Organic compounds – health hazards
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Transcript of Organic compounds – health hazards
Mike Slater
Organic
Compounds containing carbon
(with some important exceptions)
Inorganic
Compounds that aren’t organic!
Aromatic Compounds
benzene naphthalenebenzo(a)pyrene
CH3
toluene
CH3
CH3m-xylene
Compounds containing benzene rings
Aliphatic Compounds
Organic compounds that aren’t aromatic!
Many organic compounds are highly volatile
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Concentration depends on vapour pressure
Increases with temperature
Low vapour pressure gives lower vapour concentration
Where is exposure to VOCs likely to occur?
Industrial solvents
Paints
Adhesives
Cleaning
Volatile Organic Compounds
Generic effects
Acute:
Depression of central nervous system
Narcosis increases with:
Number of carbon atoms
Number of carbon containing side groups
Halogenation
Alcohol groups
Degree of unsaturation
Irritation
Extraction of fat / lipids from cell membranes
Acute:
Irriation
Increased effect with number of functional
groups
unsaturated compounds
Defatting of skin - dermatitis
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/skin/occderm-slides/ocderm8.html
Sub - acute:
Neurotoxicity
Chronic:
Effects on other organs
Chronic:
Teratogens
Effects on developing foetus
Chronic:
Summary of generic effects of volatile organic compounds
Acute
Narcosis Irritation
Sub acute
Dermatitis
Chronic
Neurotoxicity Effects on other organs Some are teratogens
Individual compounds also have their own specific effects
n-Hexane can cause peripheral neuritis
Benzene - is a known human carcinogen causing leukaemia
Styrene is highly irritant
CHCH2
styrene
Many Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) can cause bladder and other cancers
benzo(a)pyrene
http://www.slideshare.net/mikeslater
http://diamondenv.wordpress.com
Twitter: @diamondenv
Mike Slater
Mike Slater, Diamond Environmental Ltd. ([email protected])
This presentation is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
UK:International Licence