Uptake, Fate, and Action of Heavy Metals and Organohalogen Compounds in Living Organisms

The danger, ultimately for man himself, from production of large quantities of persistent toxic materials, such as organohalogen compounds and heavy metals, is twofold: (1) a perturbation might be caused to the total ecosystem that could escape man’s control because of the sudden or gradual removal of populations essential to the stability of the system or parts of it; (2) large amounts of accumulated toxic material might be introduced into the human food supply. The study of uptake, fate, and action of organohalogens and heavy metals in the biosphere should be expedited in order to reach an evaluation of the risks involved as soon as possible.