Fluoroacetate

The action of fluoroacetate (FA) becomes apparent after a latent period, even after exposure to lethal doses. The best known representative of FA is its sodium salt. There are also series of fluorinated compounds whose metabolism is connected with formation of FA. To reveal intoxications, adequate analytical procedures should be applied, as well as unequivocal biochemical, physiological, and clinical signs of intoxication described. Also, new approaches to the development of an effective therapy for treating acute intoxications by FA are highly important because, after many decades of toxicological studies on FA, effective antidotes are still not available. These and other points are the subjects of discussion in this chapter.