[Toxic substances in the environment].

Abstract

In various activities and due to different needs, synthesis in production of various chemical matters in the world has been rapidly developed. It has been estimated that over 6 million various compounds have been already formed with the tendency of further increase. Annual production of this product in the world is over 5 billion tons. More than 60,000 of these substances are present in the environment. First of all they are spread out in the soil, food and water and increasingly in the air. Health consequences are very wide, numerous, very often unspecific, but extremely serious. They are manifested in numerous toxic, allergic, mutagenic and cancerogenic effects in humans and considerably larger consequences to the rest part of biosphere. Simultaneous exposure of living population to more xenobiotics with mutual effects, even in small but longer contaminations presents a particular problem.