Pollution has no borders. This popular 70's saying from early ecologists
is surprisingly still true nowadays despite overwhelming scientific
evidence and public awareness of the occurrence of artificial toxic
substances in water, food, air, living organisms and the environment.
This book presents advanced reviews on pollutant occurrence, transfer,
toxicity and remediation. The chapter on school air quality by Dambruoso
et al. highlights the overlooked health issue of airborne pollutants in
buildings. Children are particularly threatened because they spend 90%
of their time indoors, even in summer. The chapter on industrial
wastewater pollutants by Dsikowitzky and Schwarzbauer reviews pollutants
from textile, petrochemical, paper, tire, chemical and pharmaceutical
plants. The authors describe advanced analytical methods and ecotoxicity
tests. Industrial pollutants include dioxins and furans that are also
reviewed in the chapter by Mudhoo et al. The chapter on fly ash by
Gianoncelli et al. presents many techniques to treat fly ash and, in
turn, decrease pollutant concentrations. The authors also explain that
fly ash can be recycled in agriculture, buildings and geopolymers. The
chapter on antifouling paints used for ship protection, by Sousa et al.,
highlights the occurrence of toxic organotins in human organs such as
heart, liver and breast milk. The chapter on surfactants by Rebello et
al. focuses on safety concerns for humans and the ecosystems.
Remediation techniques and green surfactants are presented. The chapters
on toxic metals by Nava-Ruíz and Méndez-Armenta, Abarikwu and Ristic et
al. describe sources, monitoring and diseases induced by lead, mercury,
cadmium and thallium. The chapter on carcinogenic nitrosamines by Li et
al. presents techniques and materials such as zeolites to remediate
liquids and smoke containing nitrosamines.
