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Contaminant Hazard Reviews Background and Ordering Information

Background:

This online document--PDF format (and compact disc) contains the 35 reports in the Contaminant Hazard Reviews (CHR) that were published originally between 1985 and 1999 in the U.S. Department of the Interior Biological Report series. The CD was produced because printed supplies of these reviews--a total of 105,000--became exhausted and demand remained high. Each review was prepared at the request of environmental specialists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and each contained specific information on selected metals and metalloids (silver, arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin, selenium, zinc), organics (polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, acrolein, diazinon, atrazine, fenvalerate, famphur, chlordane, chlorpyrifos, cyanide, diflubenzuron, mirex, carbofuran, toxaphene, compound 1080, paraquat, pentachlorophenol), ionizing radiation, and a cumulative index to chemicals and species.  Each report reviews and synthesizes the technical literature on a single contaminant and its effects on terrestrial plants and invertebrates, aquatic plants and animals, avian and mammalian wildlife, and other natural resources. The subtopics include contaminant sources and uses; physical, chemical, and metabolic properties; concentrations in field collections of abiotic materials and living organisms; deficiency effects, where appropriate; lethal and sublethal effects including effects on survival, growth, reproduction, metabolism, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, and carcinogenicity; proposed criteria for the protection of human health and sensitive natural resources; and recommendations for additional research. All reports were authored by Dr. Ronald Eisler, previously of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center located in Laurel, Maryland.  Patuxent staff who participated in producing this CD were Ronald Eisler, Robert E. Munro, Lois M. Loges, Kinard Boone, Mary M. Paul, and Lynda J. Garrett.

Ordering Information:

A free copy of the CD, while supplies last, may be obtained by contacting: Librarian, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland 20708-4030 (telephone 301-497-5551 or 5550; email: pwrclibrary@usgs.gov).