ENVIROMENTAL TOXICOLOGY -- Environmental Engineering

You should answer the following activity in English!

1. All living things are potential targets of poisons. So, too, all chemicals are
potentials toxicans. Paracelsus, a scientist from the Middle Ages, summed up
this concept by stating all substances are poisons: there is none which is not a
poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy

Restate this famous quote in your own words:

Taking into account that every chemical and substance may cause harm when the right dose
isnt applied correctly. The quote makes reference that the dose is so important like the
structure chemical whit the effect having like result making feel better to the person

2. The simplest and more common substances can be toxic even water. How do
you suppose water could be toxic?
The water might be toxic for substances that are in a natural way in the land for example
the arsenic and fluorides, which generate harmful effects in the human health.
Arsenic: Hurts in the system cardiovascular.
Fluorides: Injuries similar to the osteoporosis

3. Name at least three substances which your normally consider safe, and explain
the circumstances by which the could be harmful

Salt
Sodium excess has adverse effects on the heart muscle, which worsens heart
function, disorder such as heart attacks or heart failure; when the heart is
unable to pump the blood needed for the body.

Sugar: can inhibit the immune system and the weaken defenses against
infectious diseases, can also produce a significant increase in total cholesterol
and triglycerides, provoke a reactive hypoglycemia

Acetaminophen: Being continually recommended by the doctor and used as

analgesic, the risk presented by excessive consumption are strange allergic
reactions, respiratory distress, urticarial, rash and swelling of the face, lips,
tongue or throat and in the worse cases, alterations in the liver, by overdose,
which may be incompatible with life.

4. You should now be able to realize the importance of those circumstances you
described above. These conditions are critical to the study of toxicology and are
described further below.
 For an organism to have an adverse effect from a chemical, it must first have
been in contact with it. This is called EXPOSURE. Name at least 5 xenobiotics to
which you have been exposed in the last 24 hours.

a. Particulate matter due to the emissions of cars in the air.

b. Amoxicillin
c. Satured fats
d. Energizing drinks
e. Protein Shakes

5. Next, you might think about how you came into contact with those xenobiotics.
The answer to this question determines the ROUTE of exposure. For example,
you breathe in air pollutants, thus the first contact points in your body would
be your nasal passages, airways, lungs, etc. (This would be the route of carbon
monoxide poisoning.)

EXPOSURE ROUTE
Particulate matter due to the emissions
of cars in the air Nasal passages-> airways -> lungs
Mouth -> stomach -> Small intestine -> Liver -> Blood
Amoxicillin
stream
Mouth -> stomach -> Small intestine -> Liver -> Blood
Satured fats
stream
Mouth -> stomach -> Small intestine -> Liver -> Blood
Energizing drinks
stream
Mouth -> stomach -> Small intestine -> Liver -> Blood
Protein Shakes
stream

6. Below are some other routes of exposure for humans. For each type of
exposure, list the organ(s) that will first have contact with potential toxicants.

Touch: Lipid soluble toxicants cross the skin barrier (Epidermis, Dermis, and
Hipodermis. The chemicals that attack the skin, produce burns, swelling and redness.

Ingestion: Is irritation or corrosive, is Absorbed to the lining of the gastrointestinal

tract and Transported by the blood to internal organs.

Injection: Cross the skin barrier, Absorbed into the blood system
Distribute to organs with affinity for the chemical. Affected the blood glass and the
muscle tissue.
 7. Toxicologists are also interested in other characteristics of exposure. Pretend
you are a detective at a toxic crime scene, and think of as many questions as
you can regarding the details of exposure.

Crime scene

UMB Laboratory

Death of a young man through experimental practice with acids and mercury
manipulation.

Who was the victim?

How did the crime events unfold?
Was anyone present at the time of the crime?
Were the elements used contaminated?

Medical Questions

What were the physical characteristics of the victim?

Was the victim previously with some physical difficulty?
Was the victim previously with any health problems?
How much time was exposed to the pollutant?
How much exposure did you ingest, or were you in contact with?

8. One question you may have imagined is something regarding the length of
exposure, or duration. Toxicologists define two types of exposure based on its
duration. ACUTE exposure is of brief duration. CHRONIC exposure is a
persistent exposure, over a long period of time.
Think about oil spills from ocean tankers that transport the hazardous
substance. You have probably heard about the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska
because of its magnitude, and the pristine area in which spill occurred. This is
an example of acute exposure to oil by marine fish, mammals and birds.
Compare this with the chronic exposure that animal that live along tanker
routes or near oil terminals receive from slow leaks and small spills that may
not be nearly as great in magnitude, but occur much more frequently.

Chronic exposure of this spill still exists that has endangered ten million migratory
birds and waterfowl, otters, sea lions, porpoises, whales and fish. It is the damages
that still persist because the risk remains almost the same as when the accident, it is
likely that life in this place will never do the same again and that there are no
interested in repairing this error and no authorities who claim it.
 9. Which do you think is more significant? Why?

The higher concentration of Dose will be the most significant effect, so that your answer will become much
more evident. At lower dose levels, their response will be less significant.

10. Draw a dose vs. response curve when a toxicant has no response at low dose,
but requires a high dose to observe a response.

Draw another for a toxicant, which produces responses at low doses, but at
some larger dose, the magnitude of the response, does not increase.

Text taken and adapted from: Toxicology Enrichment Materials distributed by the Society of Toxicology Suzanne
Conklin 2000. http://www.toxicology.org