Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. have a basic scientific knowledge on the sources, structure and toxicity of chemicals to ecosystems.
2. obtain the necessary knowledge on the environmental monitoring of pollutants and restoration of a polluted environment.
3. obtain the necessary knowledge for the conduction of the environmental risk assessment according to European legislation about chemical substances.
4. develop critical thinking skills about the application of the principles of Eco-toxicology to "Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems" in relation to climate change.
Course Content (Syllabus)
Introduction, definition and scope of ecotoxicology. Types of environmental pollutants and sources of pollution. Properties of pollutants and environmental factors that determine their distribution in the environment. Ways of dispersion of pollutants in the environment. Climate change and pollutants. Chemical classification systems. Historical review of characteristics of chemicals with major toxicological impact. Principles of ecotoxicology. Basic concepts for toxicity assessment. Assessment of toxicity at the level of organism and biocommunity. Toxic chemical interactions. Acquisition of tolerance. Ecotoxicology of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and corresponding toxicity tests. Monitoring studies of toxic pollutants in the environment. Framework for Community action in the field of water policy DIRECTIVE 2000/60/EC. European Union Chemicals Regulations. European Chemical Agency (ECHA). Approval process of active substances of pesticides in the European Union. Environmental risk assessment (Environmental Risk assessment-ERA). New perspectives in toxicology. Special issues of toxicology (the cases of the pesticides glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, 2,4-D, pyrethroids insectisides, and dithiocarbamide fungicides).
Keywords
Ecosystems, Toxicology, The pollutants fate, Biomarkers