ABSTRACT
As mentioned in the previous chapter, following the entry into a living organism and translocation, a pollutant may be stored, metabolized, or excreted. When the rate of entry is greater than the rate of metabolism and/or excretion, storage of the chemical often occurs. However, storage or binding sites may not be the sites of toxic action. For example, lead is stored primarily in the bone, but acts mainly on the soft tissues of the body. If the storage site is not the site of toxic action, selective sequestration may be a protective mechanism, since only the freely circulating form of the foreign chemical produces harmful effects.
