Oxygen Toxicity Risk Assessment.

Abstract

Oxygen toxicity is a consequence of breathing oxygen partial pressures greater than in atmospheric air. While oxygen itself is not toxic, the evidence indicates that toxic derivatives of oxygen are a by-product of cellular respiration. The production of toxic oxygen species increases as the tissue oxygen tension rises (Yusa et al. l987), and toxicity probably occurs due to tissue damage or interference with normal function. The toxic oxygen species produced in normoxic conditions are deactivated, but under hyperoxic conditions they accumulate. The balance between production and removal of toxic species is well-suited to mathematical modelling and statistical analysis.