Arsenic poisoning is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood. Long-term exposure can result in thickening of the skin, darker skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea, heart disease, numbness, and cancer.
Hexane is an organic compound, a straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms and has the molecular formula C6H14.
Berylliosis, or chronic beryllium disease (CBD), is a chronic allergic-type lung response and chronic lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium and its compounds, a form of beryllium poisoning. It is distinct from acute beryllium poisoning, which became rare following occupational exposure limits established around 1950. Berylliosis is an occupational lung disease.
Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, and tingling in the hands and feet. It causes almost 10% of intellectual disability of otherwise unknown cause and can result in behavioral problems. Some of the effects are permanent. In severe cases, anemia, seizures, coma, or death may occur.
Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia in which the skin becomes pink and peels. Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear.
A pesticide poisoning occurs when pesticides, chemicals intended to control a pest, affect non-target organisms such as humans, wildlife, plant, or bees. There are three types of pesticide poisoning. The first of the three is a single and short-term very high level of exposure which can be experienced by individuals who commit suicide, as well as pesticide formulators. The second type of poisoning is long-term high-level exposure, which can occur in pesticide formulators and manufacturers. The third type of poisoning is a long-term low-level exposure, which individuals are exposed to from sources such as pesticide residues in food as well as contact with pesticide residues in the air, water, soil, sediment, food materials, plants and animals.
Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very specific medical treatments, although it is administered under very careful medical supervision due to various inherent risks, including the mobilization of mercury and other metals through the brain and other parts of the body by the use of weak chelating agents that unbind with metals before elimination, exacerbating existing damage. To avoid mobilization, some practitioners of chelation use strong chelators, such as selenium, taken at low doses over a long period of time.
Polyneuropathy is damage or disease affecting peripheral nerves in roughly the same areas on both sides of the body, featuring weakness, numbness, and burning pain. It usually begins in the hands and feet and may progress to the arms and legs and sometimes to other parts of the body where it may affect the autonomic nervous system. It may be acute or chronic. A number of different disorders may cause polyneuropathy, including diabetes and some types of Guillain–Barré syndrome.
Manganism or manganese poisoning is a toxic condition resulting from chronic exposure to manganese. It was first identified in 1837 by James Couper.
Cadmium is a naturally occurring toxic metal with common exposure in industrial workplaces, plant soils, and from smoking. Due to its low permissible exposure in humans, overexposure may occur even in situations where trace quantities of cadmium are found. Cadmium is used extensively in electroplating, although the nature of the operation does not generally lead to overexposure. Cadmium is also found in some industrial paints and may represent a hazard when sprayed. Operations involving removal of cadmium paints by scraping or blasting may pose a significant hazard. The primary use of cadmium is in the manufacturing of NiCd rechargeable batteries. The primary source for cadmium is as a byproduct of refining zinc metal. Exposures to cadmium are addressed in specific standards for the general industry, shipyard employment, the construction industry, and the agricultural industry.
Aldrin is an organochlorine insecticide that was widely used until the 1990s, when it was banned in most countries. Aldrin is a member of the so-called "classic organochlorines" (COC) group of pesticides. COCs enjoyed a very sharp rise in popularity during and after The Second World War. Other noteworthy examples of COCs include DDT. After research showed that organochlorines can be highly toxic to the ecosystem through bioaccumulation, most were banned from use. It is a colourless solid. Before the ban, it was heavily used as a pesticide to treat seed and soil. Aldrin and related "cyclodiene" pesticides became notorious as persistent organic pollutants.
Abrin is an extremely toxic toxalbumin found in the seeds of the rosary pea, Abrus precatorius. It has a median lethal dose of 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body mass when given to mice intravenously. The median toxic dose for humans ranges from 10 to 1000 micrograms per kilogram when ingested and is 3.3 micrograms per kilogram when inhaled.
Metal toxicity or metal poisoning is the toxic effect of certain metals in certain forms and doses on life. Some metals are toxic when they form poisonous soluble compounds. Certain metals have no biological role, i.e. are not essential minerals, or are toxic when in a certain form. In the case of lead, any measurable amount may have negative health effects. It is often thought that only heavy metals can be toxic, but lighter metals such as beryllium and lithium may also be in certain circumstances. Not all heavy metals are particularly toxic, and some are essential, such as iron. The definition may also include trace elements when abnormally high doses may be toxic. An option for treatment of metal poisoning may be chelation therapy, a technique involving the administration of chelation agents to remove metals from the body.
Ethylene glycol poisoning is poisoning caused by drinking ethylene glycol. Early symptoms include intoxication, vomiting and abdominal pain. Later symptoms may include a decreased level of consciousness, headache, and seizures. Long term outcomes may include kidney failure and brain damage. Toxicity and death may occur after drinking even in a small amount as ethylene glycol is more toxic than other diols.
Samuel Stockhausen was a German physician in the mining town of Goslar. He studied the ancient miner's disease, called Hüttenkatze, among workers in the nearby mines of Rammelsberg in the Harz mountains. In 1656 he published a book, in Latin, attributing the disease to noxious fumes from litharge, Libellus de lithargyrii fumo noxio morbifico, ejusque metallico frequentiori morbo vulgò dicto die Hütten Katze oder Hütten Rauch Because of this he is considered by some to be the first occupational physician. Unlike his near contemporary, Paracelsus, who also wrote about diseases of miners, Stockhausen recognized litharge-derived dust as the causative factor and recommended avoiding inhaling it. This was the first time that the ancient syndrome, known to Romans as morbi metallici, was attributed specifically to chronic poisoning with lead.
Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR)-Pesticides is a U.S. state-based surveillance program that monitors pesticide-related illness and injury. It is administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), twelve state health agencies participate. NIOSH provides technical support to all participating states. It also provides funding to some states, in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Aluminium phosphide poisoning is poisoning that occurs as a result of excessive exposure to aluminium phosphide (AlP), which is readily available as a fumigant for stored cereal grains and sold under various brand names such as QuickPhos, Salphos and Celphos. Aluminium phosphide is highly toxic, especially when consumed from a freshly opened container. Acute aluminium phosphide poisoning (AAlPP) is a large though under-reported problem throughout the world, particularly in the Indian subcontinent.
Jeffrey A. Brent is a medical toxicologist who is a distinguished clinical professor of medicine and emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. In addition, he is a professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. He is also the past president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, was editor in chief of the journal Toxicological Reviews, and was a member of the board of directors of the American College of Medical Toxicology. Previously, most of Brent's research focused on the use of fomepizole as a treatment for both methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning, and he led a trial of this drug which resulted in the FDA approving it in December 1997. Currently, Brent serves as Director of the Toxicology Investigators Consortium, an NIH and FDA supported multi center research and surveillance group. Brent is also a senior editor of "Critical Care Toxicology: Diagnosis and Management of the Critically Poisoned Patient," originally published in 2005, and now in its second edition, which was published in 2017.
Fusarium langsethiae is a species of fungus in the family Nectriaceae. It is a suspected plant pathogen. This species was isolated from oats, wheat and barley kernels in several European countries. It resembles Fusarium poae, from which it differs by slower growth, less aerial mycelium and absence of odour. Its turnip-shaped or spherical conidia are borne in the aerial mycelium, whereas those of F. poae are produced on straight monophialides mostly in the aerial mycelium. It does not produce sporodochial conidia.
The lead–crime hypothesis is a research area that involves a study of the correlation between elevated blood lead levels in children and increased rates of crime, delinquency, and recidivism later in life.
