When first developed, chlorinated pesticides such as DDT, dieldrin, and mirex were received with open arms, quickly becoming popular as effective, economic agents against pests. But evidence began to mount that residues of these chemicals remained in the environment, not breaking down, often appearing in plants and animals. By the late seventies many pesticides had achieved a terrible notoriety and were subsequently banned in a number of countries. Of tremendous concern, then, is the persistence of pesticides in the environment. The major thrust of research and development in the area of...

Why are books written? Since I have read many works by my colleagues with admiration, this question has always intrigued me. Further, writing a book takes a good deal of time and effort, and I had imagined that I would never undertake such a demanding task. A few unexpected events and circumstances have changed my mind. The first was the pleasant experience of editing Environmental Toxicology of Pesticides with Drs. Mallory Boush and Tomomasa Misato. This fine symposium volume occasioned many interesting responses, including a suggestion to prepare a more complete treatise on the grounds that...

One of the fundamental concepts of toxicology is that chemicals act at selective receptors and that such interactions result in phar- macologic responses which, depending on dose, mayor may not result in toxicity. For us to understand how insecticides produce their toxic effects, we must first understand their molecular interactions with their target receptors. With this in mind, we organized a symposium which was given in conjunction with the XVII International Congress of Entomology in Hamburg on August 21, 1984. The goal of this symposium was to bring together researchers with a wide range...