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Indoor air pollution: Problems and priorities
FdChem. Toxic. Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 149-150, 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd. Printed in Great Britain
Review Section REVIEWS OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS Toxic Substances in Crop Plants. Edited by J. P. F. D'Mello, C. M. Duffus and J. H. Duffus. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1991. £69.50. pp. 339. ISBN 0-85186-863-0.
Developments in plant breeding, agricultural practice, food technology and dietary habits are each a potential source of significant change in our dietary exposure to natural toxicants. This authoritative book is therefore timely and may provide a much needed input to the development of a balanced discussion on the relative risks associated with naturally occurring substances and those arising directly/indirectly from human activity. An overview of the topic in the opening chapter is followed by 11 chapters, each by authors with specialized knowledge of a particular group of toxic substances. These cover the spectrum from intrinsic toxins normally present in crop plants, to those produced in response to stress and those associated with opportunistic invasion of a plant by another organism. It is perhaps surprising to find a chapter on fibrous polysaccharides ('dietary fibre') in this book; excellent though it is, a chapter that concludes that there is no established link between its subject and human disease seems out of place in a book on toxic substances. However, it provides a useful contribution to the food safety debate through consideration of the potential effects of dietary fibre on some trace elements and vitamins. The other chapters cover toxic amino acids, lectins, proteinase inhibitors, antigenic proteins, glucosinolates, alkaloids, condensed tannins, cyanogens, mycotoxins and saponins. In most cases, each chapter considers the chemical structure and methods of analysis for a group of substances, their toxic effects--and where available the biochemical basis for these--their incidence in food crops and the factors that affect their incidence; data on concentrations found in crops are notably absent but sources are usually referenced. From a consumer viewpoint, one might wish to see the section on processing and cooking in the overview chapter developed more fully in the specialized chapters. Wider examples of certain aspects, such as the effect of fermentation time on mineral availability from bread (through the effect of a yeast phytase on metal phytates in flour), or the fact that wholemeal flour contains higher concentrations of some toxins than does white flour, would have been stimulating
for the reader. Equally, whilst it is recognized that plant breeding for pest/disease resistance can increase natural toxins, the fact that breeding of plants for low toxin concentration may prejudice their pest/disease resistance, require greater agrochemical use and hence lead to a greater incidence of residues is one of the practical implications the reader is left to work out for himself. This book provides a good information base from which to identify and explore the implications of natural toxins in the important developments occurring at the agriculture/food interface. Find a place for this book in your budget if you are interested in chemical aspects of food safety, it will be on your desk more often than on the shelf. Incidentally, the statement that all substances are potentially toxic (page 10), though true and well worth repeating, is perhaps more properly attributed to Paracelsus (d. 1541) than to J. H. Duffus (1980). [David J. McWeeny---Consultant]
Indoor Air Pollution: Problems and Priorities. Edited by G. B. Leslie and F. W. Lunau. Cambridge University Press, 1992. £45.00. p. xi+329. ISBN 0521 385105.
This well written and well presented book on the health risks associated with indoor air pollutants is intended for the non-specialist as well as those working in toxicology. The increasing concerns about indoor air pollution are summarized in the introduction by the two editors; improvements in outdoor air quality and the prevalence of centrally heated, air-conditioned workplaces, which incorporate new types of synthetic building materials, expose people, particularly in the developed countries, to a wider range of indoor air pollutants. In developing countries, where there may be less stringent controls on coal burning, and ventilation is achieved through open windows, the quality of outdoor air may influence indoor air pollution. Other natural (e.g. radon) or man-made (e.g. environmental tobacco smoke) factors also need to be considered. Seventeen authors (all but one from the UK) tackle indoor air pollutants in this book. Two chapters--including one devoted to 'Legionnaires disease'--on bacterial and fungal indoor contamination suggest ways of controlling or eliminating these 149
150
Reviews of recent publications--Fd Chem. Toxic. Vol. 31, No. 2
sources of infection. The chemical indoor pollutants surveyed include NOx, mineral fibres, radon, formaldehyde, solvents, pesticides and PCBs, environmental tobacco smoke and pollutants found in an industrial environment. The emphasis in each chapter on chemical indoor pollutants is on a clear description of the problem (sources of exposure, levels found indoors), a critical summary of toxicological data and a conclusion of the likely health risks posed by the pollutant at the low concentrations present indoors. Other topics covered include quantification of the perception of indoor air quality (which introduces the units of indoor air pollution "the olf" and the "decipol"), the ventilation of buildings and the risk from low frequency electromagnetic radiation, and allergic and pulmonary risks from occupational exposure to laboratory animals and vegetable dusts, respectively. [Rupert Purchase--BIBRA]
