ING.

ANDRS VELASCO, MSc

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Paracelsus (1493-1541)

Every substance is toxic, there is not even one that isnt Dosis sola facit venenum
The dose is what

makes the difference between poison and remedy.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) He is called the father of occupational medicine When you get to the bed of your patient ask him what he does for a

living to see if his job is the cause of his disease.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
James Marsh (17941896) British scientist that created the analytic method to detect and validate arsenic, known as the Mars Test.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED POLLUTION GROWTH

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
At the end of the

XVIII Century there was a breakpoint in pollution related topics.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED POLLUTION GROWTH

WAR
Tear gas, chlorine,

phosgene, mustard gas are used during World War I. Use of chemical, biologic and atomic bombs during World War II.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED POLLUTION GROWTH

CHEMICALS PRODUCTION Pesticides Medicines and pharmaceutical products
Chemical and industrial

products Drugs

CHEMICAL DISASTERS

TOXICOLOGY
TOXICOLOGY CONCEPT

(BALLANTYNE 1999)
Science that studies the interaction between chemical agents and biological systems, in order to quantitatively determine the potential of the chemical agents to cause damage in living organisms.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
Inter disciplinary science that studies the negative effects of the chemical agents in biological systems.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
ACTION MECHANISM TOXIC

STUDIES
DIAGNOSE PREVENTION INTOXICATION

TREATMENT

MAIN CONCEPTS
XENOBIOTIC AGENT
Chemical substance that is not a natural component of

the exposed organism.

Synonyms:

Strange substance or compound Exogenous substance or compound.

MAIN CONCEPTS
TOXIC
Chemical

substance capable of causing damage to a biological system, affecting its functions or causing death under certain exposure conditions.

MAIN CONCEPTS
TOXIC CONTAMINANT

The forms of matter that exceed natural concentrations in a certain moment and system, causing damages and negative effects on it.
TOXICITY

Chemical substance self capacity to produce negative effects on a living organism.

TOXIC COMPONENTES IN A CONTAMINANT AGENT

HEAVY METALS Cd,Cr,Co,Cu,Fe,Zn,Mo,Mn, Hg,Ni,Pb,Sn,Se,V VOCs PCBs Pesticides, Dioxins y Furans

ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

PATHOGEN MICROORGANISMS

Fecal Coliforms, Helmints, Nematods, Virus

SOURCES OF HEAVY METALS

Fire

NATURAL

Volcanic Activity

Agriculture practices
Mine exploration

ANTHROPOGENIC

Industrial processes

Car pollution

HEAVY METALS
The main exponents: O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, Ti y P;

sometimes they represent up to 99% of the total composition of a substance (the rest is called traces).
can be accumulated up to toxic levels. include:

They are took by plants and animals in small amounts and Methalic elements with 6 g/m3 in free state. They Essential elements with non-toxic effects such as Iron. Essential elements in low concentrations and toxic in high

concentrations, such as : Cu, Zn, Ni.

Toxic elements (traces) such as: Cd, Pb, Hg.

HEAVY METALS EFFECTS

Eventhough we asume that heavy metals have a

pretty high level of toxicity, their hazard and risk manifest just when absorption and accumulation in the organism exceeds certain limits considered as phisiologically acceptable.
Reduces performance or quality of vegetal

production.

Phisiological changes in animals and plants. Intoxication / death

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
TOXICITY OF A SUBSTANCE: CAPACITY OF A SUBSTANCE TO CAUSE DAMAGE OR DEATH IN A LIVNG ORGANISM

VERY TOXIC: LITTLE DSE EFFECTS

NOT VERY TOXIC: GREAT DOSE EFFECTS

ENVIONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
ACCUMULATIVE EFFECT: When the adverse effects are unperceptible and the addition of these little effects show their signs when they are irreversible.

THRESHOLD EFFECTS: The effects are shown when the amount exceeds certain limit, it depends on the characteristics of the substance and the system.

