Chemical Injuries
نویسندگان
چکیده
During the past century, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of chemicals produced. Worldwide, there are more than 5 million known chemicals, with an additional 10,000 to 20,000 new chemicals developed each year. Furthermore, an estimated 500,000 unique shipments of hazardous materials occur daily throughout the United States, resulting in thousands of exposures to hazardous materials annually. These chemicals, which include acids, alkalis, and other highly reactive substances, not only are found throughout industry but also are ingredients in many household products. Exposure to these substances can result in injuries to many organs, including the eyes, skin, and lungs. Despite myriad potential exposures to chemicals each day, the number of actual exposures is relatively low, largely because of sound industry practices and state and federal regulations. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act contains extensive provisions for emergency planning. A hazardous material (hazmat) is defined as any substance, including gases, solids, or liquids, that has the potential to cause harm to people or the environment. The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system collects information on chemical exposures from 14 states. According to the 20072008 HSEES report, more than 15,000 chemical events occurred in the United States during this 2-year span. The manufacturing sector accounted for nearly half of all chemical exposures in the United States. Transportation, communication, and other public utilities accounted for nearly one third of all exposures. Employees working with the chemicals were the most likely to be injured, followed by the general public. Both the current and the past HSEES reports can be found online at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HS/ HSEES/annual2008.html. The most commonly released hazardous substances are volatile organic compounds, herbicides, acids, and ammonia. Various household products, such as cement, drain cleaners, and gasoline, are also potentially quite hazardous, and exposure can result in severe disability or death.
منابع مشابه
The Role of Serum Level of Interleukin-6 in Severity of Pulmonary Complications of Sulfur Mustard Injuries
Diverse studies suggest that interleukin-6 (IL6), as a member of cytokines family, has a major role in inflammatory processes of airways and lungs. In this study, an attempt was made to determine the serum level of IL6 in sulfur mustard (SM) injured patients and its comparison with controls. The measured IL6 mean level in patients with chemical injuries (0.76±0.3 ng/ml) was significantly higher...
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Clinical manifestations of sixteen children and teenagers exposed to chemical warfare in Halabje are presented. 15 patients complained of burning of skin. Dry coughing was present in 13 subjects. The most frequent signs were conjunctivitis, skin erythema, edema of the eyelids, hyperpigmentation, ulceration, erosion, dyspnea, closure ofthe eyes, blisters, edema of the skin, and crepitation ...
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Sulfur mustard (SM, bis- (2-chloroethyl) sulphide) is a chemical warfare agent that causes DNA alkylation, protein modification and membrane damage. SM can trigger several molecular pathways involved in inflammation and oxidative stress, which cause cell necrosis and apoptosis, and loss of cells integrity and function. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is a growing research topic and is ...
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Background: Theophylline may reverse steroid resistance and decrease inflammation in patients with chronic pulmonary disease and sulfur mustard (SM) induced bronchiolitis. This study was designed to assess the effects of low-dose theophylline on improvement of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) of SM exposed patients.Methods: In this comparative observational study, a group of SM-exposed victims d...
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