Matter is only a trivial name for chemicals. The health effects depend on the nature, and route of entry of a chemical, and on the genetic make up, body weight, and sex of the individual exposed, but primarily on the dose. All chemicals are harmless or beneficial in small amounts. Defined by LD50, a spoonful of botulinium toxin can be lethal to the entire population of the United States. But traces of this deadly toxin is the active ingredient in Botox injections that fight muscle spasm disorders.
All chemicals are harmful in too large a quantity.
A tablespoon of salt is lethal to an infant, an adult can commit suicide with 100 aspirin tablets, and a Florida girl died a few years back from drinking too much water over years. It is the dose that makes the poison. Inputs, and contributions are solicited for a symposium on Common Sense Chemistry for non majors at the 29th ACS Central Regional meeting, Midland, Michigan, May 28-30, 1997. It is suggested but not essential that atomic theory and orbitals, chemical equilibria, balancing equations, and chemical arithmetic are excluded to concentrate on the basic of chemistry and chemical toxicology in a language the beginners can understand and apply in everyday life.