Alerts the medical and public health professions to the severe risks of morbidity and mortality posed by human consumption of plants, including cereals and herbal medicines, containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Citing well over 500 published studies, the book draws together the evidence documenting acute and often fatal organ damage arising from both accidental consumption va contaminated staple crops and the deliberate consumption, in developed and developing countries alike, of medicinal herbs containing these alkaloids. Risks to farm animals are also fully documented.

Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by the production and use of 2-propanol, a liquid widely used as a low-cost solvent in industry and in the home. Because of its cooling, antipyretic, rubefacient, cleaning, and antiseptic properties, 2-propanol is used to produce a large number of household and personal products, including topically applied pharmaceutical products and cosmetics.

Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by the use of beryllium, a brittle metal having major applications in the electronics and micro-electronics industries, in nuclear energy, and in the production of military devices, including satellites, missiles, atomic bombs, and other weapons. Beryllium has also proved its superiority as a structural material for aircraft and spacecraft.

Summary report on the evaluation of short-term tests for carcinogens: (collaborative study on in vivo tests / published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization.

Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by the production and use of triphenyl phosphate, a compound widely used as a flame retardant in phenolic and phenylene-oxide-based resins for the manufacture of electrical and automobile components. Triphenyl phosphate is also used as a non-flammable plasticizer in cellulose acetate for photographic films, and as a component of hydraulic fluids and lubricant oils.

Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by the production and use of tri-n-butyl phosphate. Tri-n-butyl phosphate is widely used worldwide as a solvent for cellulose esters, lacquers, and natural gums, as a primary plasticizer in the manufacture of plastics and vinyl resins, in the formulation of fire-resistant aircraft hydraulic fluids, and as an antifoaming agent, mainly in paper manufacturing plants.

Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to 2-meth-oxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, and their two acetates: 2-methoxyethyl acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate. These glycol ethers have a wide range of uses as solvents with particular application in paints, stains, inks, lacquers, and the production of food-contact plastics.

Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by the use of tributyltin compounds as molluscicides, as antifoulants on boats, ships, quays, buoys, and equipment in the fishing industry, as wood preservatives, and as slimicides on masonry. These compounds pose a particular threat to the marine environment in view of their documented high toxicity to aquatic organisms, including commercially important shellfish.

Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by the widespread production and use of methyl isobutyl ketone as a solvent, with major applications in the production of lacquers and paint solvents, including car and industrial spray paints. Methyl isobutyl ketone also occurs naturally in food, is a permitted flavouring agent, and is used in food contact packaging materials. Sections concerned with the behaviour of methyl isobutyl ketone in the environment note its rapid evaporation into the atmosphere, rapid photo-transformation, ready biodegradation, and low potential for...