Volume 17 of the series Metal Ions in Life Sciences will be devoted to "Lead: Its Impact on Environment and Health." The topics to be covered are evident from the tentative Table of Contents. The scheduled 15 chapters will be written in an authoritatively and timely manner by internationally recognized experts. Chapter 1 will be setting the scene by providing those aspects of the chemistry of lead which are important for its impact on life and the environment. The biogeochemistry of lead, its anthropogenic release into the environment, its cycling, speciation in the atmosphere, in...