TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Toxicologic Misfortunes and Catastrophes In History A1 - Wax, Paul M. A2 - Hoffman, Robert S. A2 - Howland, Mary Ann A2 - Lewin, Neal A. A2 - Nelson, Lewis S. A2 - Goldfrank, Lewis R. Y1 - 2015 N1 - T2 - Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 10e AB - Throughout history, mass poisonings have caused suffering and misfortune. From the ergot epidemics of the Middle Ages to contemporary industrial disasters, these mass events have had great political, economic, social, and environmental ramifications. Particularly within the past 100 years, as the number of toxins and potential toxins has risen dramatically, toxic disasters have become an increasingly common event. The sites of some of these events—Bhopal (India), Chernobyl (Ukraine), Jonestown (Guyana), Love Canal (New York), Minamata Bay (Japan), Seveso (Italy), West ­Bengal (India)—have come to symbolize our increasing potential for toxicity in our environment. Globalization has led to the proliferation of toxic chemicals throughout the world and their rapid distribution. Many chemical factories that store large amounts of potentially lethal chemicals are not secure. Given the increasing attention to terrorism preparedness, an appreciation of chemicals as agents of opportunity for terrorists has suddenly assumed great importance. This chapter provides an overview of some of the most consequential and historically important toxin-associated mass poisonings that represent human and environmental disasters. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108423723 ER -