Citation

Kirchhelle C. NTM 2018; 26(2): 213-229.

Affiliation

Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. claas.kirchhelle@wuhmo.ox.ac.uk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00048-018-0190-2

PMID

29704017

Abstract

The past two decades have seen a surge of publications on the histories of various toxic substances. Often fusing approaches from environmental history and the histories of science, medicine, and technology, historians have explored the manufacturing of hazardous products and by-products; the various uses and cultural perceptions of toxic substances; their impact on health and the environment; and attempts to regulate toxic risk. This review summarizes major themes arising from the growing body of historical work on the ‘toxic’. In synthesizing these themes, the review highlights a common ‘toxic chronology’ that emerges from existing literature and discusses three new monographs in relation to gaps and weaknesses identified in current research...

Language: en