Toxicology is a means to an important end: safety. The effective toxicologist begins with this in mind, and uses a clear understanding of safety as a relative concept, together with a rational view of the current safety evaluation paradigm to direct their work. Too often this approach is ignored or discouraged by traditional practice.
This lucid, readable book encourages both experienced toxicologists and those in training to place toxicological investigation in such a framework. It looks at the importance of toxicological normality, reviews toxicity testing methods, and explores new and 'alternative' methods of safety evaluation. The interpretation of toxicity findings in individual studies and data packages and the prediction of human-relevant hazards are reviewed, followed by an introduction to risk and how we perceive and assess risk in the light of known hazards and the probability of their occurrence. The final stage of the toxicological process, risk assessment and management, is reviewed with particular reference to the work-place.
A Guide to Practical Toxicology uses text boxes to give background information on specific subjects or to act as simple guides to toxicological method or process; this is supported by tables and case-studies intended to illustrate method, study design and interpretation. These features mean the book works at different levels, suitable for professional and student toxicologists as well as those from outside the field who require some knowledge of toxicological method and interpretation, for instance in occupational hygiene or medicine and veterinary surgery.
ADAM WOOLLEY is Director and Consultant Toxicologist, ForthTox Limited, Linlithgow, UK. He received his M.Sc. in Biochemistry from London University, London, UK. Mr. Woolley is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London, UK, where he is an examiner in toxicology and is also a board member and Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. He is an Honorary Consultant at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Manchester University, Manchester and is a member of the British Toxicology Society and US Society of Toxicology. With over thirty five years of experience, including eighteen years in contract research and nine years in the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Woolley is an expert in pharmaceutical development, including proteins and gene therapy agents, agrochemicals, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. He has conducted numerous toxicity studies, reviewed reports, and data packages, and is the author of the First Edition of Informa Healthcare’s A Guide to Practical Toxicology: Evaluation, Prediction, and Risk.
