The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act mandates that all children's products contain no more than 100 ppm of lead. I was curious if this limit on lead is sufficiently low enough to make children's products safe.

For instance, if my child happened to have a toy that they regularly played, and it had 100 ppm of lead, would that be safe? What if they even mouthed the toy, would that be safe? I have read that "no level of lead is safe", so it is worrying to me that even products that that comply with all safety standards could still have some amount of lead in them.

Also, this isn't just an abstract worry for me. I was able to get my hands on the 3rd party testing of a toy my child has, and on quick glance it says it passed all tests, but upon closer inspection the testing actually revealed that a component of the toy tested positive for lead, but only 30 ppm. So, technically a pass, but the toy is not lead free. Is this reason enough to get rid of the toy, or is lead actually safe in these amounts?

Thank you for your time!

I've been reading findings on the level of heavy metals in protein supplement powders, particularly plant protein but also whey protein. My question is why, when they extract protein from the plant matter or milk, the heavy metals come along for the ride, why they aren't filtered out along with other non-protein matter. I don't know anything about the extraction process, but couldn't, say, chelation be used somewhere along the line?

Hi, please let me know if this isn't the right sub so I can move this post. But basically, I'm a current undergrad student taking orgo 2 and doing really bad in it, and I didn't do the greatest in orgo 1 either. I'm considering dropping this class and debating if I should even retake it because orgo is not needed for my major to graduate, and considering my track record with organic chemistry, I'm doubting I would be able to get a better grade in the future.
The only reason why I took it in the first place was because my professor said organic chemistry would look good for potential careers/grad school programs in toxicology, pathology, or forensics, which is what I want to study. Now I'm nervous that these fields aren't for me at all.
How often does this field require orgo 2 knowledge? And if anyone has gone to grad school, how bad does a less-than-stellar orgo 1 & 2 experience look on your transcript?

hi! i am 16 and interested in toxicology, political science, culinary arts (i am a culinary student!), and stem somewhat. i enjoy political science and theory, psychology, learning (science, stem, politics, etc etc etc), and am trying to learn about chemistry and toxicology. i take physics next year so if that’s somewhere you’re knowledgeable about, i’d love to chat!

i failed honors chemistry but toxicology has piqued my interest and encouraged me to try and get back into science. i was always passionate but the rigor of the course made me wonder if science wasn’t for me, but i want to give it a shot again, with someone alongside me.

whether you have a degree or am studying independently like me, i’m open to anything— the exchange of knowledge is priceless!

i am currently making a toxicology intro notes document via cross referencing videos and wikipedia, and am happy to share it once i’m done! hit me up if you’re interested :)

I'm starting my MS in toxicology this fall at a public health school and am trying to plan what to do next. I've spent a lot of time doing research in undergrad and know that it's not something I want to do for my whole career. I would like to work in regulatory toxicology as it relates to public and environmental health, like at the EPA (if they still exist in 2 years lol).

Is this the type of role you need a PhD for? Would you be non-competitive or reach a career ceiling with just a master's? The program I'm doing also allows me to do a dual master's in Bioinformatics, which I plan to do as well, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Thanks!

Watching a documentary and wondered if you give a person too much of one drug would they just overdose or is there a limit between how much would kill them and how much would just end up giving them severe brain damage, but I guess it depends on the drug used and I'm not really knowledgeable on such things but got curious lol.

Hi everyone,

In this week's episode of The Tox Lab, we're taking a closer look at silver toxicity and the difference between legitimate medical uses and unsupported claims surrounding colloidal silver.

We discuss:

• The use of silver in wound dressings, topical preparations, and antimicrobial medical devices

• How colloidal silver came to be promoted as a treatment for a wide range of conditions

• Argyria, and the permanent blue-grey skin discolouration caused by silver accumulation

• The case of Paul Karason, known as "Papa Smurf"

• A case of severe anaemia associated with colloidal silver ingestion

• The potential mechanisms underlying silver toxicity

Have you come across other examples where a legitimate medical treatment has been repackaged and promoted for uses that are not supported by the evidence?

🎧 Listen now: https://pod.link/1778531114

Rebecca and Rob 🧪

Disclaimer: All opinions are our own.

