Toluene Abuse: A Medicolegal Perspective

Toluene is one of the main components of paints, paint thinners, gasoline, glues, and other household or industrial products. It is highly volatile and one of the most abused solvents worldwide and may also be accidentally inhaled or ingested. Several cases of fatal or nonfatal toluene intoxications have been described in forensic literature. A correlation was also observed between the intoxicating effects of toluene and the high incidence of traumatic deaths among abusers. Moreover, due to its intoxicating effect, toluene can lead to driving impairment. In this chapter, forensic implications related to toluene abuse and toxicity are discussed, from the pre-analytical and analytical phases, namely, sampling, storage, and techniques of analysis, to the interpretation of the toxico- logical result. Blood concentration reported in forensic literature in fatal intoxi- cations, toluene-related deaths, and nonfatal intoxication are summarized and compared.