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
 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
Blood Level

Inhalation

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