Toxic Spill in West Virginia: Tox on the Web

Chemical Leak in West Virginia: On her Wired Science blog Elemental, @deborahblum tries to track down information about 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), a “detergent” (foaming agent) used for washing coal that leaked from a storage tank into West Virginia’s Elk River on Thursday. Not much is known about the toxicology and risk of MCHM, except that it is an irritant. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents have been advised to stop drinking and bathing in tap water. Blum makes the important point that, although at this point MCHM does not seem to be overwhelmingly toxic, not enough research has been done to know for sure. This is most likely the case for numerous chemicals used in industry that pose potential risks of contamination. Update: Fox News is reporting today that as a result of the spill, at least 4 people have been hospitalized and hundreds more have reported symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, and skin irritation. Amiodarone Toxicity: In a short post at LearnTheHeart, Steven Lome reminds us that amiodarone can cause pulmonary toxicity, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, and blue man syndrome (argyria). In another post, LearnTheHeart suggests a mnemonic for the side effects of amiodarone: BITCH: Bradycardia, Interstitial lung disease, Thyroid (hyper- and hypo-). Corneal/Cutaneous, Hepatic or Hypotension (IV) Organophosphate poisoning in Japan: Bloomberg News reported that almost 900 people have been ...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical amiodarone carbon monoxide toxicity child abuse dolphins elk river hyperbaric oxygen methylcyclohexane puffer fish toxic leak west virginia Source Type: news