Our environment has been bombarded with toxins since the Industrial Revolution. Everything from cigarette smoke to the plastic factory down the road contaminates the air, water, and land causing harm to all living organisms. Monitoring and controlling toxins is the first step to removing them. After more than a century of irresponsible pollution it's time that the public takes a look at the truth concerning toxins and the environment.
             Toxins cause harm to every living organism on the Earth. Toxins can come from things typically considered harmful to the environment such as pesticides to things that one would never consider, like nail polish remover or the insulation used in an attic. The truth is we live in a world full of toxins. A simple concept of toxicology today is that everything is toxic in certain amounts. Therefore, anything in a certain excess can harm you; the trick is to know what that level is. The solubility and mobility of a toxin determine how rapidly and effectively it moves through the environment. The solubility of toxins is typically divided into two groups, those that dissolve readily in water and those that dissolve easier in oil. Water soluble toxins move through the environment and into the body because water is so prevalent. Oil soluble toxins can also be of harm because of the damage that can be done to cell walls and muscle tissue. They also tend to stay in the body longer by being stored in lipids in the body.
             The effects of toxins upon humans and animals are astounding. Two environmental issues affecting organisms is bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Bioaccumulation occurs when cells store toxins that are originally dilute but become more concentrated when accumulated. The result is a higher level of toxins within an organism. The problem with bioaccumulation is apparent when carnivores enter the picture. For example, if a fish eats a large amount of plankton but each plankton only has a sm...