Abstract
Priorities in environmental research and management change. Ten years ago, we were largely concerned with eutrophication and warm water discharges into rivers. Although most scientists and managers were aware of the symptoms of poisoning by mercury, cadmium, and organo-chlorines, chemical disease was an area that the majority of environmentalists did not study. Consequently, there has been a surprising number of cases involving the exposure of humans and other organisms to chemicals. Some of the most significant examples include the Love Canal and Michigan incidents (Smith, 1980) and the closure of commercial fisheries in the lower Great Lakes. In retrospect, eutrophication and warm water do not seem that important, and it is easy to suggest that research money should have been spent in other areas.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Franklin, M.R. 1976. Methylene dioxyphenyl insecticide synergists as potential human health hazards. Environmental Health Perspectives 14:29–37.
Gori, G.B. 1980. The regulation of carcinogenic hazards. Science 208:256–261.
Hawkes, C.L., and L.A. Norris. 1977. Chronic oral toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) to rainbow trout. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 106:641–645.
Kouri, R.E., R.A. Salerno, and C.E. Whitmire. 1973. Relationships between aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase inducibility and sensitivity to chemically induced subcutaneous sarcomas in various strains of mice. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 50:263–268.
Miller, R.A., L.A. Norris, and B.R. Loper. 1979. The response of coho salmon and guppies to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in water. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 108:401–407.
Smith, R.J. 1980. Swifter action sought on food contamination. Science 207:163.
Wallace, D. 1979. TCDD in the environment. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 108:103–109.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Moore, J.W., Ramamoorthy, S. (1984). Introduction. In: Organic Chemicals in Natural Waters. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9538-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9538-6_1
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-9540-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-9538-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive