Heavy Metal and Metalloid Contamination of Surface and Underground Water: Environmental, Policy and Ethical Issues

Heavy metal and metalloid contamination of groundwater and surface water ecosystems involves important policy-related and ethical issues besides its more well-known scientific aspects. Heavy Metal and Metalloid Contamination of Surface and Underground Water: Environmental, Policy, and Ethical Issues has brought these three dimensions under a single volume. The book presents an updated status of the nature and extent of heavy metal and metalloid contamination of water and discuss its future implications. In Section I, the book provides a state-of-the-art review of research findings on entry, storage, and release, human health risks, and the uptake and accumulation by freshwater biota and the toxic effects experienced by them. The book also provides information on the bioremediation of heavy metals and metalloids, and the possible effects of climate change on their distribution and toxicity. Section II of the book throws light on the policies and legislations adopted in several countries to deal with the vexed issue of metal contamination of waters in both historical and current perspectives. Special emphasis has been given to the contamination of drinking water and its attendant implications for human health. The book also treats the relevance and applications of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which forms the backbone of the water policies of several countries. In Section III, discussions focus on ethical issues rising out of heavy metal and metalloid contamination of water, and on the different ethical approaches and principles in both indigenous and other societies.
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