Toxic injury

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Toxic injury

A toxic injury is a type of injury caused by toxin. Toxic injuries can cause teratogenic effects, respiratory effects, gastrointestinal effects, cardiovascular effects, hepatic effects, renal effects and neurological effects. They can also lead to various forms of cancer or learning disability. [1] Effects can occur after acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) exposure, depending on the toxicity of the substance.

Contents

Those who have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are at greater risk of toxic injury. In America, May is recognized as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Toxic Injury Awareness Month. [2]

Signs and symptoms

Every toxic injury or exposure to a toxin has different effects and symptoms. Some toxic effects do not necessarily cause permanent damage and can be reversible. However, some toxins can cause irreversible permanent damage. Depending on the intensity of the poison of the substance it [3] can affect just one particular organ system or they may produce generalized toxicity by affecting a number of systems. A variety of symptoms occur depending on how and where the toxic injuries affect the body. Generally, if the toxins affect the respiratory system the symptoms are coughing, tight chest, difficulty in breathing and nose and throat irritation. Miscarriage or infertility can occur if it occurs in the ovaries or testes. Depression, severe headaches and dizziness are the symptoms for toxins affecting the spinal cord and brain. Visible reactions such as skin rashes, and swelling and eye redness are common. Exposure to asbestos can lead to Mesothelioma which [4] is a cancer that can cause serious damage to the lining of the lungs. The symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, night sweats and fever.

Causes

There are thousands of causes of toxic injuries. A toxic injury is caused when one comes in contact with any toxin. However, some causes are still unknown or extremely uncommon. Generally, there are two different categories in which a toxic injury may fall into. An injury due to an environmental toxin, or an injury due to chemical exposure. [5] An environmental toxin is one that is found naturally in our surroundings. (For example, molds. Mold spores may be found both indoors and outdoors.) Although it is possible that an environmental toxin can be produced with human intervention (such as pesticides) it is still considered natural. Injuries due to chemical exposure are often more severe due to the nature of these highly toxic substances. Common toxins that may cause a chemical toxic injury are found in consumer products, pharmaceuticals and industrial products.

Environmental toxic injuries

Many commonly found natural substances may be toxic. They can be found in our air, water or food supply. The top ten most common environmental toxins are: [6]

Prevention

Avoiding direct exposure to toxins will reduce the risk of toxic injury.

For safety reasons, wear personal protective equipment when working near environmental or chemical toxins. Many countries have guides classifying dangerous goods and identifying the risks associated with them, such as Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. These guides have been developed to ensure worker safety when handling dangerous chemical toxins. It is also important to maintain a clean and dry environment to prevent toxic molds in the home and workplace. [7]

In the event that a toxic injury occurs, victims may have the option to file a specific type of lawsuit called a toxic tort.

Related Research Articles

Mold health issues

Mold health issues are potentially harmful effects of molds and their mycotoxins. However, recent research has shown these adverse health effects stem not just from molds, but also other microbial agents and biotoxins associated with dampness, mold, and water-damaged buildings, such as gram-negative bacteria that produce endotoxins, and actinomycetes and their associated exotoxins.

Pesticide Substance used to destroy pests

Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. The term pesticide includes all of the following: herbicide, insecticides nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, antimicrobial, fungicide, and lampricide. The most common of these are herbicides which account for approximately 80% of all pesticide use. Most pesticides are intended to serve as plant protection products, which in general, protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects. As an example, the fungus Alternaria solani is used to combat the aquatic weed Salvinia.

Poison Substance that causes death, injury or harm to organs

In biology, poisons are substances that can cause death, injury or harm to organs, tissues, cells, and DNA usually by chemical reactions or other activity on the molecular scale, when an organism is exposed to a sufficient quantity.

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

Toxicity Degree of harmfulness of substances

Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity). By extension, the word may be metaphorically used to describe toxic effects on larger and more complex groups, such as the family unit or society at large. Sometimes the word is more or less synonymous with poisoning in everyday usage.

Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifically, a neurotoxin or neurotoxicant– alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause permanent or reversible damage to nervous tissue. This can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons, which are cells that transmit and process signals in the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Neurotoxicity can result from organ transplants, radiation treatment, certain drug therapies, recreational drug use, and exposure to heavy metals, bites from certain species of venomous snakes, pesticides, certain industrial cleaning solvents, fuels and certain naturally occurring substances. Symptoms may appear immediately after exposure or be delayed. They may include limb weakness or numbness, loss of memory, vision, and/or intellect, uncontrollable obsessive and/or compulsive behaviors, delusions, headache, cognitive and behavioral problems and sexual dysfunction. Chronic mold exposure in homes can lead to neurotoxicity which may not appear for months to years of exposure. All symptoms listed above are consistent with mold mycotoxin accumulation.

