Accidental poisoning problems

Accidental poisoning in children not infrequently occurs. Economic poisons, not properly labeled, are of great concern both for children and adults. The more extensive problem of poisoning in man and domestic animals, however, arises from the ingestion of residual poisons remaining on agricultural products, on weeds, and in impregnated soil (1,6). 

Acute oral exposures of humans to large amounts of 2-butoxyethanol have been shown to cause coma and respiratory depression, in addition to hematotoxic effects. Although this route of exposure is the least likely for the general population, the existence of many household products containing 2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol acetate makes accidental poisoning a potential problem, particularly for children. 

In spite of reduced use of arsenic in commercial products, accidental poisoning by arsenic remains a problem in many countries. In 1955, drinking of dry milk made with arsenic-contaminated phosphate used as a stabilizer resulted in chronic and acute poisoning of 13,419 Japanese children, of whom 839 have died (83). 

Nail removal can be accomplished by soaking in acetone for about 15 min. Many artificial nail removers contain acetonitrile, which has caused deaths in children who accidentally ingested the nail remover because the containers did not have safety caps (Caravati and Litovitz 1988). Methacrylic acid, used in primers, is very corrosive, causing chemical burns in children who handle them (Woolf and Shaw 1998). Accidental poisoning may be a problem when manicurists practice these techniques in their homes or store chemicals at home and when consumers use these materials (Potter et al. 1988). Acetone cannot be used to remove photobonded nails, and this is a disadvantage if contact allergies develop (Baran and Schoon 1998). 

In the early nineteenth century, certain green wallpapers contained copper arsenite (Scheele s green) as a dyestuff. In damp conditions, moulds, such as Scopulariopsis bevicaulis, are able to convert the arsenic to the very toxic AsMc3, by a B 2-dependent pathway, and many people died before the problem was recognized. It has even been argued" that in 1821 Napoleon was accidentally poisoned in this way, when he was held at St. Helena by the British others have blamed the British for deliberately poisoning him. " ... 

Look closely at your symbols for aluminum and copper in Example 5.5. If you wrote AL or CU, the symbol is wrong. The letters are right, but the symbol is not. Whenever a chemical symbol has two letters, the first letter is always capitalized, but the second letter is always written in lowercase, or as a small letter. You can enjoy a long and happy life with a pile of Co in your house, but CO is a potentially serious problem in homes. Co is the metal cobalt, which is sometimes used in steel and pottery, among other things. CO is the deadly gas carbon monoxide, which is present in automobile exhaust and tobacco smoke. Carbon monoxide poisoning is the number one cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the world. 

Organophosphate poisonings are a particular problem in poorer countries, where lax controls, poor protective measures, and other problems contribute to exposure. The African country of Zimbabwe has experienced an epidemic of such poisonings, with a mortality rate from reported instances of around 8%.11 About three fourths of the adult poisonings were the result of suicide attempts, whereas poisoning in young children was predominantly from accidental ingestion. 

Both accidental and intentional overdose are relatively frequent and pose difficult management problems. Particular concern has been expressed for children, either because they gain access to parents tablets or have been treated for enuresis. During one year a Melbourne hospital admitted 35 children poisoned with tricyclic antidepressants (147). In 1979 it was reported that tricyclic antidepressants had replaced salicylates as the most common cause of accidental death in English children under the age of five. Concern was expressed about this (148), and Swiss federal statistics raised similar worries (149). 

Plutonium presents particular problems in its study. One reason is that, since Pu is a strong o -emitter (ti = 24,100 years) and also tends to accumulate in bone and liver, it is a severe radiological poison and must be handled with extreme care. A further problem is that the accidental formation of a critical mass must be avoided. 

The toxicity of plants, venoms, and other poisons used in armaments posed perils to those who wielded them, and the mythology and the history of poison weapons is rife with examples of accidental self-injury and unintended collateral damage. The use of windborne toxins also involved blowback problems, as acknowledged by Kautilya in his Arthashastra. He cautioned that protective salves and other remedies must be applied before deploying poisonous smokes. Toxic weapons are notoriously difficult to control and often resulted in the destruction of noncombatants as well as soldiers, especially in siege situations. 

While the commercial catalysts and technologies described above are successfully applied in the industry, some major drawbacks exist with these catalysts such as the low activity of the otherwise robust ferrochrome catalyst at low temperatures, and the susceptibility to poisoning and sintering of the CuZn shift catalyst. Additionally, both classes of catalysts are pyrophoric, generating serious safety problems in the case of accidental air exposure. Furthermore, both catalysts require a special, carefully controlled activation treatment in order to achieve the optimal active phase configuration, with the CuZn catalyst being particularly sensitive to accidental shutdowns, accidental water condensation, or temperature or concentration transients. 

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