THE SCIENCE OF TOXICOLOGY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO MCS

The definitions and current practice of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are considered in relation to the fundamental principles of toxicology. The salient problem with MCS is that there is no consistent and specific effect from exposure to any specific chemical. This does not allow for any objective test for any disease entity which might be caused by the chemicals as indicated by the theory of MCS. The effects of exposure to chemicals as defined today as MCS are subjective and no report is available to convincingly demonstrate that these effects would not have occurred merely by chance. It is concluded that (1) MCS, as defined, does not allow specificity or consistency for biological reactions to the effects of chemicals; (2) MCS does not provide a testable hypothesis; (3) MCS is contradictory to the fundamental principles of toxicology; (4) current testing procedures for MCS are so subjective that they are useless; (5) there is no evidence that the responses attributed to MCS are any other than those that would occur merely by chance; and (6) the MCS literature attaches an emotional bias to chemicals. © 1993 Academic Press. All rights reserved.