May 5-7, 11-12, 2026

Course Overview

• This course delves into the health effects of exposure to various hazardous substances.
• It aims to introduce you to toxicology, physiology and epidemiology
• It likely covers the different types of health effects, such as acute and chronic, and the mechanisms of action of these substance
• Identifies chemical substances hazardous to health and work and their harmful effects on target organs.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

• Provide definitions of commonly used toxicological terms
• Describe the main routes by which hazardous substances can enter the body, and the factors which influence their absorption, distribution, storage and elimination
• Describe the main sources of information on hazardous substances and processes
• Describe the main features of the principle target organs affected by hazardous substances at work, and the factors which influence the degree of harm
• Describe the main routes of exposure and toxic and health effects for hazardous substances commonly encountered in the workplace
• Undertake basic interpretation of the results from epidemiological studies

Course Format

• Days 1 – 4 Lectures + case studies / syndicate work
• Syndicate groups chosen to separate people from same company as far as possible
• There are evening revision questions each day. These will be discussed at the start of the following morning
• Day 5 – Course review and OHTA written exam
• Written exam is ‘open-book’
• 40 Short-answer questions

Duration 100 minutes (1 hour 40 minutes)

Course Content

• Introduction to Toxicology and Health Effects
• Basic Human Biology and Target Organs
• Basic toxicokinetics
• Dose response curves and toxicity testing
• Epidemiology
• Health Effects Associated with specific metals
• Health Effects associated with industrial processes
• Profiles on selected processes that use or produce hazardous substances
• Regulatory Considerations and Sources of Information – Biological Hazards