processes are adequate in removing them from water. Some management issues of these emerging chemicals of concern are also discussed.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Special vulnerability of children to environmental exposures
- Improving access to adequate water and basic sanitation services in Indonesia
- A framework for assessing and predicting the environmental health impact of infectious diseases: a case study of leptospirosis
- Nanoparticles in the environment: stability and toxicity
- Nature’s cure for cleanup of contaminated environment – a review of bioremediation strategies
- Arsenic and human health: epidemiologic progress and public health implications
- Direct potable reuse of reclaimed wastewater: it is time for a rational discussion
- Persistent toxic substances: sources, fates and effects