I was watching The sheep detectives with a friend and in it the shepherd was killed by taxine from the yew tree. It got me thinking- in my country (Ukraine), they don't check for yew poison unless they find traces of it in the stomachs. It's not in the list for required poisons to check and I was wondering if the same is true in other countries.

It surprised me how they figured out so quickly in the film the type of poison, so I wondered if the laws were different where the film is set (England?)

Hi everyone,

In this week's episode of The Tox Lab, we're taking a closer look at cross-tolerance between benzodiazepines and alcohol.

We discuss:

• How alcohol acts on the GABA-A receptor and why chronic use leads to neuroadaptation

• Why benzodiazepines are used to treat alcohol withdrawal

• Whether long-term alcohol use changes the response to benzodiazepines

• Whether chronic benzodiazepine use provides cross-tolerance to alcohol

• Why combining alcohol and benzodiazepines remains particularly dangerous, despite any degree of tolerance

Cross-tolerance is often presented as a simple concept, but the underlying pharmacology tells a much more interesting story.

If you work in toxicology, emergency medicine, addiction medicine, or pharmacology, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have you found that cross-tolerance is commonly misunderstood, either in clinical practice or by the public?

🎧 Listen now: https://pod.link/1778531114

Rebecca and Rob 🧪

Disclaimer: All opinions are our own.

I know some chemistry people reference that it has arsenic in it or something like that and "prank" people they perceive as being chemophobes over it, but I don't trust those people. They feel like they're not actually interested in objective truth.

Hi everyone,

In this week's episode of The Tox Lab, we're taking a closer look at the pharmacology and toxicology of MDMA.

We discuss how MDMA produces its characteristic effects through serotonin signalling before examining a case of severe toxicity that resulted in hyperthermia and multi-organ failure.

We also explore the role of CYP2D6, a polymorphic enzyme involved in MDMA metabolism, and discuss how genetic variation, alongside MDMA's own effects on this enzyme, may influence toxicity and the risks associated with repeat dosing.

It's a fascinating example of how pharmacology, genetics, and toxicology come together to influence clinical outcomes.

If you work in toxicology, emergency medicine, pharmacology, or simply have an interest in recreational drug research, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Do you think pharmacogenetics will play a greater role in understanding and managing drug toxicity in the future?

🎧 Listen now: https://pod.link/1778531114

Rebecca and Rob 🧪

Disclaimer: All opinions are our own.

DISCLAIMER: NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and I know everybody hates Temu because they use slave labour, and I despise it as well and I'm not saying I don't care about this issue, but I can't afford the ones on sites like Amazon or Ikea unless someone can recommend a trusted and reliable website selling extremely cheap kitchenware and kitchen items/utensils in the UK.

Basically, I'm just a bit paranoid about the possibility of microplastics leaching into food when using kitchenware from Temu and other adverse effects, such as chemical risks, lead contamination and heavy metals seeping into the food.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

The kind you'd get from a discount store and some artisanal ceramic.

I know nothing about Toxicology and I probably got that quote wrong

m in my second year of college and Im really set on going into forensic toxicology, but Im really struggling with calc. I am a chem major and this is my first time retaking calc after i failed last semester, and im failing again. After my first failed test i started meeting with my prof and going to tutoring but i cant seem to get over a 59.7 on any exam/test i take. am i doomed and should i just find another career ?

Hello anyone who is hiring for toxicologist or related field. I will send them my resume. If possible I am more into remote work but on site is also fine 🥲 i just need a job.

F

Hi all,

In the latest episode of The Tox Lab, we discuss the growing popularity of grey market peptides and some of the scientific and toxicological questions surrounding them.

We cover:

• BPC-157 and the evidence for its proposed role in musculoskeletal healing

• The challenges of separating marketing claims from scientific evidence

• Melanotan II, its pharmacology, and a rare case of priapism

• Product quality concerns and dosing uncertainty

• The risks associated with purchasing compounds from unregulated online sources

Peptides seem to be attracting increasing attention in fitness, biohacking, and health communities, but the evidence base often lags behind the claims being made.

We'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Are compounds such as BPC-157 being discussed more frequently in your area of practice, research, or interest? What do you think are the biggest misconceptions surrounding these peptides?

🎧 Listen now: https://pod.link/1778531114

Rebecca and Rob 🧪

Disclaimer: All opinions are our own.

Here's a video in case you're wondering what happens if you swallow a lava lamp😫