ABSTRACT
The body burden of a chemical (drug, pesticide, food additive, etc.) can be defined as the amount of that chemical present in the body at any one time as a result of its voluntary or involuntary exposure to that chemical. The concept of body storage is of particular interest in relation to those chemicals that show greater persistence in human tissues, and the ability of these chemicals to persist or accumulate in tissues is influenced by many factors, such as the physicochemical properties of the chemical itself; the intensity and duration of exposure or insult; the efficiency of absorption; the age, sex, and nutritional status of the exposed subject; and the integrity of some organs, especially the liver and the kidney.
