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Trace Metals in the Environment
BOOK REVIEWS
Smith, I.C. and Carson, B.L., Trace Metals in the Environment, 1977, Vol. I. Thallium. Vol. II. Silver, Ann Arbor Science U.S.A. Price in U.K. £15. Each of these volumes contains an impressive amount of data, conveniently segregated under such headings as distribution, uses, chemistry, environmental loss and physiological effects. This last term should surely have been "biological effects". Such headings and appropriate sub-headings in the content pages are a useful way of finding data; also each volume has an index. Although the quantity of data is impressive, some of it seems more directly useful to government planners attempting to forecast national industrial requirements rather than as a means for assessing the biological impact of the elements. Also, the detailed description of the techniques of industrial processes by which the metals are extracted, including flow charts seem at best to have a peripheral bearing on exposure levels. For those interested primarily in the potential toxicity of the metals, the sections on "physiological effects" may be the first port of call. In the case of silver, one finds that human hazzard is virtually non-existant, whilst it has a high degree of toxicity for micro-organisms and some aquatic species, for which critical exposure levels are reasonably well known. The evidence for this is given in 50 pages, the other 350 pages being devoted to data and comment on other aspects of silver. For Thallium, the biological effects section comprises nearly 50% of the book, which properly reflects the high level of toxicity of many Thallium compounds to man. In this case, the data on other aspects of this metal seem to be more relevant. Overall, these volumes cannot fail to impress, by the amount of contained information and should be valued as reference books by all who have an interest in the subject, be it industrial, biological, legislative, geological etc. Fouts, J.R. and Gut, I. 1978, Industrial and Environmental Xenobiotics. In vitro versus in vivo biotransformation and toxicity. Proceedings of an International Conference held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 13--15 September, 1977. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp.xvii--345. $57.00. This is a synopsis of the meeting held in Prague in September 1977. It is an example of how the publishing world is trying to make the proceedings of meetings available within months, rather than in one to two years. It contains a two to four page precis of each of the eighty or so papers given. All are in English, and the provision of a subject and author index greatly enhance its utility. Of particular interest are the contributions (in English) from eastern European countries, from which information is often less readily available due to the practice of publication in journals of the USSR. The contents are in no way a catalogue of compounds for which some
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metabolic data is presented. The central question of the extent to which in vitro studies reflect the in vivo situation has been given careful consideration by some contributors, a point which Fouts in his concluding remarks. emphasized. Such comparisons require more basic studies than routine metabolite identification. Indeed, some papers dealing with enzyme kinetics, experimental techniques and pharmacokinetics could have been published in journals devoted to the more basic sciences, as they would have been before the emergency of Toxicology in the past twenty years. Compounds used in the various investigations are in general those which present problems, not only in toxicology but also in the general fields of safety at work, environmental control, drug therapy, insecticide usage and consumer products. The fact that many of these compounds are used as models for investigating the relationships between in vitro and in vivo activity does not exclude the value of much of the data generated to more pragmatic problems of applied toxicology. A quick thumb through of the volume leaves one with an impression of amateur printing, due to the reproduction of the individual typewritten contributions. But this is a matter of pure aesthetic judgement. Whatever the typeface presented to the publishers, the clarity of reproduction is beyond reproach. The volume is of prime interest to those engaged in the more basic toxicological investigations, but for those concerned with routine toxicology, the interpretation of toxicological data, and industrial health it will be of considerable value.
100
Smith, I.C. and Carson, B.L., Trace Metals in the Environment, 1977, Vol. I. Thallium. Vol. II. Silver, Ann Arbor Science U.S.A. Price in U.K. £15. Each of these volumes contains an impressive amount of data, conveniently segregated under such headings as distribution, uses, chemistry, environmental loss and physiological effects. This last term should surely have been "biological effects". Such headings and appropriate sub-headings in the content pages are a useful way of finding data; also each volume has an index. Although the quantity of data is impressive, some of it seems more directly useful to government planners attempting to forecast national industrial requirements rather than as a means for assessing the biological impact of the elements. Also, the detailed description of the techniques of industrial processes by which the metals are extracted, including flow charts seem at best to have a peripheral bearing on exposure levels. For those interested primarily in the potential toxicity of the metals, the sections on "physiological effects" may be the first port of call. In the case of silver, one finds that human hazzard is virtually non-existant, whilst it has a high degree of toxicity for micro-organisms and some aquatic species, for which critical exposure levels are reasonably well known. The evidence for this is given in 50 pages, the other 350 pages being devoted to data and comment on other aspects of silver. For Thallium, the biological effects section comprises nearly 50% of the book, which properly reflects the high level of toxicity of many Thallium compounds to man. In this case, the data on other aspects of this metal seem to be more relevant. Overall, these volumes cannot fail to impress, by the amount of contained information and should be valued as reference books by all who have an interest in the subject, be it industrial, biological, legislative, geological etc. Fouts, J.R. and Gut, I. 1978, Industrial and Environmental Xenobiotics. In vitro versus in vivo biotransformation and toxicity. Proceedings of an International Conference held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 13--15 September, 1977. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp.xvii--345. $57.00. This is a synopsis of the meeting held in Prague in September 1977. It is an example of how the publishing world is trying to make the proceedings of meetings available within months, rather than in one to two years. It contains a two to four page precis of each of the eighty or so papers given. All are in English, and the provision of a subject and author index greatly enhance its utility. Of particular interest are the contributions (in English) from eastern European countries, from which information is often less readily available due to the practice of publication in journals of the USSR. The contents are in no way a catalogue of compounds for which some
99
metabolic data is presented. The central question of the extent to which in vitro studies reflect the in vivo situation has been given careful consideration by some contributors, a point which Fouts in his concluding remarks. emphasized. Such comparisons require more basic studies than routine metabolite identification. Indeed, some papers dealing with enzyme kinetics, experimental techniques and pharmacokinetics could have been published in journals devoted to the more basic sciences, as they would have been before the emergency of Toxicology in the past twenty years. Compounds used in the various investigations are in general those which present problems, not only in toxicology but also in the general fields of safety at work, environmental control, drug therapy, insecticide usage and consumer products. The fact that many of these compounds are used as models for investigating the relationships between in vitro and in vivo activity does not exclude the value of much of the data generated to more pragmatic problems of applied toxicology. A quick thumb through of the volume leaves one with an impression of amateur printing, due to the reproduction of the individual typewritten contributions. But this is a matter of pure aesthetic judgement. Whatever the typeface presented to the publishers, the clarity of reproduction is beyond reproach. The volume is of prime interest to those engaged in the more basic toxicological investigations, but for those concerned with routine toxicology, the interpretation of toxicological data, and industrial health it will be of considerable value.
100