Toxicology understanding

Aldridge WN (1992) The toxic oil syndrome (TOS, 1981) from the disease towards a toxicological understanding of its chemical aetiology and mechanism. Toxicol Lett, 64-65 59-70. 

The first major objective for the inherent safety review is the development of a good understanding of the hazards involved in the process. Early understanding of these hazards provides time for the development team to implement recommendations of the inherent safety effort. Hazards associated with flammability, pressure, and temperature are relatively easy to identify. Reactive chemistry hazards are not. They are frequently difficult to identify and understand in the lab and pilot plant. Special calorimetry equipment and expertise are often necessary to fully characterize the hazards of runaway reactions and decompositions. Similarly, industrial hygiene and toxicology expertise is desirable to help define and understand health hazards associated with the chemicals employed. 

A not-for-profit toxicology research institute that provides an improved scientific basis for understanding and assessing the potential adverse effects of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and consumer preducts on human health. 

Many engineers do not fully understand toxicology, and tlieir education and experiences usually do not prepare them to nuike intelligent toxicological evaluations. However, engineers can often assist in an overall health risk study with tlie identification of a chemical haaird. 

Knowledge of the metabohsm of xenobiotics is basic to a rational understanding of pharmacology and therapeutics, pharmacy, toxicology, management of cancer, and drug addiction. All these areas involve administration of, or exposure to, xenobiotics. 

An understanding of the role of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics in the manifestation of hazard is fundamental to designing safer chemicals and can guide early design choices. Toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics use the same principles to study toxicological phenomena as those that are used to study the therapeutic use of chemicals as medicines. Toxicokinetics is concerned with the time course of action of chemicals that involves the disposition of a chemical affected by absorption, distribution, metabohsm and excretion commonly referred to by the acronym ADME. 

The toxicological profiles are developed by ATSDR pursuant to Section 104(i) (3) and (5) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund) for hazardous substances found at Department of Energy (DOE) waste sites. CERCLA directs ATSDR to prepare toxicological profiles for hazardous substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National Priorities List (NPL) and that pose the most significant potential threat to human health, as determined by ATSDR and EPA. ATSDR and DOE entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on November 4, 1992, which provided that ATSDR would prepare toxicological profiles for hazardous substances based upon ATSDR s or DOE s identification of need. The current ATSDR priority list of hazardous substances at DOE NPL sites was announced in the Federal Register on July 24, 1996 (61 FR 38451). 

Studies in rats have shown effects of lead on bone mineralization and bone growth. The effects observed in rats may be relevant to our understanding of the mechanisms for the growth deficits that have been associated with low-level in utero and childhood lead exposures. Additional studies of the effects of lead on bone metabolism in humans and in animal models would improve our understanding of the toxicological significance of lead in bone. 

Pennie WD. Use of cDNA microarrays to probe and understand the toxicological consequences of altered gene expression. Toxicol Lett 2000 112-113 473-477. 

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