To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Learning outcomes

The general educational goals of the course are planned to cover principles, methods, tools and functions of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The main topics of the industrial toxicology are presented and discussed. Each student is involved in discussing how chemical products must be handled and how to look for main toxicological information for each product.

Program

Definition of Risk and Hazard. Pharmacological and toxicological features of chemicals as specific properties from the biological point of view. When a product can be used as a drug for the treatment of diseases and when the same product has adverse biological effects to human health.
How to read a label of a chemical: the risk and safety phrases.
The structure of the safety data sheets and their 16 "information fields".
Pulmonary absorption, intestinal absorption and skin absorption of industrial chemicals.
The features of powders and fibers to be "biologically" effective on the lungs.
Toxicokinetics: basic information.
The biotransformation of industrial chemicals; biotransformation of benzene, toluene and n-hexane. Kinetics of excretion of their major metabolites.
Exposure limits in the workplace: comparison among American, German and European proposals.
More effective lines of research for the recovery of toxicological information.

Examination Methods

Written tests in the form of questions with multiple answers and oral integration. All questions are related to the topics discussed during the lectures in order to understand if the students have read the suggested books and learn the main aspects of the course.