Facts and fallacies on industrial poisoning

Abstract

Misdiagnosis of diseases as due to industrial poisoning leads to much misunderstanding, higher taxes and insurance rates and "compensation neuroses." It is important to know the concentration of the suspected poison and its specific effects in order to logically indict it as the cause of illness. Examples discussed to illustrate some of the pitfalls of diagnosis in industrial medicine are methylbromide, carbon monoxide, ozone, oxides of nitrogen and of sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, benzene analogs, boron and fluorides.