The course is aimed at providing an introduction into toxicology and ecology for students of divers chemical disciplines. Basic terms will be explained and an overview of toxic chemicals, their properties and mechanisms how they exert their effect on the living systems will be provided together with information about toxicity testing. Furthermore, the course will give an overview of chemical hazards and safety rules for chemical laboratories and information sources on dangerous chemicals. In the ecological part the flows of matter and energy in the ecosystem will be explained and current problems of environmental protection will be discussed.

I. Linhart: Basic Terms in Toxicology, Ecology and Ecotoxicology (A bilingual textbook). UCT Press, UCT Prague 2019.

Online: https://vydavatelstvi.vscht.cz/katalog/publikace?uid=uid_isbn-978-80-7592-040-9

S. Kacew and B.-M-Lee, editors: Lu's Basic Toxicology. Fundamentals, Target Organs, and Risk Assessment. 6th edition, CRC Press 2012; ISBN: 13:978-1-841849539; 10:978-1-841849537); Chapters 1 - 4, 7, 20, 23 and 24.

S. E. Manahan: Toxicological Chemistry and Biochemistry. 3rd edition, Lewis Publishers 2003; ISBN:1-56670-618-1

S.E. Manahan: Fundamentals of Environmental and Toxicological Chemistry. 4th edition, CRC Press 2013;978-1-4665-5316-3

1. Toxicology: What is a poison and how it exerts its deleterious effects. Definition of terms.

2. Modes and types of toxic action: How can poisonous xenobiotics interact with living organisms?

3. The fate of xenobiotics in the organism: Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

4. Toxicological testing: animal and non-animal tests.

5. Sources of information in toxicology and their searching: literature, databases, safety data sheets (SDS).

6. Important inorganic and organic poisons. A brief overview.

7. Carcinogens: A class of toxic compounds of special concern.

8. Hazards in chemical laboratory, chemical safety: fire, explosion and poisoning accidents, health hazard and hazard for the environment

9. Dangerous chemicals: flammable gases, liquids and solids, corrosives, poisons and substances dangerous to the environment

10. Ecology and environmental science: Ecosystem of the Earth, its spheres, definition of terms.

11. Transformation of mass and energy in the ecosystem: photosynthesis and respiration, trophic pyramid.

12. Biogeochemical cycles of the main biogenic elements.

13. Energy and ecosystems. Sources and production of energy.

14. Human population and ecosystems. Environmental problems of the present and near future.

Students will be able to:

understand basic terms in toxicology and ecology,

obtain and understand information on toxicity of common chemicals,

estimate toxic and other hazardous properties of common chemicals,

describe and understand the fate of chemical substances on human organism,

describe and understand main effects of chemicals on the environment, and

describe and understand current environmental problems.