Examples of Industrial Toxicants

Carcinogen exposure is largely due to lifestyle, such as cigarette smoking, but occupation is an important source of exposure to carcinogens. Table 4.4 lists some occupational chemical hazards and the cancers associated with them. 

Cadmium is a cumulative toxicant with a biologic half-life of up to 30 years in humans. More than 70% of the cadmium in the blood is bound to red blood cells accumulation occurs mainly in the kidney and the liver, where cadmium is bound to metallothionein. In humans the critical target organ after long-term exposure to cadmium is the kidney, with the first detectable symptom of kidney toxicity being an increased excretion of specific proteins. 

Asbestos Lung, pleura, peritoneum Miners, manufacturers, users 

Arsenic Skin, lung, liver Miners and smelters, oil refinery, pesticide workers 

Benzene Hemopoietic tissue Process workers, textile workers 

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