Environmental contaminants : ecological implications and management

Abstract

As we know, rapid industrialization is a serious concern in the context of a healthy environment. Various physico-chemical and biological approaches for the removal of toxic pollutants are available, but unfortunately these are not very effective. Biological approaches using microorganisms (bacterial/fungi/algae), green plants or their enzymes to degrade/detoxify environmental contaminants such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, pesticides, dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds are eco-friendly and low cost. This book provides a much-needed, comprehensive overview of the various types of contaminants, their toxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as various eco-friendly approaches for their management (degradation/detoxification). As such it is a valuable resource for a wide range of students, scientists and researchers in microbiology, biotechnology, environmental sciences.