Environmental Toxicology- Period 1

This course offers an introduction to the recognition, analysis and prediction of environmental and human health problems caused by potentially toxic chemicals. Emphasis lies on the relation between the mode of action of a chemical and its effects on individuals and populations. In this course, aspects from environmental chemistry and toxicology will be presented, while attention is also paid to aspects of ecology and risk assessment.

The theory presented includes the following aspects:
- History and aims of environmental toxicology;
- Overview of potentially hazardous chemicals;
- Distribution and mobility of chemicals in the environment;
- Bioavailability, uptake and elimination kinetics;
- Bioaccumulation, biotransformation and excretion;
- Dose-response relationships;
- Modes of action;
- Structure-activity relationships;
- Mixture toxicity;
- Development of resistance;
- Effects on populations and ecosystems;
- Methods of environmental diagnosis;
- Bioassays, biosensors and biomarkers;
- Models for predicting chemical concentrations and effects;
- Environmental and human risk assessment of chemicals;
- Risk limits for chemicals in environmental legislation.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.

This course included a lab component.