Editing Poison (section)

==Ecological lifetime==
A poison which enters the [[food chain]]—whether of industrial, agricultural, or [[plant defense against herbivory|natural]] origin—might not be immediately toxic to the first organism that [[foodborne illness|ingests]] the toxin, but can become further concentrated in [[predator]]y organisms further up the food chain, particularly [[carnivore]]s and [[omnivore]]s, especially concerning [[fat soluble]] poisons which tend to become stored in biological tissue rather than excreted in [[urine]] or other water-based [[excretion|effluents]].

Apart from food, many poisons readily enter the body through the [[skin]] and [[lung]]s. [[Hydrofluoric acid]] is a notorious contact poison, in addition to its [[corrosion|corrosive]] damage. Naturally occurring [[sour gas]] is a fast-acting atmospheric poison, which can be released by [[volcanic]] activity or [[drilling rig]]s. Plant-based contact irritants, such as that possessed by [[poison ivy]], are often classed as [[allergen]]s rather than poisons; the effect of an allergen being not a poison as such, but to turn the body's [[immune system|natural defenses]] against itself. Poison can also enter the body through faulty [[implant (medicine)|medical implants]], or by [[injection (medicine)|injection]] (which is the basis of [[lethal injection]] in the context of [[capital punishment]]).

In 2013, 3.3 million cases of unintentional human poisonings occurred.<ref>{{cite journal|author=((Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 collaborators)) |title=Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013|journal=Lancet|date=22 August 2015|volume=386|issue=9995|pages=743–800|pmid=26063472|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60692-4|pmc=4561509}}</ref> This resulted in 98,000 deaths worldwide, down from 120,000 deaths in 1990.<ref name=GDB2013>{{cite journal|author=((GBD 2013 Mortality and Causes of Death collaborators)) |title=Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013|journal=Lancet|date=17 December 2014|pmid=25530442|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2|volume=385|issue=9963|pages=117–71|pmc=4340604}}</ref> In modern society, cases of [[suspicious death]] elicit the attention of the [[Coroner]]'s office and [[forensic science|forensic investigators]].

Of increasing concern since the isolation of natural [[radium]] by [[Marie Curie|Marie]] and [[Pierre Curie]] in 1898—and the subsequent advent of [[nuclear physics]] and nuclear technologies—are [[radioactive contamination|radiological poisons]]. These are associated with [[ionizing radiation]], a mode of toxicity quite distinct from chemically active poisons. In [[mammal]]s, chemical poisons are often passed from mother to offspring through the [[placenta]] during gestation, or through [[breast milk]] during [[breastfeeding|nursing]]. In contrast, radiological damage can be passed from mother or father to offspring through genetic [[mutation]], which—if not fatal in [[gestation|miscarriage]] or [[list of genetic disorders|childhood]], or a direct cause of [[infertility]]—can then be passed along again to a subsequent generation. Atmospheric [[radon]] is a natural radiological poison of increasing impact since humans moved from [[hunter-gatherer]] lifestyles and [[cave dweller|cave dwelling]] to increasingly enclosed structures able to [[radium and radon in the environment|contain radon]] in dangerous concentrations. The 2006 [[poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko]] was a notable use of radiological assassination, presumably meant to evade the normal investigation of chemical poisons.

Poisons widely dispersed into the environment are known as [[pollution]]. These are often of [[human impact on the environment|human origin]], but pollution can also include unwanted biological processes such as toxic [[red tide]], or acute changes to the natural chemical environment attributed to [[invasive species]], which are toxic or detrimental to the prior ecology (especially if the prior ecology was associated with human economic value or an established industry such as [[shellfish]] harvesting).

The scientific disciplines of [[ecology]] and [[environmental resource management]] study the environmental life cycle of toxic compounds and their complex, diffuse, and highly interrelated effects.