scholarly journals The Valuation of Contaminated Life: RCA in Taiwan and the Compensation of Toxic Exposure

Author(s):  
Paul Jobin
Keyword(s):  
2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
Frederick Fung

Abstract A diagnosis of toxic-related injury/illness requires a consideration of the illness related to the toxic exposure, including diagnosis, causation, and permanent impairment; these are best performed by a physician who is certified by a specialty board certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. The patient must have a history of symptoms consistent with the exposure and disease at issue. In order to diagnose the presence of a specific disease, the examiner must find subjective complaints that are consistent with the objective findings, and both the subjective complaints and objective findings must be consistent with the disease that is postulated. Exposure to a specific potentially causative agent at a defined concentration level must be documented and must be sufficient to induce a particular pathology in order to establish a diagnosis. Differential diagnoses must be entertained in order to rule out other potential causes, including psychological etiology. Furthermore, the identified exposure at the defined concentration level must be capable of causing the diagnosis being postulated before the examiner can conclude that there has been a cause-and-effect relationship between the exposure and the disease (dose-response relationship). The evaluator's opinion should make biological and epidemiological sense. The treatment plan and prognosis should be consistent with evidence-based medicine, and the rating of impairment must be based on objective findings in involved systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Koontz ◽  
Blair C. R. Dancy ◽  
Cassandra L. Horton ◽  
Jonathan D. Stallings ◽  
Valerie T. DiVito ◽  
...  

There is overwhelming evidence that the microbiome must be considered when evaluating the toxicity of chemicals. Disruption of the normal microbial flora is a known effect of toxic exposure, and these disruptions may lead to human health effects. In addition, the biotransformation of numerous compounds has been shown to be dependent on microbial enzymes, with the potential for different host health outcomes resulting from variations in the microbiome. Evidence suggests that such metabolism of environmental chemicals by enzymes from the host's microbiota can affect the toxicity of that chemical to the host. Chemical-microbial interactions can be categorized into two classes: Microbiome Modulation of Toxicity (MMT) and Toxicant Modulation of the Microbiome (TMM). MMT refers to transformation of a chemical by microbial enzymes or metabolites to modify the chemical in a way that makes it more or less toxic. TMM is a change in the microbiota that results from a chemical exposure. These changes span a large magnitude of effects and may vary from microbial gene regulation, to inhibition of a specific enzyme, to the death of the microbes. Certain microbiomes or microbiota may become associated with different health outcomes, such as resistance or susceptibility to exposure to certain toxic chemicals, the ability to recover following a chemical-induced injury, the presence of disease-associated phenotypes, and the effectiveness of immune responses. Future work in toxicology will require an understanding of how the microbiome interacts with toxicants to fully elucidate how a compound will affect a diverse, real-world population.


Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 1379-1391
Author(s):  
Monique A Johnson ◽  
Hans R Waterham ◽  
Galyna P Ksheminska ◽  
Liubov R Fayura ◽  
Joan Lin Cereghino ◽  
...  

Abstract We have developed two novel schemes for the direct selection of peroxisome-biogenesis-defective (pex) mutants of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Both schemes take advantage of our observation that methanol-induced pex mutants contain little or no alcohol oxidase (AOX) activity. AOX is a peroxisomal matrix enzyme that catalyzes the first step in the methanol-utilization pathway. One scheme utilizes allyl alcohol, a compound that is not toxic to cells but is oxidized by AOX to acrolein, a compound that is toxic. Exposure of mutagenized populations of AOX-induced cells to allyl alcohol selectively kills AOX-containing cells. However, pex mutants without AOX are able to grow. The second scheme utilizes a P. pastoris strain that is defective in formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FLD), a methanol pathway enzyme required to metabolize formaldehyde, the product of AOX. AOX-induced cells of fld1 strains are sensitive to methanol because of the accumulation of formaldehyde. However, fld1 pex mutants, with little active AOX, do not efficiently oxidize methanol to formaldehyde and therefore are not sensitive to methanol. Using these selections, new pex mutant alleles in previously identified PEX genes have been isolated along with mutants in three previously unidentified PEX groups.


1989 ◽  
Vol 65 (3_suppl2) ◽  
pp. 1203-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Lees-Haley

This study reports that 100% of 52 untrained volunteers were able to fake psychopathology on the SCL-90-R at a level comparable to the average range for psychiatric patients. Although not questioning the nonforensic clinical usefulness of the instrument, the author cautions SCL-90-R users to employ the instrument with care in contexts in which deception is an issue. Data on efforts to fake cancerphobia and emotional distress secondary to toxic exposure are presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 709-727
Author(s):  
Maricarmen Hernandez

Why do residents of a contaminated area actively organize to formalize their land tenure and continually invest scarce resources in the fortification of their homes, despite their high-risk locations? Existing research documents the collective struggles of residents of contaminated communities to leave toxic areas or to confront polluting industries. Drawing from long-term ethnographic fieldwork in an informal settlement located next to a highly polluting petrochemical complex in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, this article presents the case of a marginalized community that is not only well-aware of its toxic exposure but also actively organizing and investing time and resources to ensure its permanence in the area. This article shows that the strenuous circumstances under which families moved into the neighborhood after multiple displacements, their continued struggle to remain there along with their longing for housing stability have contributed to their extended exposure to the poisonous toxic externalities of the neighboring petrochemical industry.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1040-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philomena M. Bluyssen

Children spend more time in schools than in any other place except at home. Children are more susceptible than adults to effects of toxic exposure, but also to poor acoustic conditions. It is known for some time that unsatisfactory environmental conditions, can have both short-term and long-term health effects, and can affect productivity or learning ability of the children. The underlying literature study focusses on the role of the indoor school environment on the health, comfort and performance of children in classrooms. In the last decades, many studies all over the world have been performed to document the indoor environment in classrooms and to examine relations with diseases and disorders. An inventory is made of these studies, major identified issues are discussed and ‘new’ directions of research are proposed. It is concluded that new generation research studies should be focussed on engagement of the children in an active way, preferable in semi-lab environments, and taking account of all aspects and interactions between them.


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