Languages:
The process of taking in. For a
person or an animal, absorption is the process of a substance getting into the
body through the eyes, skin, stomach, intestines, or lungs.
(Source:
ATSDR
Glossary of Terms
Bioaccumulation is used to describe the increase in concentration of a substance in an organism over time.
Bioaccumulative substances tend to be fat soluble and not to be broken down by the organism. (Source: GreenFacts )
Having to do with the heart and lungs.
(Source:
NCI
cancer.gov dictionary
The digestive tract is the system of organs which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients and expels remaining waste. It includes the mouth, salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum.
After food is chewed and swallowed, the digestive juices released by the pancreas and stomach break it down into substances that are readily absorbed through the small intestine. Material that is not taken up by the body collects in the large intestine, forming faecal matter that is then excreted through the anus. (Source: GreenFacts)
The liver is a big reddish-brow organ lying beneath the diaphragm on the right side. The liver is made up for a great part of liver cells which absorb nutrients and detoxify and remove harmful substances from the blood such as drugs and alcohol. The liver has many other vital functions and there is currently no way to compensate for the absence of liver.
Other liver functions include:
The milk-producing glands of female mammals. These glands typically begin secreting milk when young are born.
Rudimentary mammary glands are generally also found in males, but they cease development well before puberty. (Source: GreenFacts)
The conversion or breakdown of a substance from one form to another by an
enzyme.
(Source: GreenFacts, based on ATSDR
Glossary of
Terms
A substance that is the product of biological changes to a chemical.
(Source:
US EPA
Glossary
A polymer is a high-molecular-weight organic compound, natural or man-made, consisting of many repeating simpler chemical units or molecules called monomers.
Examples of natural polymers are proteins (polymer of amino acids) and cellulose (polymer of sugar molecules).
An example of synthetic polymer is PVC (a polymer of vinyl chloride). (Source: GreenFacts)
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) was set up in 2004 by the European Commission to provide the Commission with unambiguous scientific advice on the safety of a series of issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of the risks, such as new technologies, medical devices, etc.
The SCENIHR advice is intended to enable risk managers to take the adequate and required actions in order to guarantee consumer safety or public health.
The SCENIHR addresses questions concerning emerging or newly-identified risks and on broad, complex or multi-disciplinary issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other Community risk- assessment bodies.
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks is composed of a maximum of 13 members, but for any specific question may enlist the support of up to six associated members selected on the basis of their expertise. There is also a reserve list made up of candidates found suitable for a position in a Scientific Committee but not appointed. The members of the SCENIHR are appointed on the basis of their skills and experience in the fields in question, and consistent with this a geographical distribution that reflects the diversity of scientific problems and approaches in the European Union (EU). The experts' term of office is three years and is renewable for a maximum of three consecutive times. In agreement with the Commission, the Scientific Committees may turn to specialised external experts.
The SCENIHR complies with the principles of independence, transparency and
confidentiality. The members therefore make a declaration of commitment to act
in the public interest and a declaration of interests; requests for opinions,
agendas, minutes and opinions are published; work and publications are done with
regard to the need for commercial confidentiality.
(Source:
SCENIHR
pages
A TDI is an estimate of the amount of a substance in air, food or drinking water that can be taken in daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk. TDIs are calculated on the basis of laboratory toxicity data to which uncertainty factors are applied.
TDIs are used for substances that do not have a reason to be found in food (as opposed to substances that do, such as additives, pesticide residues or veterinary drugs in foods- see ADI). (Source: GreenFacts)
The capacity or property of a substance to cause adverse effects. (Source: GreenFacts)
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