Environmental Chemistry

Environmental toxicology and mutagenicity

Environmental toxicology is the science and practice of the adverse effects primarily of chemicals and other man-made agents in the environment and through the environment. The targeted receptors of these harmful effects can be both the ecosystem and the human. Environmental toxicology includes the study of potential chemical substances and actual contaminants - polluting air, water, soil and food, their impacts on the structure and function of ecological systems, including humans, as well as the use of these results for decision-making and environmental management.

Mutagenicity refers to the induction of permanent transmissible changes in the structure of the genetic material of cells or organisms. These changes (mutations) can involve a single gene or a block of genes.

The global in vitro toxicity testing market was valued at $4 billion in 2011 and over $4.9 billion in 2012. This market is estimated at nearly $9.9 billion in 2017, with a rate of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% for the five period from 2012 to 2017. This report provides an overview of the global in vitro toxicity testing market, with assessments of its growth potential over the next five years and the current market scenario for alternatives to animal testing.