Animals as sentinels of environmental health hazards: Committee on Animals as Monitors of Environmental Hazards, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council.

Studying animals in the environment may be a realistic and highly beneficial approach to identifying unknown chemical contaminants before they cause human harm. "Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards" presents an overview of animal-monitoring programs, including detailed case studies of how animal health problems - such as the effects of DDT on wild bird populations - have led researchers to the sources of human health hazards.

The authors examine the components and characteristics required for an effective animal-monitoring program, and they evaluate numerous existing programs, including in situ research, where an animal is placed in a natural setting for monitoring purposes.