Chemical hazard Non-biological substance that has the potential to cause harm to life or health

A chemical hazard is a (non-biological) substance that has the potential to cause harm to life or health. Chemicals are widely used in the home and in many other places. Exposure to chemicals can cause acute or long-term detrimental health effects. There are many types of hazardous chemicals, including neurotoxins, immune agents, dermatologic agents, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, systemic toxins, asthmagens, pneumoconiotic agents, and sensitizers. In the workplace, exposure to chemical hazards is a type of occupational hazard. The use of protective personal equipment (PPE) may substantially reduce the risk of damage from contact with hazardous materials.

Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976

The Toxic Substances Control Act is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently grandfathered in. Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate chemicals already existing in 1976 that posed an "unreasonable risk to health or to the environment", as for example PCBs, lead, mercury and radon, and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use.

Environmental toxicants and fetal development is the impact of different toxic substances from the environment on the development of the fetus. This article deals with potential adverse effects of environmental toxicants on the prenatal development of both the embryo or fetus, as well as pregnancy complications. The human embryo or fetus is relatively susceptible to impact from adverse conditions within the mother's environment. Substandard fetal conditions often cause various degrees of developmental delays, both physical and mental, for the growing baby. Although some variables do occur as a result of genetic conditions pertaining to the father, a great many are directly brought about from environmental toxins that the mother is exposed to.

Environmental hazard Harmful substance, a condition or an event

An environmental hazard is a substance, state or event which has the potential to threaten the surrounding natural environment or adversely affect people's health, including pollution and natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes.

Ecotoxicology

Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology.

Toxic encephalopathy is a neurologic disorder caused by exposure to neurotoxic organic solvents such as toluene, following exposure to heavy metals such as manganese, as a side effect of melarsoprol treatment for African trypanosomiasis, adverse effects to prescription drugs, or exposure to extreme concentrations of any natural toxin such as cyanotoxins found in shellfish or freshwater cyanobacteria crusts. Toxic encephalopathy can occur following acute or chronic exposure to neurotoxicants, which includes all natural toxins. Exposure to toxic substances can lead to a variety of symptoms, characterized by an altered mental status, memory loss, and visual problems. Toxic encephalopathy can be caused by various chemicals, some of which are commonly used in everyday life, or cyanotoxins which are bio-accumulated from harmful algal blooms (HABs) which have settled on the benthic layer of a waterbody. Toxic encephalopathy can permanently damage the brain and currently treatment is mainly just for the symptoms.

Occupational lung diseases are work-related, lung conditions that have been caused or made worse by the materials a person is exposed to within the workplace. It includes a broad group of diseases, including occupational asthma, industrial bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiolitis obliterans, inhalation injury, interstitial lung diseases, infections, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases can be caused directly or due to immunological response to an exposure to a variety of dusts, chemicals, proteins or organisms.

HN1 (nitrogen mustard) Chemical compound

Bis(2-chloroethyl)ethylamine is the organic compound with the formula C2H5N(CH2CH2Cl)2. Often abbreviated HN1, it is a powerful vesicant and a nitrogen mustard gas used for chemical warfare. HN1 was developed in the 1920s and 1930s to remove warts and later as a military agent. Because of the latter use, it is a Schedule 1 chemical within the Chemical Weapons Convention and therefore use and production is strongly restricted. It has never been used in warfare.

A toxic tort claim is a specific type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical or dangerous substance caused the plaintiff's injury or disease.

Organophosphate poisoning Medical condition

Organophosphate poisoning is poisoning due to organophosphates (OPs). Organophosphates are used as insecticides, medications, and nerve agents. Symptoms include increased saliva and tear production, diarrhea, vomiting, small pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and confusion. While onset of symptoms is often within minutes to hours, some symptoms can take weeks to appear. Symptoms can last for days to weeks.

Environmental toxicology

Environmental toxicology is a multidisciplinary field of science concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms. Ecotoxicology is a subdiscipline of environmental toxicology concerned with studying the harmful effects of toxicants at the population and ecosystem levels.

A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that harm being realized in a specific incident, combined with the magnitude of potential harm, make up its risk, a term often used synonymously in colloquial speech.

Agricultural safety and health

Agricultural safety and health is an aspect of occupational safety and health in the agricultural workplace. It specifically addresses the health and safety of farmers, farm workers, and their families.

Occupational toxicology is the application of toxicology to chemical hazards in the workplace. It focuses on substances and conditions that occur in workplaces, where inhalation exposure and dermal exposure are most important, there is often exposure to mixtures of chemicals whose interactions are complex, health effects are influenced or confounded by other environmental and individual factors, and there is a focus on identifying early adverse affects that are more subtle than those presented in clinical medicine.

References

  1. ↑ "Toxic Injury Lawsuits". Health & Safety Injury Lawyers Network. 28 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "MCS America Celebrates Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Toxic Injury Awareness Month". PRLog Press Release Distribution. 29 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Manifestations of Toxic Effects". Extoxnet. 23 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Toxic Injury - What You Need To Know". Injury LawWiki. 23 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Toxic Injury - What You Need To Know". Injury LawWiki. 23 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Top 10 most common environmental toxins". Canada.com. 10 February 2007. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Toxic Mold Prevention". Toxic Mold & Tort News Online. 29 March 2012.
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