Industrial toxicology — Toxicokinetics and mechanisms of action

Industrial toxicology can be defined as the surveillance and monitoring of the effects on humans of substances to which they are exposed in the course of their professional activities.

It includes :

• monitoring the air the subject breathes;

• biological monitoring of exposed individuals;

• clinical monitoring.

In this article, we will deal with the first two aspects, while the third will only be considered in the context of professional legislation. The list of products used in industrial toxicology is very extensive, so we have been forced to make a number of choices and deal only with the substances most commonly used or which may present particular dangers to the health of exposed subjects. Before tackling the monographs on the various industrial toxins, we felt it essential to review a number of general facts about these products and their fate in the body. We will present elements of toxicokinetics: absorption, distribution and excretion of toxic substances in humans. The general metabolism of these substances will also be developed and, lastly, the mechanism of action of the toxins will be explained in order to better understand the section devoted to monographs. The article Industrial toxicology - Detection and monitoring [ ], detection and monitoring methods in industrial toxicology.