Topics in Hazard Identification: Oxygenated Fuels,Safety Assessment,Hematological Neoplasms,and the Precautionary Principle

Hazard identification is based upon the second “law” of toxicology, the specificity of toxic effects caused by a chemical agent. Specificity reflects the differential reactivity inherent in chemical structure and in the biological niches in which chemicals interact. Just as Paracelsus is identified with the first “law” of toxicology, the dose makes the poison, Paré, a century French surgeon, should be credited with an early formulation of the second “law” of toxicology, the specificity of chemical effects. I discuss a number of aspects of hazard identification, including issues related to oxygenated fuels, to routine safety assessment, to the interpretation of hematological neoplasms and to the Precautionary Principle.