Toxics in the home

A Small Dose of Toxics in the Home presentation material. Online. Available HTTP and follow the links to downloads and then the catalog number TF1691. 

Web site contains presentation material related to toxics in the home. 

The development of malathion in 1950 was an important milestone in the emergence of selective insecticides. Malathion is from one-half to one-twentieth as toxic to insects as parathion but is only about one two-hundredths as toxic to mammals. Its worldwide usage in quantities of thousands of metric tons in the home, garden, field, orchard, woodland, on animals, and in pubHc health programs has demonstrated substantial safety coupled with pest control effectiveness. The biochemical basis for the selectivity of malathion is its rapid detoxication in the mammalian Hver, but not in the insect, through the attack of carboxyesterase enzymes on the aUphatic ester moieties of the molecule. 

Trade association of manufacturers, marketers, formula-tors, and suppliers of household, industrial, and personal care products. Acts as a clearinghouse for legislative and scientific developments that affect potentially toxic products used in the home and businesses. 

Early on in the FQPA implementation process, EPA decided to focus on OP insecticide risks. Residues of these insecticides were frequently found in foods consumed by children, these insecticides were widely used in the home and other urban environments and their toxicity was well established. In addition, EPA knew years before the passage of the FQPA that many then-... 

Many countries and regions have poison centers that provide information for people exposed to toxic substances. It is estimated that there are over 17,000 chemicals found in the home, many with only limited toxicity information. The centers maintain large databases on products and substances as well as the appropriate response... 

Exposure to hazardous substances in the home can also have long-term health implications. Children and the elderly spend a great amount of time in the home, increasing their exposure to any toxic substances. Over 15 million people in the United States suffer from asthma, including 5 million children. The number of children with asthma continues to increase despite ongoing research into the possible causes. 

In the year 2000, poison centers in the United States responded to nearly two and half million incidents, mosdy home exposures to chemical products, animal bites, and poisonous plants. Over 50% involved children under the age of six. In all, 24,024 incidents resulted in medical outcomes deemed major , and there were 1711 deaths. Almost half (46%) stemmed from exposure to pharmaceutical products. Of the remaining exposures, the largest groups resulted from cosmetics and personal care products and household cleaners. Although the large number of incidents says more about the ubiquity of potentially hazardous products in the home than about their toxicity, the numbers also point out the extent of the potential dangers if products are toxic or if medical aid is not rapidly received. Many more deaths and serious injuries would occur if not for the rapid intervention of poison centers. 

The risk from using household products can be reduced by reducing the hazard level (toxicity), by reducing exposure, or both. Reducing the toxicity - choosing less-toxic products - is arguably the best strategy because safer product choices can do more than reduce risk in the home. Safer products may also use fewer toxic chemicals in their manufacture and may be safer for the environment when disposed of. 

Occupational and environmental poisoning with metals, metalloids, and metal compounds is a major health problem. Exposure in the workplace is found in many industries, and exposure in the home and elsewhere in the nonoccupational environment is widespread. The classic metal poisons (arsenic, lead, and mercury) continue to be widely used. (Treatment of their toxicities is discussed in Chapter 57.) Occupational exposure and poisoning due to beryllium, cadmium, manganese, and uranium are relatively new occupational problems, which present new and previously unaddressed problems. 

This section is based primarily on regulations in the United States, not because these are the best but because, in toto, they are the most comprehensive. In many respects they are a complex mixture of overlapping laws and jurisdictions, providing unnecessary work for the legal profession. At the same time few, if any, toxic hazards in the home, workplace, or environment are not addressed. 

The acute toxic effects of the cholinesterase inhibitors, like those of the direct-acting agents, are direct extensions of their pharmacologic actions. The major source of such intoxications is pesticide use in agriculture and in the home. Approximately 100 organophosphate and 20 carbamate cholinesterase inhibitors are available in pesticides and veterinary vermifuges used in the USA. 

People are exposed to numerous xenobiotics in and around the home. Many, if not most, of the exposures are to mixtures of chemicals. Chemical products that are used in the home are more likely to result in toxic exposures than those used in the workplace for three reasons ... 

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