Geoffrey I. Sunahara - Böcker

Managing sites contaminated with munitions constituents is an international challenge. Although the choice of approach and the use of Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) tools may vary from country to country, the assurance of quality and the direction of ecotoxicological research are universally recognized as shared concerns. Drawing on a multidisciplinary team of contributors, Ecotoxicology of Explosives provides comprehenisve and critical reviews available to date on fate, transport, and effects of explosives. The book delineates the state of the science of the ecotoxicology of explosives, past, present, and recently developed. It reviews the accessible fate and ecotoxicological data for energetic materials (EMs) and the methods for their development. The chapters characterize the fate of explosives in the environment, then provide information on their ecological effects in key environmental media, including aquatic, sedimentary, and terrestrial habitats. The book also discusses approaches for assembling these lines of evidence for risk assessment purposes. The chapter authors have critically examined the peer-reviewed literature to identify and prioritize the knowledge gaps and to recommend future areas of research. The editors include a review of the genotoxic effects of the EMs and the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the toxicity of these chemicals. They also discuss the transport, transformation, and degradation pathways of these chemicals in the environment that underlie the potential hazardous impact and bioaccumulation of EMs in different terrestrial and aquatic ecologiocal receptors. This information translates into practical applications for the environmental risk assessment of EM-contaminated sites and into recommendations for the sustainable use of defense installations.

Bioremediation is a process applied to restore contaminated sites using biological tools. The success or failure of this process usually depends on an understanding of the biotechnological process aswell as the strengths and weaknesses of the ecotoxicological tools used for its evaluation. This useful book offers a unique treatment of the subject, linking soil ecotoxicity tests, bioremediation and environmental risk assessment. It also, describes the inter-relationships between the laboratory and field ecotoxicologist, the biotechnology consultant and different international environmental regulatory agencies and explains how they seek to achieve a successful evaluation of contaminated site restoration.