Nichole Coleman PhD - The Toxicology of Essential and Nonessential Metals

The
Toxicology
of
Essential
and
Nonessential Metals

Nichole Coleman, PhD

Copyright 2017 Nichole Coleman, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any meanswhether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronicwithout written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-6908-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-6907-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017906279

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 5/4/2017

Contributing Authors

Nichole Coleman, PhD

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Chemistry

Christopher Bl aine

University of CaliforniaDavis

Davis, California

Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior

Christopher Bi vins

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Botany

Bhumil P atel

UCSanta Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Christopher Bl aine

University of CaliforniaDavis

Davis, California

Biology

Emmanuel Ro mero

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Biology

Paul Valencia Scatt olin

California State UniversityEast Bay

Hayward, California

Biological Sciences

Alexandria Luf ting

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Biology

Contributing Authors

Aisha Castr ejon

Sacramento State University

Sacramento, California

Biology

Lyia Yang, PhD

University of CaliforniaDavis

Davis, California

Plant Biology

Harold Ga lvez

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Berkeley, California

Microbial Biology

John M ateo

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Microbiology

Brittany de Lara

University of CaliforniaIrvine

Irvine, California

Biological Sciences

Hazel T. Sal unga

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

Biology

Tojo Chemma chel

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

Kinesiology

Kathry n Ma

University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Evolution and Ecology

Contributing Authors

Meryl De La Cruz

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California

Biochemistry

Henry Chen

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Berkeley, California

Public Health

Hayley M oore

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Berkeley, California

Political Economics

April Hishi numa

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Berkeley, California

Cognitive Science

Chia -I n Jane Lin

University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Biology

Christopher T aing

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California

Biological Science

Contents

Nichole Coleman PhD, Chia-In Jane Lin and Christopher Taing

What does the poison of kings have to do with the theatrical play Arsenic and Old Lace ? The play, written by Joseph Kesselring, was inspired by a true story of Amy Archer-Gilligan, a woman whod killed anywhere from twenty to one hundred people with arsenic-tainted food and drink. With her second husband, Archer-Gilligan owned a nursing home called the Archer Home for Aged People. She was suspected of killing both of her husbands and many residents in the nursing home. Police found large quantities of arsenic, which Archer-Gilligan said was used to kill the undesired rodent residents of the home. She was put on trial and found guilty, yet she pleaded a case of insanity and was granted a life sentence. In prison, she was eventually admitted into a mental hospital, where she remained until her death.

The blades we use, the pots and pans we cook with, face paint and childrens makeup contain numerous toxic metals. In make-up alone, there is as many as four types of metals. Costume paint contains cadmium and lead. Most paints that contained toxic metals are found in dark pigmented paints. Sadly, cosmetics are the least regulated consumer product on the market, and these toxic ingredients dont have to be labeled on the products.

All toxic substances are harmful to human health, but metals are different from other synthetic toxicants because they can be neither created nor destroyed, and thus they are nonbiodegradable. Today, toxic heavy metals are found in cigarettes and gourmet foods such as fish, chocolate, and food seasonings. Irrespective of how carefully metals are used in industrial processes, some level of human exposure is unavoidable. This indestructibility coupled with the toxic bioaccumulation contributes to the high concern for metals in our environment.

In this book, we feature twenty-one chapters on various aspects and characteristics of metal dependency (metals that are essential for human health) and toxicity (metals that are nonessential for human health). The chapters review a mixture of original research articles, perspectives, and reviews of Internet sources that underscore the dangers of some consumer products. Each chapter deals with the environmental exposure, clinical presentation, and occupational exposures to a variety of different metals, including cobalt, copper, iron, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, and platinum, to name a few. We also devote an entire section to essential metals that can be a potential danger if taken without care. The authors also discuss a number of different types of toxicity, including contact dermatitis, neurotoxicity, and chemical carcinogenesis. The overall focus of this book is to bring awareness to the exposures of metal toxicity and to make the reader aware of some medical advances of potential toxic heavy metals.

The conclusion of each chapter underscores the fact that metal toxicity is a complex problem and that we have much more to learn about the epidemiology, exposures, dose-response relationships, mechanisms of toxicity, and occupational factors altering human sensitivity to metal toxins. At the end of each chapter, the bibliography list all of the sources for which the chapters were written. Although you will need to have experience with basic chemistry and biology to understand the process by which these metals can affect your physiology, it is our sincerest hope that this compilation of metal toxicological studies will not only introduce and familiarize the reader to the topic herein but also serve as a useful and valuable reference for those who are not familiar with the studies in metal toxicology. We also hope that it will serve as a provocation to those in the field, as well as others, to develop, produce, and generate new methodologies to investigate the mechanisms by which metals serve as toxicants and to develop approaches that can be used to protect against their toxicities.