Toxicology and Risk Assessment

Terminology and Education

The IUPAC Subcommittee on Toxicology and Risk Assessment

Chair and Presenter: John Duffus

Division VII - Chemistry and Human HealthDivision VII - Chemistry and Human Health

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IUPAC glossary and textbook

1989 - IUPAC Commission on Toxicologyand Committee on the Teaching ofChemistry starts glossary of terms intoxicology, completed and published in1993

1993 - textbook “Fundamental Toxicologyfor Chemists” to support accompanyingcurriculum; 2nd edition in preparation2004

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IUPAC toxicology modules

http://www.iupac.org/publications/cd/essential_toxicology/

Microsoft Powerpoint format for flexibility inuse

Main objective to provide material fromwhich teachers and lecturers could selectwhat they wanted in accordance with theneeds of their own students,supplementing it with examples relevant tothe students’ own experience

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IUPAC toxicology modules

Modules must be amenable to selfstudy since the teachers / lecturerswould often have to teach themselves

Accordingly, we included selfassessment questions and suggestedessay titles together with separateguidance as to answers.

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Educational objectives

To provide educators with a presentationand text on essential toxicology fromwhich they could select materialappropriate for local requirements.

To explain fundamental ideas intoxicology clearly so that students couldunderstand the hazards and risksassociated with the use of chemicals.

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Unit 1 - general considerations

Aims:

1. To point out the relationshipbetween dose and effect - thresholdand nonthreshold effects

2. To point out that natural substancesmay be highly poisonous andmanmade substances may be of lowtoxicity

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Unit 2 - factors affecting risk ofpoisoningAims:

1. To explain how substances movethrough our environment

2. To explain how effective exposuredepends on the physiological route ofexposure

3. To explain how toxic effects dependupon how the body reacts with chemicals(toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics, localand systemic effects)

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Other units

Unit 3 - environmental toxicology

Unit 4 - hazard and risk

Unit 5 - management of potentiallytoxic substances

Unit 6 - risk assessment and riskmanagement

Unit 7 - common types of chemical thatcause health risks (DDT case study)

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Methods of presentation

The PowerPoint programme permitshandouts to be printed, and overheadviewfoils to be prepared

In the absence of an overheadprojector, individual slides can beprinted out on A4 paper and used as ameans of presenting the materialselected by the teacher

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Current activities

IUPAC has added a glossary of terms intoxicokinetics

Seehttp://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2004/pdf/7605x1033.pdf

The original glossary of terms intoxicology is now being revised

A further explanatory dictionary is beingprepared considering at length some ofthe most important fundamental concepts

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Related publications - 1

Related publications available through theIUPAC site include:

workplace risk assessment

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2001/7306/7306x0993.html

heavy metal - an unacceptable term

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/7405/7405x0793.html

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Related publications - 2risk and hazard terminology

http://www.iupac.org/publications/ci/2001/march/risk_assessment.html

the measurement of volatile organiccompounds

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2000/7203/7203heinrich-ramm.html

chemical speciationhttp://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2000/7208/7208templeton.html

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Related publications - 3

mechanisms of immunosensitization to

metals (IUPAC Technical Report)http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2004/7606/7606x1255.html

diagnostic relevance of the lymphocyte

transformation test for sensitization to

beryllium and other metals (IUPAC

Technical Report)http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2004/7606/7606x1269.html

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Acknowledgments 1

I am deeply indebted to my colleagueson the former IUPAC Commission forToxicology, the current Subcommitteeon Toxicology and Risk Assessment,and the IUPAC Chemistry and HumanHealth Division Committee for theircontributions to the work describedand for continuing constructive support

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Acknowledgments 2

The former IUPAC Committee on theTeaching of Chemistry, and especiallyits Chair, Professor John Bradley, andProfessor Bob Bucat, played a majorpart in the development of the“Essential Toxicology” presentations