Laboratory Decontamination and Destruction of Carcinogens in Laboratory Wastes: Some Mycotoxins. Edited by M. Castegnaro, J. Barek, J.-M. Fremy, M. Lafontaine, M. Miraglia, E. B. Sansone and G. M. Telling. IARC Scientific Publications No. 113. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, 1991. £11.00. pp. vii + 63. ISBN 92 832 21133. This monograph is the latest in a series published by IARC and edited by M. Casteguaro and his colleagues on the decontamination and destruction of carcinogenic laboratory waste. It describes the destruction of
selected mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, citrinin, sterigmatocystin and patulin) in solid waste, aqueous waste and organic solutions, and the decontamination of glassware, protective clothing and spillages. A brief summary of the nomenclature, physical and spectral properties and molecular formulae of these four compounds is given as an appendix. The degradative methods for each mycotoxin (oxidative or ammoniation) are clearly described and complemented by details of the HPLC or thin-layer chromatography used to confirm the efficiency of degradation. After decontamination, the waste residues were checked for mutagenic activity. Oxidative degradation of the four mycotoxins by potassium permanganate in acid conditions gave residues that were mutagenic in the Ames test. This mutagenic activity is attributed to the formation of Mn 2+ ions. Degradation by 0.3 MKMnO4 in 2 u-NaOH was a satisfactory alternative, and the end-product (MnO2) was not mutagenic. These observations have led to a revision in the methods for destroying aflatoxins (IARC Scientific Publication No. 37). Alkaline permanganate is suggested as a replacement for potassium permanganatedilute sulphuric acid for the oxidation of aflatoxins AFBI, AFB2, AFGI and A F G 2. This latest book and the complete series on the conversion of carcinogenic waste into (relatively) harmless by-products are required reading for laboratory personnel who handle carcinogens and for staff who provide risk assessments according to the requirements of the UK COSHH regulations and forthcoming EEC health and safety legislation. [Rupert Purchase--BIBRA]
Review Section REVIEWS OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS Toxic Substances in Crop Plants. Edited by J. P. F. D'Mello, C. M. Duffus and J. H. Duffus. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1991. £69.50. pp. 339. ISBN 0-85186-863-0.
Developments in plant breeding, agricultural practice, food technology and dietary habits are each a potential source of significant change in our dietary exposure to natural toxicants. This authoritative book is therefore timely and may provide a much needed input to the development of a balanced discussion on the relative risks associated with naturally occurring substances and those arising directly/indirectly from human activity. An overview of the topic in the opening chapter is followed by 11 chapters, each by authors with specialized knowledge of a particular group of toxic substances. These cover the spectrum from intrinsic toxins normally present in crop plants, to those produced in response to stress and those associated with opportunistic invasion of a plant by another organism. It is perhaps surprising to find a chapter on fibrous polysaccharides ('dietary fibre') in this book; excellent though it is, a chapter that concludes that there is no established link between its subject and human disease seems out of place in a book on toxic substances. However, it provides a useful contribution to the food safety debate through consideration of the potential effects of dietary fibre on some trace elements and vitamins. The other chapters cover toxic amino acids, lectins, proteinase inhibitors, antigenic proteins, glucosinolates, alkaloids, condensed tannins, cyanogens, mycotoxins and saponins. In most cases, each chapter considers the chemical structure and methods of analysis for a group of substances, their toxic effects--and where available the biochemical basis for these--their incidence in food crops and the factors that affect their incidence; data on concentrations found in crops are notably absent but sources are usually referenced. From a consumer viewpoint, one might wish to see the section on processing and cooking in the overview chapter developed more fully in the specialized chapters. Wider examples of certain aspects, such as the effect of fermentation time on mineral availability from bread (through the effect of a yeast phytase on metal phytates in flour), or the fact that wholemeal flour contains higher concentrations of some toxins than does white flour, would have been stimulating
for the reader. Equally, whilst it is recognized that plant breeding for pest/disease resistance can increase natural toxins, the fact that breeding of plants for low toxin concentration may prejudice their pest/disease resistance, require greater agrochemical use and hence lead to a greater incidence of residues is one of the practical implications the reader is left to work out for himself. This book provides a good information base from which to identify and explore the implications of natural toxins in the important developments occurring at the agriculture/food interface. Find a place for this book in your budget if you are interested in chemical aspects of food safety, it will be on your desk more often than on the shelf. Incidentally, the statement that all substances are potentially toxic (page 10), though true and well worth repeating, is perhaps more properly attributed to Paracelsus (d. 1541) than to J. H. Duffus (1980). [David J. McWeeny---Consultant]
Indoor Air Pollution: Problems and Priorities. Edited by G. B. Leslie and F. W. Lunau. Cambridge University Press, 1992. £45.00. p. xi+329. ISBN 0521 385105.
