title: Review of the chemical elements and environmental chemistry--strategies and tactics.
abstract: Inspite of advanced technology and the availability of adequate basic analytical instrumentation there is a need to improve the quality of data obtained in many programmes of environmental monitoring. Really new approaches are required based upon interdisciplinary, as distinct from pluridisciplinary cooperation; during the early stages individual disciplines need to extend some degree of charity. Scientists have to acknowledge the social implications of many of their studies and face up to controversial issues particularly in relation to pollution of the environment. Today we do not know the significance of levels of most contaminants and pollutants found in the environment, and many have not even been identified. Besides large releases of pollutants, a fundamental problem concerns man's biological response to low doses of various substances over long periods of time; the interval between an initial insult and the detection of detrimental effects for many physical and chemical agents can amount to between 10-30 years. In the absence of an objective interdisciplinary approach the expertise developed in an individual discipline is not available to others in which it may be of value. Many types of instrumentation and techniques developed in one discipline are unknown, or untried, in another; centralised facilities provide an adequate spectrum of tools and skills which are essential in tackling current problems. This approach has been shown to be rewarding in industry and in several private research organisations. In this paper the versatility of some types of modern instrumentation is illustrated in several fields of environmental chemistry and some of the substantial problems are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000397:Air Pollution; D000818:Animals; D004230:Dithizone; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D004779:Environment Design; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D006113:United Kingdom; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007854:Lead; D004230:Dithizone; D015032:Zinc