In this short review on the environmental toxicology of heavy metals it was emphasized that there would be no principal difference between industrial toxicology and environmental toxicology.
The paper included discussion on the basic toxicology of metals in relation to the absorption, excretion and biological half time. The discussion further extended to the dose-response relationships, detoxication, acquired tolerance and unspecific response of some metals.
Finaly, the following studies which are necessary in the environmental toxicology in the future were recommended as the author's opinion. Those studies should include : 1) background information on the incidence of unspecific responses such as morbidities of adult diseases, 2) influence of toxic metals upon “aging” in general, 3) type of chemical compound of toxic metals in the environment and in the organisms including man, 4) the relationship between environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology, 5) interactions of metals more than one, 6) individual variation of the susceptibility to heavy metals from both experimental and epidemiological point of view.
