toxic

(adjective)

Having a chemical nature that is harmful to health or lethal if consumed or otherwise entering into the body in sufficient quantities.

Related Terms

Examples of toxic in the following topics:

  • Indoor Pollution: Formaldehyde

    • Formaldehyde, the simplest aldehyde, is a common component in building and household materials, and is highly toxic.
    • At higher concentrations, it is highly toxic to humans.

  • Lipid Soluble Vitamins

    • The lipid soluble vitamins, shown in the diagram below, are not as easily eliminated and may accumulate to toxic levels if consumed in large quantity.
    • From this data it is clear that vitamins A and D, while essential to good health in proper amounts, can be very toxic.

  • Volcanoes

    • Volcanoes can contribute to air pollution through the release of toxic gases, which can include water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride, along with trace amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen fluoride.
    • Recall that volcanoes release toxic gases, including sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride.

  • The Alkaline Earth Metals

    • However, beryllium and radium are toxic.
    • It has no known role in living organisms, and, when encountered by them, is usually highly toxic.
    • Radium has a low availability and is highly radioactive, making it toxic to life.

  • Halogen Uses

    • Although halogens and their compounds can be toxic, some are essential for the human body's functioning and are used in everyday products.
    • Despite its toxicity, fluoride can be found in many everyday products, including toothpaste, vitamin supplements, baby formulas, and even public water.
    • Halogens are also part of a superset that includes many toxic and carcinogenic industrial chemicals -- PBDEs, PCBs, dioxins (PCDDs), and PFCs are all polyhalogenated compounds.

  • Elemental Boron

    • Borates have low toxicity for mammals (similar to table salt), but are more toxic to arthropods and have been used as insecticides.

  • Photochemical Smog

    • Photochemical smog forms when primary pollutants react with ultraviolet light to create a variety of toxic and reactive compounds.

  • Iron, Cobalt, Copper, Nickel, and Zinc

    • Zinc is an essential trace element for living things and has some germicidal properties, but can be toxic in large quantities.
    • It has some germicidal properties and it is toxic in large quantities.

  • Manganese

    • The 2+ oxidation state is the state used in living organisms for essential functions; other states are toxic for the human body.
    • The Mn-SOD enzyme is probably one of the most ancient, as nearly all organisms living in the presence of oxygen use it to deal with the toxic effects of superoxide formed from the 1-electron reduction of dioxygen.

  • Indoor Pollution: CO and CO2

    • Carbon monoxide is highly toxic.
    • Carbon monoxide is particularly dangerous because it is odorless; carbon monoxide sensors can be used to alert inhabitants to rising levels of this toxic gas, however.