RT Book, Section
A1 Wax, Paul M.
A2 Hoffman, Robert S.
A2 Howland, Mary Ann
A2 Lewin, Neal A.
A2 Nelson, Lewis S.
A2 Goldfrank, Lewis R.
SR Print(0)
ID 1108423723
T1 Toxicologic Misfortunes and Catastrophes In History
T2 Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 10e
YR 2015
FD 2015
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071801843
LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108423723
RD 2024/04/23
AB Throughout  history,  mass  poisonings  have  caused  suffering  and  misfortune.  From  the  ergot  epidemics  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  contemporary  industrial  disasters,  these  mass  events  have  had  great  political,  economic,  social,  and  environmental  ramifications.  Particularly  within  the  past  100  years,  as  the  number  of  toxins  and  potential  toxins  has  risen  dramatically,  toxic  disasters  have  become  an  increasingly  common  event.  The  sites  of  some  of  these  events—Bhopal  (India),  Chernobyl  (Ukraine),  Jonestown  (Guyana),  Love  Canal  (New  York),  Minamata  Bay  (Japan),  Seveso  (Italy),  West  ­Bengal  (India)—have  come  to  symbolize  our  increasing  potential  for  toxicity  in  our  environment.  Globalization  has  led  to  the  proliferation  of  toxic  chemicals  throughout  the  world  and  their  rapid  distribution.  Many  chemical  factories  that  store  large  amounts  of  potentially  lethal  chemicals  are  not  secure.  Given  the  increasing  attention  to  terrorism  preparedness,  an  appreciation  of  chemicals  as  agents  of  opportunity  for  terrorists  has  suddenly  assumed  great  importance.  This  chapter  provides  an  overview  of  some  of  the  most  consequential  and  historically  important  toxin-associated  mass  poisonings  that  represent  human  and  environmental  disasters.