Written over a period of 17 years, the Handbook of Chemical Risk Assessment exhaustively examines and analyzes the world literature on chemicals entering the environment from human activities. The first volume covers metals selected by environmental specialists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other resource managers. Their choices were based on the real or potential impact of each contaminant and on the knowledge available about their mitigation.

The information for each chemical includes source and use; physical, chemical, and metabolic properties; concentrations in field collections of abiotic materials and living organisms; deficiency effects; lethal and sublethal effects; and proposed regulatory criteria for the protection of human health and sensitive natural resources. Each chapter selectively reviews and synthesizes the technical literature on a specific priority contaminant and its effects on the environment.

Successful risk assessment relies heavily on extensive and well-documented databases. They often include too much - or too little - information about too many chemicals. Of the hundreds of thousands of chemicals discharged into the environment, only a small number have sufficient information to attempt preliminary risk assessment. The Handbook of Chemical Risk Assessment provides you with the exact amount of information you need in a single resource.