Toxic materials information

TMIC (Toxic Materials Information Center) from ORNL 1940-1973... 

Many sophisticated models and correlations have been developed for consequence analysis. Millions of dollars have been spent researching the effects of exposure to toxic materials on the health of animals the effects are extrapolated to predict effects on human health. A considerable empirical database exists on the effects of fires and explosions on structures and equipment. And large, sophisticated experiments are sometimes performed to validate computer algorithms for predicting the atmospheric dispersion of toxic materials. All of these resources can be used to help predict the consequences of accidents. But, you should only perform those consequence analysis steps needed to provide the information required for decision making. 

Often an organization will strive for the elimination of a specific toxic material from a given process. Alternatives will also have other hazards and risks that require an informed choice. The industrial hygienist, chemist, and safety engineer play an important role in developing the information for making the selection between alternatives. 

Materials information includes toxicity, permissible exposure limits, physical properties, reactivity, corrosivity, thermal and chemical and hazardous effects of inadvertent mixing of different materials.Process information consists of 1) process flow diagrams, 2) process chemistry descriptions, 3) maximum amounts of chemicals, 4) safe ranges for temperatures, pressures, flows oi 5) evaluation of the con.sequences of deviations. 

Professional society promotes the study and control of environmental factors affecting the health and well-being of factory workers, including procedures for monitoring the exposure to toxic materials in the work place. Offers laboratory accreditation and testing programs and informational pamphlets on various health and safety topics. 

Generally, the main pathways of exposure considered in tliis step are atmospheric surface and groundwater transport, ingestion of toxic materials that luu c passed tlu-ough the aquatic and tcncstrial food chain, and dermal absorption. Once an exposure assessment determines the quantity of a chemical with which human populations nniy come in contact, the information can be combined with toxicity data (from the hazard identification process) to estimate potential health risks." The primary purpose of an exposure assessment is to... 

Measurement of exposure can be made by determining levels of toxic chemicals in human serum or tissue if the chemicals of concern persist in tissue or if the exposure is recent. For most situations, neither of these conditions is met. As a result, most assessments of exposure depend primarily on chemical measurements in environmental media coupled with semi-quantitative assessments of environmental pathways. However, when measurements in human tissue are possible, valuable exposure information can be obtained, subject to the same limitations cited above for environmental measurement methodology. Interpretation of tissue concentration data is dependent on knowledge of the absorption, excretion, metabolism, and tissue specificity characteristics for the chemical under study. The toxic hazard posed by a particular chemical will depend critically upon the concentration achieved at particular target organ sites. This, in turn, depends upon rates of absorption, transport, and metabolic alteration. Metabolic alterations can involve either partial inactivation of toxic material or conversion to chemicals with increased or differing toxic properties. 

In summary, fires represent a particularly complex problem for toxicologists. The exposure atmospheres are a mixture of many substances, and no two fires are alike. One aspect of the mixture that has received relatively little attention is the particulate component of smokes. From studies on carbon black and on soot in diesel exhaust we now have information on the chronic toxicity of soot. An area in which we need additional information is the potential for fire-generated soot to adsorb toxic materials, and then to deposit and desorb such materials in the lung. For this information we must await the results of future research. 

Funds have been assigned in the regional and local budgets for improving the storing of these toxic material, according to information from... 

Many birds such as sparrows, blackbirds, rice birds, grackles, and cowbirds can cause heavy loss of grain in rice fields. Because the use of poisoned baits in some countries is often restricted by law or popular opinion, the information presented does not constitute a recommendation on any specific chemical. The use of strychnine-poisoned rough rice (17, 18, 25) against blackbirds, grackles, cowbirds, and English sparrows, wherever the use of poison is permitted, can be effective. Many other toxic chemicals will kill these birds however, domestic poultry and game bird species are relatively much less susceptible to strychnine than to other toxic materials. Therefore, we have in strychnine a fairly effective selectivity which other toxic materials do not offer. 

This volume of the series Medicinal Plants of the World Chemical Constituents, Modern and Traditional Medicinal Uses contains information on 16 plant species and follows the same format as volumes 1 and 2. Some of the plants discussed in volume 3 may be considered controversial in their classification as medicinal. However, the Paracelsian dictum that sola dosis fecit venenum has been appreciated since ancient times, and throughout the ages many highly toxic materials used for lethal purposes have also found applications in modern medicine. It has been recognized that plants contain substances that are either harmful or toxic. However, it is wrong to think that there are plant toxins that are known or that are likely to have adverse effects on any and every form of life. A common feature of most toxic plants is that they are also known for their curative properties, and although they may provide the cure for an individual s disease at one dose, they may cause the death of the same individual at another. 

After assessing the technical literature, a summary document (Figure 5) of the biological effects data is prepared for review by CACPH Advisory Panel and TMAC. This review results in a recommendation to draft a Toxic Material Advisory report which contains an interim exposure limit in additional pertinent health and safety requirements. The draft Toxic Material Advisory report is then reviewed by independent consultants. These consultants attend a 1-2 day meeting to evaluate the document and the appropriateness of the interim exposure limit. The independency of the review meeting is assured by having one of CACPH Advisory Panel member chair the committee to ensure that the review process proceeds in an orderly manner. CACPH s staff participation at this meeting is only to provide overview on the information that is available for review. 

In addition to references on these topics, a separate reference section is devoted to other E P materials. Information related to human health effects is emphasized in this article. Included are the mostly qualitative accounts, by industrial or military physicians, of human intoxication documentation of mammalian toxicity expts and the results of microbial mutagenicity testing, a comparatively recent development. Brief summaries have been presented of the results of tests on aquatic organisms because of their sensitivity to the pollutants that surround them, such organisms provide responses indicative of water quality... 

SMITH, C.F., COHEN, J.J. and MCKONE, T.E. (1980). A Hazard Index for Underground Toxic Material, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report UCRL-52889 (National Technical Information Service, Spring-field, Virginia). 

Grossel, Stanley and Daniel A. Crowl, eds., Handbook of Highly Toxic Materials Handling and Management, ISBN 0-8247-8923-7, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1995. The major objective of this book is to provide necessary technical information to individuals who handle and process highly toxic materials, so they will do it safely, without impact on people and the environment. Twelve different specialists contributed to the 12 chapters. 

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