Work-Related Workplace Chemical Hazards that Cause Liver Damage

What Causes Liver Damage in the Workplace?

The liver is highly susceptible to toxicity from chemicals in the workplace because of its important role in detoxification. The liver processes almost all chemicals and drugs that enter the blood stream and removes the chemicals that are difficult for the kidneys to excrete.  

The liver turns these chemicals into products that can be eliminated from the body through bile or urine. However, during this chemical process in the liver, unstable and highly toxic bi-products are sometimes produced; these highly toxic bi-products can attack and injure the liver. 

The liver’s role in detoxification makes it is highly susceptible to toxicity, and for this reason, occupational exposure to chemicals should be a concern. Chemicals that are known to damage the liver are called hepatotoxins and the term hepatotoxicity is used to describe a liver that has been damaged by chemicals.

Do all workplace chemicals affect the liver in the same way?

Toxins that can damage the liver have been divided into two groups:

Predictable Toxins

Predictable toxins are known to cause toxic hepatitis and liver damage with sufficient exposure to one or more of these chemicals. Examples of chemicals found in this group are cleaning solvents, carbon tetrachloride and the pain reliever acetaminophen.  

Unpredictable Toxins

Unpredictable toxins damage the liver in a very small proportion of individuals exposed to the chemical. Unpredictable injury produced by most drugs is very poorly understood, but recent data suggest that a toxic response to a drug probably depends on the kind of enzyme a person inherits to metabolize the drug.  

Reading the Safety Data Sheet for the chemicals you work with and understanding the hazards you are working with is an important step in prevention.