APES - Toxi/Pests

What is a hazard?

Anything that can cause injury, disease, death, property damage, or environmental damage.

What is risk?

The probability of suffering harm from a hazard.

What does a risk value of 0.2 mean?

A 20% chance (1 in 5) of harm occurring.

What is risk assessment?

A scientific process that estimates how harmful a hazard may be.

What is risk management?

Political, economic, and administrative decisions about how to reduce risk and at what cost.

What are the five types of hazards?

Biological, chemical, physical/natural, cultural (workplace), lifestyle.

What is a chemical hazard?

A chemical that can cause harm by being toxic, corrosive, carcinogenic, or flammable.

What is toxicity?

The degree to which a chemical can cause harm.

What is toxicology?

The study of the effects of chemical and physical agents on organisms.

What does 'the dose makes the poison' mean?

Any substance can be toxic at a high enough dose.

What is a dose?

The amount of a chemical that enters the body.

How can chemicals enter the body?

Inhalation, ingestion, injection, or skin absorption.

List factors that affect toxicity.

Dose, frequency, body weight, genetics, age, health, solubility.

What is the difference between water-soluble and fat-soluble chemicals?

Water-soluble chemicals are excreted easily; fat-soluble chemicals are stored in fat.

Which chemicals are more likely to bioaccumulate?

Fat-soluble chemicals.

What is bioaccumulation?

The buildup of a chemical in an individual organism over time.

What is biomagnification?

The increase in concentration of a chemical at higher trophic levels in a food chain.

What is biological half-life?

The time required for the body to eliminate half of a chemical.

What is persistence?

How long a chemical remains in the environment.

What is a synergistic interaction?

When one chemical increases the effect of another.

What is an antagonistic interaction?

When one chemical reduces the effect of another.

What is LD₅₀?

The dose of a substance that kills 50% of test organisms.

What does a lower LD₅₀ indicate?

Higher toxicity.

What is an acute dose?

Short-term exposure (seconds to hours).

What is a chronic dose?

Long-term exposure (months to years).

What is an acute response?

An immediate reaction to exposure.

What is a chronic response?

A long-lasting or delayed reaction.

What is a dose-response curve?

A graph showing the relationship between dose and effect.

What is a threshold dose?

A dose below which no harmful effect occurs.

What is a non-threshold dose?

Any exposure causes harm.

What is a case report?

A physician’s observation of an individual patient.

What is a problem with case reports?

Lack of control and small sample size.

What are epidemiological studies?

Studies that compare exposed and non-exposed populations.

What is a limitation of epidemiological studies?

Correlation does not prove causation.

What is a benefit of laboratory animal studies?

High level of control over variables.

What are problems with animal studies?

Ethical issues and physiological differences from humans.

What is a mutagen?

A chemical that causes DNA mutations.

What is a carcinogen?

A chemical that causes cancer.

What is a teratogen?

A chemical that harms a developing fetus.

What are endocrine disruptors?

Chemicals that interfere with hormone systems.

What is BPA?

A plastic additive that can mimic hormones.

How can BPA enter the body?

Ingestion from food containers or cans.

What are PFAS?

Persistent 'forever chemicals' resistant to water and oil.

Why do we know so little about chemical toxicity?

Testing is expensive and chemicals are assumed safe until proven harmful.

What are natural hazards?

Naturally occurring events like earthquakes, floods, and UV radiation.

What is ionizing radiation?

Radiation that removes electrons from atoms and damages cells.

Name ionizing radiation types.

Gamma rays, X-rays, UV, alpha and beta particles.

What is somatic cell damage?

Damage to body cells that cannot be inherited.

What is germ cell damage?

Damage to sperm or eggs that can be inherited.

What is a pathogen?

A disease-causing organism.

What is a vector?

An organism that transmits a pathogen.

What is an epidemic?

A disease outbreak in a region or community.

What is a pandemic?

A global disease outbreak.

What is the epidemiological transition?

Shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases as countries industrialize.

What is a pest?

Any organism that competes with humans or causes damage.

Why are pests worse in agriculture?

Monocultures reduce natural checks and balances.

What is a pesticide?

A chemical used to kill or control pests.

Name four pesticide types.

Insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, fungicides.

What is a broad-spectrum pesticide?

Kills many different species.

What is a narrow-spectrum pesticide?

Targets specific pests.

What is pesticide resistance?

When pests evolve immunity to pesticides.

What is pesticide drift?

Movement of pesticides away from target areas.

One benefit of pesticides?

Increase food production.

One environmental cost of pesticides?

Harm to non-target species.

What is FIFRA?

Law requiring EPA approval of pesticides and residue limits.

What is the Food Quality Protection Act?

Law protecting children from pesticide exposure.

What is the Circle of Poison?

Banned pesticides exported and re-imported on food.

Does organic mean pesticide-free?

No.

What is insurance spraying?

Applying pesticides before pests appear.

What is cosmetic spraying?

Spraying for appearance only.

What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management