Chemical agents industrial exposure

Thus, there is a clear need to establish the relationship between the health effects of hazardous chemical agents in the environment and the level of occupational exposure to the body by means of an occupational exposure limit, in which a reference figure for the concentration of a chemical agent is set. In fact, occupational exposure limits (OELs) have been a feature of the industrialized world since the early 1950s. They were introduced, primarily in the United States, at a time when measures to prevent occupational diseases were considered more beneficial than compensating victims, and in this sense OELs have played an important part in the control of occupational illnesses. 

Literature from industrial experience, especially individual case reports showing relationship between exposure to a chemical agent and specific adverse effects... 

ACGIH. 1996. 1996 TLVs and BEIs Threshold Limit Values for chemical substances and physical agents Biological exposure indices. Cincinnati, OH American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. 

The principal routes of industrial exposure are dermal and inhalation. Occasionally toxic agents may be ingested, if food or drinking water is contaminated. Exposure to the skin often leads to localized effects known as occupation dermatosis caused by either irritating chemicals or allergenic chemicals. Such effects include scaling,... 

However, the mechanism of heavy metal toxicity used in combination with other chemical agents has remained unexplored. In fact, this subject requires more emphasis because of the occupational complexity and exposure pattern of today s society. The main anthropogenic sources of heavy metals are industrial point sources, mining activities, foundries and smelters, piping, product constituents, combustion by-products, traffic, and, above all, the pattern of waste disposal.7 Mining, manufacturing, and industrial production of metals have become major... 

The U.S. Army s chemical agent disposal facilities, like many industrial facilities, produce wastes in the course of plant operations. For the purposes of this report, secondary waste is defined as any waste associated with the storage or destruction of chemical agent. Like other industrial waste, these wastes are either hazardous or nonhazardous. A particular waste is classified into one or the other of these categories by either laboratory analysis or generator knowledge of material source, use, and exposure (Box 1-1). The wastes discussed in this report are called secondary wastes to distinguish them from the chemical munitions that are... 

Land disturbance and exposure of buried geologic strata to the open environment leads to sulfide oxidation (if present) and, as a consequence, water-quality degradation of runoff. For water-quality-control purposes, sedimentation ponds required by law are used as water treatment basins. Often, the pH of such basin waters is below 6, and the concentration of heavy metals is above acceptable levels. Water treatments include neutralization and removal of heavy metals as precipitates. Similar water-quality problems arise from other industrial sources, including heavy steel industries, electronics, food processing, mineral processing, and waste-disposal leachates. This portion of the chapter deals with some of the chemical agents used for neutralization purposes and some of their limitations. 

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygie-nists (ACGIH) (1999) 1999 TLVs and BEIs. Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents, Biological Exposure Indices. Gincinnati, OH AGGIH. 

It is also possible that there can be exposure to multiple ototoxic agents simultaneously. For example, multiple antibiotics can be prescribed and the ototoxic effects could be additive. A patient may be on diuretics and receiving chemotherapy or antibiotic therapy. In these cases is has been observed that the effects of these two agents is synergistic, that is, the effects of the combined treatment is greater than the expected effect of each agent individually. Exposure of workers to industrial chemicals can also occur in a noisy occupational environment. Studies of the interaction of ototoxic solvents and noise have shown additive effects related to both functional changes and hair cell loss. 

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