History of toxicology Toxicology is the scientific study of poisons and the effects it may have on a living organisms. The study involves observing and reporting symptoms, mechanisms involved, detection and treatment of toxic substances especially in relation to humans. Toxic substances are all around us and we come into contact with them on a daily basis, such as in food and drinks that we consume (additives, alcohol), in the environment around us (cigarette smoke, car fumes, herbicides), and even in our work environments (industrial chemicals, heavy metals). Symptoms and the severity of these symptoms are dependent on the dose of the substance ingested, how long the victim is exposed to the toxic substance and what category the substance is in. Toxic substance are categorised in toxicity categories ranging from I to IV, most toxic to least toxic. Category I substances would be the most corrosive to eyes and skin with a danger label, category II would cause severe irritation to skin and eyes with a warning label, category III would only cause moderate irritation with only a caution label finally a category IV substance would have minimal effects on vision and slight irritation of the skin, no signal word label is necessary for category IV toxicants. Toxicologists work to develop new and improved ways to determine the potential harmful effects of substances and at what dose these substances are fatal. They design and carry out controlled studies for chemicals of social and
Since the beginning of time in the medical field, toxicology has always been a profound question. What is toxic? And what not toxic. This question has pondered medical professionals for years. The toxicity of anything varies greatly, what can and is toxic to one person may not be toxic to another, and so on and so forth, this also includes as to what dosage of certain medicines and chemicals fall into the toxic category as well. What one person can inquest safely might kill another person? So how do we determine what is toxic, and how certain chemicals effect humans and animals? The answer is, we must perform test on something that is similar to the human species. Animals having similar traits and features in the body have often been the experimentation method of choice. By using animals in testing has raised a lot of concern and controversy over the years, but so has testing on human beings. One of the most horrifying examples of human testing was during World War II, the Nazi party in its quest to create the ultimate human species, performed a lot of testing on the Jews that were in the concentration camps with horrific results. But one good thing did come from this testing and that was the general knowledge of what a person could endure resulting in the better treatment of any species being tested for research purposes. The results from various chemical tests have been carried out for the benefit in the risks for humans, animals and the environment they are
Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.
Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.
Jones, P. R., Sheppard, M. A., & Snowden, C. B. (2010). Impact of poison prevention
The purpose of this course is to provide the fundamental knowledge of the effects of environmental chemicals on living systems, and the toxic responses of the human and plant systems. Students will discuss risk, ethics, and social responsibility with regard to environmental toxicology.
Conduct studies on food, air, water and soil to determine how they are altered when coming into contact with medicines, garden chemicals and industrial chemicals
There are two main types of toxicity, acute and chronic. Acute toxicity refers to a relatively high dose of a toxin given over a short period of time. Chronic toxicity is a relatively low dose of a toxin given over a longer time period. Acute toxicity is measured by the Lethal Dose 50 (LD50). LD50 is the dose of a specific substance that kills 50% of test organisms, and it varies from substance to substance.
xii. Dogs are a favored species in toxicology studies. Large doses of a test substance like a household product or pesticide are pumped into animal’s bodies, slowly poisoning them.
With our modern advances, we have also created a toxic world. In the last hundred years or so, we have invented toxic chemicals that were previously unknown. There is no place on earth that isn't impacted by this fact. You can take a blood sample from just about anyone on the planet, test it and find that it has unacceptable levels of any number of harmful agents.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/523410a. In the article, “Cut animal wastage in toxicology testing” by Colin Berry, he argues that animal testing is more focused on formalities rather than the effects it has on people or the environment. He shares how it is hard to reproduce these test in regular studies, making it difficult to get accurate results. Specifically referring to toxicology, he believes these tests are drawn out and poorly
Two of the most common methods used are the draize test and the LD50 test. In the draize test a drop of the substance is placed into the animal's eye and the reactions are observed. LD50 means lethal dose. The LD50 test is when researchers feed or apply a particular substance dermally to the animals until half of the animals being tested die.But, just because a certain thing does not affect animals does not mean it will not affect humans. For example, theobromine in chocolate cake is toxic to dogs, and aspirin causes a reaction in cats. Another example is the thalidomide tragedy. The thalidomide tragedy was caused by a sleeping pill, pharmacists thought the medication would be safe for pregnant women as well. However, it caused many newborns worldwide to be born with deformed limbs. Then there is LC which means "lethal concentration." LC50 is the chemical in the air or water that will kill 50% of the test animals with a single
Forensic toxicologists preform scientific examinations on biological tissue and fluid samples for the purpose of identifying the presence of drugs or chemicals in the body. In doing so, a forensic toxicologist will sequester and classify any hazardous elements in the body that may have aided in the crime (National Forensic Science Technology Center, n.d.). The continually advancing discipline of forensic toxicology is due to the ever-changing drugs that are constantly being developed. This created a pressing need to develop new approached for detection (National Institute of Justice, 2014). With the aid of sophisticated equipment, toxicologists are able to (1) establish the toxicants present within the biological material and determine if it contributed to the victims death; (2) determine if
Many scientific researchers have said that our environment has been filled with toxic chemicals, which us humans have had a part of. There are many different issues that should concern us surrounding these toxic chemicals. The major concern is that many of these toxic chemicals have been claimed to be causing damage to the health of humans and even other life forms. Another concern is that most of the theses toxic chemicals have just recently been produced; and by our environment changing everyday there is no telling what effects these toxic chemicals may have in the long run on the public 's health. Just about all of these toxic chemicals exist in the way they do because of humans. As humans we practice a lot of different activities that cause toxic chemicals to pollute our environment such as, agriculture, industrial, and many domestic activities as well. Many of the toxic chemicals that we produce and use don 't get used in a effective way, which causes them to be wasted, left abandoned, and disposed of. When toxic chemicals are not disposed of properly they effect the environment and the public 's health in a negative way.
The molecular structure of a substance can help to predict the toxicity of it. By comparing the substance 's structure to that of more than 12,000
Marcus, S. (2012). Poison prevention: engineering in primary prevention. Clinical Toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.), 50(3), 163-165. doi:10.3109/15563650.2012.658474