PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CONTAMINATION (PART I)

Table of Contents

1. Index
2. UNIT 1 - General principles
3. UNIT 2 - Main sources of environmental contamination
4. UNIT 3 - Air Pollution
5. Unit 4 - Water and soil Pollution
6. Glossary of key terms associated with environmental toxicology

Index

There is increasing public concern over matters of human health and environmental quality. Today, it is common to read in daily newspapers reports about health problems that may be associated with exposure to environmental chemicals. However, few readers have sufficient background to understand the issue in detail. Toxicology, the study of adverse effects of chemical contaminants on living systems, forms the basis of our ability to predict and prevent adverse effects to human health and the environment. Without an understanding of the basic principles of toxicology, one cannot make a fully informed decision about the true risks and benefits of anthropogenic and natural chemicals. This course will provide a broad overview of environmental toxicology and contamination, a multidisciplinary field concerned with the movement of contaminants and their metabolites in the environment and in food chains and the effect of such compounds on living organisms.

This course will be delivered in order to address the needs of students at different education levels population (Degree, master and PhD (initial phase) students), technicians as well as anyone with a general interest in environmental toxicology issues.

This training course was produced by CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research) in the frame of the Atlantic Area Transnational Programme (Priority 2: Marine Environment and Renewable Energy) ARCOPOLplatform (Platform for improving maritime coastal pollution preparedness and response in Atlantic regions). We thank to the Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua de Andalucía, Spain, through Antonio Santiago Gahete for the collaboration in shaping the course. Any, even partial, reproduction must be subject to a written request addressed to CIIMAR.

Sources: http://southasiaspeaks.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/road-pollution.jpg (left figure); 

http://bna.berlinmun.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/contaminated-fish.jpg (right figure)

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Understand many of the fundamental principles (e.g. fate, transport and transformation of contaminants, etc.) of environmental toxicology.
• Describe the major types of pollutants, their main sources and effects.
• Understand the main impacts of accidental marine spills.
• Develop knowledge based on a series of inter-related scientific principles (e.g. toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics, etc.) and understand how and why environmental/toxicological processes and events occur.
• Explain the importance of toxicity testing.
• Understand the ecological and human health risk assessment processes as well as elements of risk communication.
• Identify the importance of modelling tools in environmental toxicology.
• Understand the principles of chemical regulation.

Content and structure of the course

This course is divided into a theoretical and a practical module. The theoretical component (e-learning format) contains 12 units (comprising a combination of text, articles, videos, links to relevant websites and case studies) and a glossary providing key elements in the field of environmental toxicity:

• UNIT 1 - General principles
• UNIT 2 - Main sources of environmental contamination
• UNIT 3 - Air pollution
• UNIT 4 - Water and soil pollution
• UNIT 5 - Transport and fate of contaminants in the environment
• UNIT 6 - Principles of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics
• UNIT 7 - Biotransformation
• UNIT 8 - Toxicity testing
• UNIT 9 - Environmental risk assessment
• UNIT 10 - Environmental risk communication
• UNIT 11 - Modelling in ecotoxicology
• UNIT 12 - Legislation
• Glossary

Although each unit is self contained it is advised to begin with the first unit and work your way through each unit until you are confident you have understood the material. At the end of each unit can be found a Quiz containing 10 questions (generally a Multiple Choice Quiz) on the material you have read in that unit. This quiz is purely for self assessment purposes. You can work at your own pace and go back to revise materials at any point you like. Finally there is an opportunity for you to feedback on your experience of the course.

Sources: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desastre_del_Prestige#/media/File:Historias_del_Chapapote_07.jpg (left figure)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill#/media/File:EVOSWEB_013_oiled_bird3.jpg (right figure)

The PRACTICAL COMPONENT is divided into three modules:

• 1^st session: Toxicity testing using embryo bioassays;
• 2^nd session: Toxicokinetics models;
• 3^rd session: Coastal pollution by oil and HNS: Modelling and decision support tools.

Authors

Miguel Santos, Helena Oliveira, Tiago Torres