6.1: Intro To Toxicology Flashcards
deals with the effects of chemicals found in the workplace
Occupational Toxicology
Oversees workplace safety and health regulation
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
standards for specific materials of particularly serious toxicity
Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
Regulatory limits set by OSHA
Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
represent the airborne concentrations of substances that workers can be exposed to on a daily basis without adverse health effects
threshold limit values (TLVs)
deals with the deleterious impact of chemical pollutants
in the environment, on living organisms
Ecotoxicology
ability of chemical agent to cause injury/disease in a given situation or setting
Hazard
expected frequency of the of the occurrence of an undesirable effect arising from exposure to a chemical or physical agent
Risk
Routes of Exposure
Inhalational > Transdermal Route > Oral
Water and Soil pollutants are absorbed through?
inhalational, ingestion or transdermal
An exposure to a toxic substance that is absorbed by the target human or animal results in a
dose
single exposure or multiple exposure over a brief period of time (e.g. accidental discharge)
Acute Exposure
single or multiple exposure over a longer period of time (e.g. repetitive handling of chemical)
Chronic Exposure
What are the Environmental Considerations?
• Degradability, bioaccumulation, transport and
biomagnification
• Poorly degraded chemicals (by abiotic or biotic pathways)
exhibit environmental persistence and can accumulate.
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polychlorinated
biphenyls, dioxins and furans
• Methyl mercury discharges -> neurotoxic
• Lipophilic substances: organochlorine pesticides
bioaccumulate in body fat -> endocrine disruption,
neurological disorders, and carcinogenesis
[ T or F ]
Poorly degraded chemicals do not exhibit environmental persistence and can’t accumulate
FALSE. they exhibit and can accumulate
concentrates the chemical in organisms higher on the food chain.
Biomagnification
True or False:
The pollutants that have the widest environmental impact are poorly degradable; are relatively mobile in air, water, and soil; exhibit bioaccumulation; and also exhibit biomagnification.
Chrew
• Colorless, tasteless, odorless and non-irritating gas
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
[T or F]
Carbon Monoxide has teratogenic potential
True that
What is the Mechanism of Action
• CO combines tightly but reversibly with the oxygen-binding site of hemoglobin (Hb)
• Carboxyhemoglobin
• CO affinity 220x oxygen
• Reduced oxygen transfer to the tissues
• Organs with the highest oxygen demand are most seriously affected (Brain, Heart and Kidneys)
Clinical Effects of Carbon Monoxide
- Symptoms of hypoxia
- Psychomotor impairment
- Headache and tightness in the temporal area
- Confusion and loss of visual acuity
- Tachycardia, tachypnea, syncope, and coma
- Deep coma, convulsions, shock and respiratory failure
Carbon Monoxide is aggravated by:
- Heavy labor
- High Altitude
- High Ambient Temperature
- Smoking exposure
- Cardiorespiratory diseases
Treatment for Carbon Monoxide
• First step: Remove from source
• Oxygen is the specific antagonist for CO
• High concentrations of oxygen for a short amount of time only
• Hypothermic therapy
• Neuropsychological and motor dysfunction persists
for a long time after treatment
It is a colorless irritant gas and is generated primarily by the combustion of sulfur- containing fossil fuel
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)