As toxicology is the study of the adverse reaction of chemicals on living organisms, toxicologists train to examine these reactions. They examine the reactions from the cellular levels in an individual, to the effect of the reactions on the population as a whole. Since there are many different chemicals and many different resultant adverse effects, toxicology is an extremely broad field. It can however be simplified by the role that the toxicologist plays in solving the puzzle.
Descriptive Toxicology
A toxicologist in this field works on the testing and data collection aspect. A descriptive toxicologist gathers data from animal experimentation. This data can be used to determine how certain chemicals can have adverse effects on laboratory animals. The data can then be used to predict reactions in the human population.
Mechanistic Toxicology
A mechanistic toxicologist works more on the organism systems or the organism level. A mechanistic toxicologist works to determine how particular chemicals exert their adverse effects on an organism and how the effects can be harmful.
Regulatory Toxicology
The data that is provided by both descriptive toxicologists and mechanistic toxicologists is interpreted by a regulatory toxicologist. The data can help decide the risk level or safety of chemicals. This area of toxicology has far reaching implications within many regulatory agencies, as the data collected is used to establish standards.
Standards are the regulatory set levels or concentrations of chemicals which can be considered safe for use. These levels, based on data will not cause harmful effects. Since people are exposed to chemicals in many different ways, there are a number of agencies within the government that oversee that these standards are met and followed:
- The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the safety of food, drugs, cosmetics and food additives.
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulates pesticides, wastewater from industry, and air pollution.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) help establish safe workplaces.
Specialized Toxicology
Toxicologists can also work in other specialized fields.
- Forensic Toxicology: Most forensic toxicologists use toxicology data collected after the demise of an individual or organism to determine the cause of death.
- Clinical Toxicology: Toxicologists in this discipline deal mostly with the adverse effects of chemicals in a clinical setting. They work to develop methods to test for and to counteract adverse reactions.
- Environmental Toxicology: An environmental toxicologist works on the effects of chemicals on the human environment. The human environment can be defined as the ambient water, soil, air and food that is consumed.
- Ecotoxicology: A toxicologist in this field deals primarily with the transport and fate of chemicals within an ecosystem.
Choosing a specialization within toxicology can be difficult but it is important to have basic understanding of the field before entering a program.
Sources
Dave Eaton, Kurtis Klassen General Principles of Toxicology. In: Casarett & Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons (Klaassen CD, ed). 5th ed. New York:McGraw Hill. pp. 13-23.