This well written and well presented book on the health risks associated with indoor air pollutants is intended for the non-specialist as well as those working in toxicology. The increasing concerns about indoor air pollution are summarized in the introduction by the two editors; improvements in outdoor air quality and the prevalence of centrally heated, air-conditioned workplaces, which incorporate new types of synthetic building materials, expose people, particularly in the developed countries, to a wider range of indoor air pollutants. In developing countries, where there may be less stringent controls on coal burning, and ventilation is achieved through open windows, the quality of outdoor air may influence indoor air pollution. Other natural (e.g. radon) or man-made (e.g. environmental tobacco smoke) factors also need to be considered. Seventeen authors (all but one from the UK) tackle indoor air pollutants in this book. Two chapters--including one devoted to 'Legionnaires disease'--on bacterial and fungal indoor contamination suggest ways of controlling or eliminating these 149
150
Reviews of recent publications--Fd Chem. Toxic. Vol. 31, No. 2
sources of infection. The chemical indoor pollutants surveyed include NOx, mineral fibres, radon, formaldehyde, solvents, pesticides and PCBs, environmental tobacco smoke and pollutants found in an industrial environment. The emphasis in each chapter on chemical indoor pollutants is on a clear description of the problem (sources of exposure, levels found indoors), a critical summary of toxicological data and a conclusion of the likely health risks posed by the pollutant at the low concentrations present indoors. Other topics covered include quantification of the perception of indoor air quality (which introduces the units of indoor air pollution "the olf" and the "decipol"), the ventilation of buildings and the risk from low frequency electromagnetic radiation, and allergic and pulmonary risks from occupational exposure to laboratory animals and vegetable dusts, respectively. [Rupert Purchase--BIBRA]
Laboratory Decontamination and Destruction of Carcinogens in Laboratory Wastes: Some Mycotoxins. Edited by M. Castegnaro, J. Barek, J.-M. Fremy, M. Lafontaine, M. Miraglia, E. B. Sansone and G. M. Telling. IARC Scientific Publications No. 113. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, 1991. £11.00. pp. vii + 63. ISBN 92 832 21133. This monograph is the latest in a series published by IARC and edited by M. Casteguaro and his colleagues on the decontamination and destruction of carcinogenic laboratory waste. It describes the destruction of
selected mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, citrinin, sterigmatocystin and patulin) in solid waste, aqueous waste and organic solutions, and the decontamination of glassware, protective clothing and spillages. A brief summary of the nomenclature, physical and spectral properties and molecular formulae of these four compounds is given as an appendix. The degradative methods for each mycotoxin (oxidative or ammoniation) are clearly described and complemented by details of the HPLC or thin-layer chromatography used to confirm the efficiency of degradation. After decontamination, the waste residues were checked for mutagenic activity. Oxidative degradation of the four mycotoxins by potassium permanganate in acid conditions gave residues that were mutagenic in the Ames test. This mutagenic activity is attributed to the formation of Mn 2+ ions. Degradation by 0.3 MKMnO4 in 2 u-NaOH was a satisfactory alternative, and the end-product (MnO2) was not mutagenic. These observations have led to a revision in the methods for destroying aflatoxins (IARC Scientific Publication No. 37). Alkaline permanganate is suggested as a replacement for potassium permanganatedilute sulphuric acid for the oxidation of aflatoxins AFBI, AFB2, AFGI and A F G 2. This latest book and the complete series on the conversion of carcinogenic waste into (relatively) harmless by-products are required reading for laboratory personnel who handle carcinogens and for staff who provide risk assessments according to the requirements of the UK COSHH regulations and forthcoming EEC health and safety legislation. [Rupert Purchase--BIBRA]