Risk Assessment

Malation Assessment
Lissa McLaughlin
03-29-10
Malathion 1
Malathion is an important pesticide that must be used to protect the citizens of Genericville from West Nile Virus that can eventually be deadly. Although any pesticide can be dangerous if precautions are not taken, the pros of using this specific pesticide outweigh the cons drastically. The town of Genericville is very dependent on the income that is made from summer tourism and if word gets out about the mosquitoes in the wetlands, the tourism will drop significantly. A drop in tourism means a drop in income which would skyrocket poverty levels. Not only would the Malathion applications already be paid for courtesy a wealthy citizen of the city, but it would be kept under control by educational programs and awareness campaigns would be administered. The poor and uneducated would follow the safety precautions because not only is the program already paid for, so no money is needed, and programs are offered to help the uneducated, but everyone would benefit in some sort of way with the use of this product.
Hazard Identification
Malathion will only cause illness after prolonged exposure which will be taken care of by the use of educational programs, but this is not known for sure yet. The educational programs will help the citizens of our town learn what not to do and about the precautions needed to maintain their wellness. Not to mention the fact that after application of the pesticide, it degrades down to harmless materials rapidly. When a substance is degraded, it simply means that the chemicals involved will decompose within the environment causing very little harm to the ozone layer.
Malathion 2
Dose-Response Assessment
Even though there is a risk of illness, to what extent is unknown. I think everyone will agree when I say that the risk of not using Malathion and losing business from tourists because of the mosquitoes will definitely cause a more negative impact on Genericville... [continues]

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