INTERACTION EFFECT: When two or more substances interact, either in a chemical way (resulting in another substance), or in a biological way (causing effects that they couldnt cause by themselves).

CONTAMINANT CYCLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

BIO-CONCENTRATION: Highest chemical concentration found in the living organism compared to the concentration found in the

environment.
BIO-MAGNIFICATION: Pogressive increase of the

substance concentration as it gets transfered through the food chain.

CONTAMINANT CYCLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

PERSISTENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT:
It refers to the physical, chemical and

biological changes throughout time.

of

contaminant

Decomposition process of the substance in

physical environments through biological systems.

CONTAMINANT CYCLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

1. MOVEMENT:

Complex and not very known process that depends on the chemical and physical properties of the substance and in the characteristics of the environment. The gas, liquids and solids movement takes place in the envronment through air, water, soil, sediments, plant and animals.

2.

PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATION

AND

BIOLOGICAL

WATER SOLUBILITY: It establishes the substance capability to migrate in the envorinment; if the substance is more soluble, the easiest for the environment to bio-degradate it.
DENSITY: The fluids that are more dense than water

penetrate and go to te bottom of the water body, the lighter ones tend to stay on the surface.
STEAM PRESSURE: The volatility degree of the

chemical.

CONTAMINANT CYCLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

3. ACCUMULATION IN TWO OR MORE SITES
PRECIPITATION RATE: High precipitation rates and

very water-soluble contaminants contribute to their degradation or migration to other sites.

TEMPRATURE: This variable influences in steam

pressure, water solubility movement in the ground.

and

the

chemicals

WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION: Influences in dust

generation and contaminants migration.

MAIN CONCEPTS
EXPOSURE Its a measure of the contact between the chemical agent and the living organism; it depends on the concentration and the time.

MAIN CONCEPTS
ROUTS OR WAYS OF EXPOSURE
Is the path that a chemical agent follows

in the environment from the place where it is liberated up to the point when it makes contact with the population or the exposed individual.

EXPOSURE ROUTES
Water Air Human Income of Chemical agents
Occupational Exposure (oral,dermic,respiratory) Occasional Exposure (oral) Medicines

Food

(accidents, cosmetic uses)

HUMAN EXPOSURE TO TOXIC AGENTS

1. FORMS: ONE AGENT, SEVERAL SOURCES:

PLUMBUM

HUMAN EXPOSURE TO TOXIC AGENTS

1. FORMS: ONE SOURCE, SEVERAL AGENTS:

COMBUSTION GASES

PESTICIDES
FERTILIZERS

HUMAN EXPOSURE TO TOXIC AGENTS

1. FORMS: SEVERAL SOURCES, SEVERAL AGENTS MERCURY

PLUMBUM TOBACCO

EXPOSURE ROUTS

ACUTE EXPOSURE

CHRONIC EXPOSURE

MAIN CONCEPTS
EFFECT
Any

deviation of the normal performance of the organism, caused by toxic substances exposure.

ACUTE EFFECT

CHRONIC EFFECT

Toxicodynamics
WHAT

DOES THE BODY INCOMING SUBSTANCES?

ABSORPTION DISTRIBUTION STORAGE

DO

WITH

THE

METABOLISM O BIOTRANSFORMATION DISPOSAL / ELIMINATION

TYPES OF EFFECTS
Reversible Effect Irreversible Effect Acute Effect Chronic Effect Local Effect Systemic Effect

MAIN CONCEPTS
INTOXICATION
Pathological process caused by exposure

to endogenous or exogenous chemical substances, which is evidenced by clinic signs and symptoms or through laboratory tests.

MAIN CONCEPTS
DOSE:
The total amount of a substance that the

organism is exposed to.

Usually the dose refers to the total amount

of a material that penetrates an organism using some of the specific exposure routes.

MAIN CONCEPTS
TOXIC DOSE: Dose that produces some toxic effect. LETHAL DOSE: Dose that produces death. DL100 ( Lethal dose 100) DL50 (Lethal Dose 50)