TOXICOLOGY

Related to chemicals used by the chemical process

industries. Chemical engineers must have
knowledge about
o The way toxicants enter biological organisms
oThe way toxicants are eliminated from body
oThe effects of toxicants on organisms / humans
oMethods to prevent or reduce the entry of
toxicants into organisms.
 The first three are related to toxicology
The last one industrial hygiene
All subtances are poisons
Fundamental principle of toxicology there are
no harmless subtances, only harmless ways of
using subtances.
E.g. water if delivered to organismin large
enough doses.
 How Toxicants Enter Biological
Organisms
After the toxicant enters the organism if
moves into the bloodstream and is eventually
eliminated, or it is transported to the target
organ.
The damage is exerted at the target organ.
 Entry Routes
Ingestion : via mouth stomach
Inhalation : mouth / nose lungs
Injection : cuts into skin
Dermal absorption : Skin membrane
-Needs method of control ( proper industrial
hygiene)
 Methods for Control
Ingestion Enforcement of rules on eating,
drinking, smoking
Inhalation Ventilation, respirators, hoods
and PPE
Injection PPE
Dermal absorption - PPE
 Injection

Inhalation
Blood Level

Ingestion

Dermal

Time After Administration

 How Toxicants Are Eliminated From
Biological Organisms
Excretion : through the kidneys, liver, lungs
etc.
Detoxification : changing the chemical into
something less harmful by biotransformation
Storage : in the fatty tissue
 Kidneys are the dominant means of excretion in
the human body.
They eliminate substances that enter the body by
ingestion, inhalation, injection and dermal
absorption.
Toxicants are extracted by the kidneys from the
blood stream and are excreted with the urine.
Toxicants that are ingested into the digestive tract
are frequently excreted by the liver.
Chemical compounds with MW > 300 are
excreted by the liver into the bile.
MW < 300 enter the bloodstream and are
excretedby the kidneys.
 Lungs
- Eliminate volatile substance e.g chloroform,
alcohol

Skin
- Via sweat

Liver
- Dominant organ in the detoxification process.
- Detoxification occurs by biotransformation where
chemical agents are transformed by reaction into
harmless subtances.
 Final mechanism for elimination in storage :
- Involves depositing of chemical agent in the
fatty areas
- Storage create future problem!!
 Dose Versus Response
Biological Organisms respond differently to the same
dose of a toxicant.
Differences:
-Age
-Sex
-Weight
-Diet
-General health, etc.
* Given the same dose of vapors, some individuals will
barely notice any irritation ( weak/low response)
while others will be severely irritated(high response)
 Toxicity Test
Toxicologists use some animals to determine the
toxicity dosage level for some chemicals.
e.g. measurement on dosage causes the death
50%.
LD50 : Lethal Dose 50
 Acute Toxicity
- Is the effect of a single exposure or a series of
exposures occurring in a short period of time.

Chronic Toxicity
- is the effect of multiple exposures occurring
over a long period of time.
 Threshold Limit Values
The lowest value on the response vs dose curve is
called the threshold dose.
% individuals affected

Low High
Response Response
 Below this dose the body is able to detoxify and
eliminate the agent without any detectable effects.
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists has established threshold doses called
TLVs for a large number of chemical agents.
TLV refers to airborne concert rations that
correspond to conditions where no adverse effects
are normally expected during a workers life time.
Exposure occurs during :
- Normal working hours
- 8 hours per day
- 5 days / week.
 TLV TWA
- Time weighted average for a normal 8 hours workday
or 40 hours workweek.
- Workers can be exposed day after day, without
adverse effects.
TLV - STEL
- Short term exposure limit
- Maximum concentration can be exposed up to 15
minutes continously without adverse effects.
- No more than 4 excursions per day are permitted,
with at least 60 minutes between exposure periods,
and provided that the daily TLV TWA is not
exceeded.
 TLV C
- Ceiling limit
- The concentration which should not be exceeded,
even instaneously.
- For some toxicants ( e.g. carcinogens) exposures
at any level are not permitted. These toxicants
have zero thresholds.
- Units for TLVs - ppm.mg/m3
- Dusts unit in mg/m3 or mppcf ( millions of
particles per cubicfoot of air.)

e.g. Acetic Acid : 10 ppm, Acetone : 750 ppm

Ammonia : 25 ppm, Benzene : 10 ppm