ARNOLD SCHECTER, MD, MPH, is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health. He is a preventive medicine physician-researcher who has studied the effects of dioxin and related chemical exposure around the world. Most recently, his research has focused on emerging POPs and endocrine disruptors in human milk, blood, and food. Dr. Schecter has served on EPA dioxin advisory panels and ATSDR/CDC dioxin, PCB, and PCDF review groups. Moreover, he has worked with the NIEHS, NIH, and NTP to communicate dioxin carcinogenicity assessments.

PREFACE xi
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT xvi
 
ABOUT THE EDITOR xvii
 
CONTRIBUTORS xix
 
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES xxiii
 
1 PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS: AN OVERVIEW 1
Daniele Wikoff, Lauren Fitzgerald, and Linda Birnbaum
 
2 TOXICITY EQUIVALENCE FACTORS FOR DIOXIN AND RELATED COMPOUNDS 37
Michael DeVito
 
3 HISTORIC AND NEWER PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN FOOD 53
Janice Huwe
 
4 FLAME RETARDANTS: POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS AND THEIR REPLACEMENTS 89
Thomas F. Webster and Heather M. Stapleton
 
5 PHARMACOKINETICS OF 2,3,7,8-TETRACHLORODIBENZO-AND RELATED COMPOUNDS P-DIOXIN 109
James R. Olson
 
6 IMMUNOMODULATION BY PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS 171
Robert W. Luebke, Jamie C. DeWitt, Dori R. Germolec, Keith D. Salazar, and Nancy I. Kerkvliet
 
7 DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXICITY OF DIOXINS 193
G. Jean Harry and Pamela J. Lein
 
8 EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID 229
Kyle Steenland, Tony Fletcher, and David A. Savitz
 
9 POLYBROMINATED P-DIOXINS AND DIBENZO-DIBENZOFURANS 255
Kurunthachalam Kannan, Chunyang Liao, and Hyo-Bang Moon
 
10 EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON CANCER AND EXPOSURE TO DIOXINS AND RELATED COMPOUNDS 303
Lennart Hardell and Mikael Eriksson
 
11 REPRODUCTIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DIOXINS 359
Anne Sweeney, Deborah J. del Junco, Marcella Warner, and Brenda Eskenazi
 
12 BISPHENOL A 381
Thaddeus T. Schug, Sarah A. Vogel, Laura N. Vandenberg, Joe M. Braun, Russ Hauser, Julia A. Taylor, Frederick S. vom Saal, and Jerold J. Heindel
 
13 PHTHALATES: HUMAN EXPOSURE AND RELATED HEALTH EFFECTS 415
John D. Meeker and Kelly K. Ferguson
 
14 THE SEVESO ACCIDENT 445
Angela Cecilia Pesatori and Pier Alberto Bertazzi
 
15 AGENT ORANGE: HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN VIETNAM, CAMBODIA, AND LAOS 469
Susan Hammond and Arnold Schecter
 
16 THE YUSHO AND YUCHENG RICE OIL POISONING INCIDENTS 521
Yoshito Masuda and Arnold Schecter
 
17 THE BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMER FIRE INCIDENT OF 1981 553
Nancy Kim and Arnold Schecter
 
18 THE YUSHCHENKO DIOXIN POISONING: CHRONOLOGY AND PHARMACOKINETICS 567
John Jake Ryan
 
19 POPs AND HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT 579
David T. Szabo and Anne E. Loccisano
 
INDEX 619

Explores the latest science on dioxins and other POPs, and their impact on human health
Now in its third edition, Dioxins and Health is the most respected reference of its kind, presenting the latest scientific findings on dioxins, dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyls and related compounds, and their impact on human health. The book fully examines the many toxicological effects--including immunological, neurological, developmental, dermatological, and cardiological--these chemicals have on health.
This Third Edition has been greatly expanded with the latest research findings on dioxins and related compounds. Moreover, it now includes coverage of other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and endocrine disruptors, including:
Brominated flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane
Perfluorinated chemicals such as perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
Other endocrine disrupting chemicals similar to POPs such as bisphenol A
Readers will also learn about the latest findings on the long-term impacts caused by the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Other chapters review the Seveso disaster in Italy and the Yusho and Yucheng rice oil poisoning incidents in Japan and Taiwan. In addition, there is a full chapter dedicated to the dioxin poisoning of former Ukraine President Victor Yushchenko.
All the chapters in the book have been written by leading international experts. References at the end of each chapter guide readers to the primary literature in the field.
Expertly organized in one volume, Dioxins and Health offers readers quick access to essential information about dioxins and related compounds written in clear, simple language that is accessible to not only scientists, clinicians and public health professionals, but also general readers.