| EXPOSURE | TARGET ORGAN | INDUSTRY/USE |
| METALS AND THEIR COMPOUNDS | ||
| Arsenic and compounds | Lung, skin | Pesticides, metals |
| Beryllium and compounds | Lung | Metals, aerospace |
| Cadmium and compounds | Lung, prostate | Dye/pigment manufacture |
| Chromium(VI) and compounds | Nasal cavity, lung | Metal plating, dye, pigment |
| Nickel and compounds | Nasal cavity, lung | Metallurgy, alloys, catalysts |
| POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS | ||
| Coal tar pitches | Skin, bladder, lungs | Building materials, electrodes |
| Coal tar | Skin, lung | Fuels |
| Mineral oils | Skin | Lubricants |
| Shale oils | Skin | Lubricants |
| Soot | Skin, lungs | Pigments |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICALS | ||
| 4-aminobiphenyl | Bladder | Rubber manufacture |
| Beta-naphthylamine | Bladder | Rubber, dye, pigment maufacture |
| Benzidine | Bladder | Dye, pigment manufacture, laboratory reagent |
| Benzene | Leukaemia | Solvent, fuels |
| Ethylene oxide | Leukaemia | Sterilant |
| Bischloromethyl ether and chloromethyl methyl ether | Lung | Chemical intermediate |
| Mustard gas | Lung, pharynx | War gas |
| Vinyl chloride | Liver, lung, blood vessels | Plastics monomer |
| MINERAL AND WOOD DUST | ||
| Asbestos | Lung, pleura, peritoneum | Insulation, filters, textiles |
| Talc containing asbestiform fibre | Lungs | Paper, paints |
| Wood dust | Nasal cavity | Wood industry |
| Free Silica or Quartz | Lung | Mining, construction, quarrying |
| INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES | ||
| Aluminium production | Lungs, bladder | |
| Boot, shoe manufacture and repair | Nasal cavity, leukaemia | |
| Coal gassification | Skin,bladder, lung | |
| Coke production | Skin, lung, kidney | |
| Furniture and cabinet making | Nasal cavity | |
| Iron and steel foundry | Lung | |
| Isopropanol manufacture | Nasal cavity | |
| Painter | Lung | |
| Rubber industry | Bladder, leukaemia | |
| Inorganic acid mists containing sulphuric acid | Lung, larynx | |
| ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS | ||
| Aflatoxins | Liver | |
| Chronic HBV infection | Liver | |
| Chronic HBC infection | Liver | |
| Radon and decay products | Lung | |
| Schistosoma haematobium | Bladder | |
| Solar radiation | Skin | |
| Tobacco smoke | Lung, bladder, URT, upper GIT | |
Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) - Modules 3: Occupational Medicine & Toxicology (Basic) by Profs Mohamed Jeebhay and Rodney Ehrlich, Health Sciences UCT is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License. Major contributors: Mohamed Jeebhay, Rodney Ehrlich, Jonny Myers, Leslie London, Sophie Kisting, Rajen Naidoo, Saloshni Naidoo. Source available from here. For any updates to the material, or more permissions beyond the scope of this license, please email healthoer@uct.ac.za or visit www.healthedu.uct.ac.za.
Last updated Jan 2007.
Disclaimer note: Some resources and descriptions may be out-dated. For suggested updates and feedback, please contact healthoer@uct.ac.za.