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The
Future of Forensic Toxicology |
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The future holds many
changes for the science of forensic toxicology, some desirable and others not so
desirable. The demand by the legal profession for forensic experts, including
toxicologists, has increased dramatically in the past decade, as evidenced by
the publication of directories of experts (Lawyer's Guide, 1981; Forensic
Services Directory, 1981), comprehensive toxicology sourcebooks for attorneys (Houts
et al., 1981), and the establishment of referral centers that locate and
contact appropriate experts for legal firms. This demand has been and will be
intensified by the problems of environmental industrial contamination and the
many lawsuits brought against individuals and corporations by citizens,
employees, and public agencies. It may well be that forensic toxicology will
have difficulty in maintaining itself as a separate and distinct science, with
the increasing numbers of general toxicologists who are required to testify
before regulatory agencies or in civil matters regarding the effects on human
health of chemicals in the environment. By most definitions, these individuals
are practicing forensic toxicology, albeit without specific training in the
field. It is worth noting that the major U.S. organization of general
toxicologists, the Society of Toxicology, numbers over 1200 members and is
growing rapidly, while a corresponding group of forensic toxicologists, the
Toxicology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, has fewer than
300 members and has changed little in recent years.
On the bright side, we predict
that forensic toxicologists, using advanced analytical techniques, will
become much more adept at gathering analytical data on complex chemical
substances and their metabolites. They will use this data in increasingly
sophisticated ways to answer the numerous questions that always surround
a human poisoning incident. They will expand their horizons from investigation
of sudden death to problems of acute and chronic exposure to toxic substances in
the home, the workplace, and the external environment. The forensic toxicologist
is first and foremost an analyst, and his unique skills will always have
extensive applicability in our chemical world.
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