Chapters authored
Heavy Metals and the Environment
Global environmental contamination is one of the most significant environmental problems in contemporary society. Pollutants are entering the environment from different sources, and on the basis of their physico-chemical properties, they are transported and participate in biochemical cycles in the varied components of the environment, namely in the air, aquatic environment, soil and in rocks or segments. They enter the food chain through which they enter the human body, where they are transformed into either harmless metabolites (detoxification) that are easily excluded or else harmful, reactive products are formed. Heavy metals are one of the most dangerous groups of biologically important pollutants. The burden of the environment puts more significant burden on populations and ecosystems. They form integrant part of the earth’s surface and therefore are present throughout the land. We can utter that contamination of the environment and its consequences for living organisms have long been in forefront of the interest in scientific as well as lay community.
Part of the book: Environmental Factors Affecting Human Health