VPM1903

In the United States, approximately 50,000 people die each year as a result of unintentional poisoning, and another 800,000 are treated in emergency departments. The human-caused pollution of the environment (such as oil spill, poisonous gas leak, water pollution, global warming gas release, etc.) seriously impacts the health of millions of people and animals around the world. Despite such serious health consequences, people do not fully understand poisons or poisoning. In this course, students will learn some important aspects regarding poisons including, but not limited to the following.
-What are poisons and what is poisoning?
-Where do poisons come from?
-What are the adverse effects of different types of poisons?
-How to prevent poisoning?
-What are the impacts of poisoning to the society?
Chemicals encountered in everyday life will be used as examples to evaluate the hazards and risk of exposure and put them into perspective. Students will learn the basic principles of toxicology, tools for assessing the toxicology of chemicals, effects of chemicals on the body, and why some people are more sensitive to chemicals than others.

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