Human body carbon monoxide toxicity

Human toxicity values have not been established or have not been published. However, based on available information, this material appears to be more toxic than either methylene chloride or methylene chlorobromide. It is carbon monoxide in the body. 

Chemicals, unfortunately, don t sort themselves out into neat groups that behave the same way in the human body. Just because one chemical has much the same structure as another, it doesn t necessarily behave the same way as the other. What we want to know is which ones are toxic, that is, capable of causing bodily harm and how much harm they can cause. Unfortunately, we can t always do that just by looking at the chemical structure. Carbon monoxide, for example, which is a chemical combination of the soot called carbon and the gas called oxygen, is a poisonous gas which, when inhaled into the body, limits the amount of life-giving oxygen that can be... 

Most BEIs are defined as concentrations of determinants or biomarkers anticipated in biological specimens collected from healthy workers whose exposure to certain chemicals by all routes is equivalent to that of workers with inhalation only exposure at the OEL. Others measure reversible effects on the body, and still others are those that are below the concentrations associated with health effects. However, other definitions are common. For example, the German biological tolerance values (BAT) can be defined as rates of excretion of the chemical or its metabolites, or the maximum possible deviation from the norm of biological parameters induced by these substances in exposed humans. BEIs for some chemicals use other criteria, such as direct comparison with a measurable toxic effect, like carboxyhemoglobin in blood for carbon monoxide. 

Carbon is a cosmic and human element. There is about 16 kg of carbon in the human body, most of it in the tissues. It is the most essential element to life. Carbon itself is non toxic, but some simple compounds (carbon monoxide and cyanide) can be very toxic. Carbon black, which is like soot, is an irritant and can harbour carcinogenic materials. 

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