Chapter 2: Health And Safety

Front 1

Toxicology

Back 1

The study of chemical or physical agents that produce adverse responses in the biological systems with which they interact.

Front 2

Toxicity

Back 2

The ability of a substance to cause injury to a biological tissue.

Front 3

Exposure

Back 3

Contact with a hazardous material. Common methods are inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, direction contact and injection.

Front 4

Dose

Back 4

The concentration or amount of material to which the body is exposed to over a period of time.

Front 5

Acute Exposure

Back 5

An immediate exposure.

Front 6

Chronic Exposure

Back 6

Low exposures repeating over time.

Front 7

Acute Effects

Back 7

Result from a single dose or exposure to a material. Signs and symptoms from the exposure may be immediate or may not be evident for 24-72 hours after the exposure.

Front 8

Chronic Effects

Back 8

Result from a single exposure or from repeated doses or exposures over a relatively long period of time.

Front 9

Inhalation

Back 9

Introduction of a chemical or toxic material into the body by way of the respiratory system.

The most common exposure route and often the most damaging; most likely to involve a large number of civilian exposures.

Front 10

Skin Absorption

Back 10

Introduction of a chemical or agent into the body through the skin. Enhanced by abrasions, cuts, heat, and moisture.

Front 11

Ingestion

Back 11

Introduction of a chemical into the body through the mouth or inhaled chemicals trapped in saliva and swallowed.

Front 12

Direct Contact - Acids

Back 12

Strong affinity for moisture and can create significant skin and respiratory tract burns. The injury process creates a clot-like barrier that blocks deep skin penetration.

Front 13

Direct Contact - Bases

Back 13

Dissolve the fats and lipids that make up skin tissue and change the solid tissue into a soapy liquid. Caustic burns are often much deeper and more destructive than acid burns.

Front 14

Local Effect

Back 14

An effect at the point of contact.

Front 15

Systemic Effect

Back 15

When a chemical enters the bloodstream and attacks target organs and internal areas of the human body.

Front 16

Target Organs

Back 16

Organs/tissues where a toxin exerts its effects; not necessarily the organ/tissue where the toxin is most highly concentrated.

Front 17

Lethal Dose, 50% Kill (LD50)

Back 17

The concentration of an ingested, absorbed, or injected substance which results in the death of 50% of the test population. Expressed in mg/kg.

Front 18

Lethal Concentration, 50% Kill (LC50)

Back 18

The concentration of an inhaled substance that results in the death of 50% of the test population in a specific time period.

Front 19

Threshold Limit Value/Time Weighted Average (TLV/TWA)

Back 19

The maximum airborne concentration of a material to which an average healthy person may be exposed repeatedly for 8 hours each day, 40 hours per week without suffering adverse effects.

Front 20

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)

Back 20

The maximum time-weighted concentration at which 95% of exposed healthy adults suffer no adverse effects over a 40-hour work week, based on an 8-hour time-weighted average concentration.

Used by OSHA.

Front 21

Recommended Exposure Levels (REL)

Back 21

The maximum time-weighted concentration at which 95% of exposed healthy adults suffer no adverse effects over a 40-hour work week, based on an 10-hour time-weighted average concentration.

Used by NIOSH.

Front 22

Short-Term Exposure Limit (STEL)

Back 22

15-minute, time-weighted average exposure that should not be exceeded at any time, nor repeated more than four times daily with a 60 minute rest period between each exposure.

Front 23

Threshold Limit Value/Ceiling (TLV/C)

Back 23

The maximum concentration that should not be exceeded, even instantaneously.

Front 24

Threshold Limit Value/Skin (TLV/Skin)

Back 24

Indicates possible and significant exposure to a material by way of absorption through the skin, mucous membranes and eyes by direct or airborne contact.

Front 25

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)

Back 25

An atmospheric concentration of any toxic, corrosive, or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat to life, or would cause irreversible or delayed adverse health effects, or would interfere with an individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.

Front 26

Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPG)

Back 26

Air concentration guidelines for single exposures to hazardous materials.

Developed by AIHA.

Front 27

ERPG-2

Back 27

The maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed that nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to one hour without experiencing or developing irreversible or other serious health effects or symptoms that could impair an individual's ability to take protective action.

Front 28

Acute Emergency Exposure Guidelines (AEGL)

Back 28

Uniform exposure guidelines for the general public for a single short-term exposure.

Currently being developed through the U.S. EPA National Advisory Committee.

"Eagles"

Front 29

Nonionizing Radiation

Back 29

Characterized by its lack of energy to remove electrons from atoms (ie. infrared waves, radio waves)

Front 30

Ionizing Radiation

Back 30

Characterized by its ability to create charged particles (ions) in anything it strikes.

Front 31

Alpha Particles

Back 31

Largest of the common radioactive particles and have extremely limited penetrating power.

Travel 3-4 inches in the air and can be stopped by a sheet of paper or a layer of human skin. Primarily an internal hazard.

Front 32

Beta Particles

Back 32

Depending on the source, can travel several yards in the air and penetrate paper and human skin, but cannot penetrate internal organs. Can be shielded by plastic, glass or metal foil.

Front 33

Gamma Rays

Back 33

Most dangerous form of common radiation because of the speed at which it moves, its ability to pass through human tissue and the great distances it can cover. Penetrates most materials very well and it is considered a whole body hazard as internal organs can be penetrated and damaged.

Front 34

Neutron Particles

Back 34

Consists of a neutron emitted at a high speed from the nucleus of a radioactive atom. There are few natural emitters of neutron radiation.

Front 35

Half-life

Back 35

The time it takes for the activity of a radioactive material to decrease to one-half of its initial value through radioactive decay.

Front 36

Medical Surveillance Program

Back 36

Primary adjectives of a these programs are to determine that an individual can perform his or her assigned duties and to detect any changes in body system functions caused by physical and/or chemical exposures.