Malathion: The West Niles Virus

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Malathion is seen as something that would be harmful to citizens of the town, but the West Niles Virus is just a fatal of something to fear. In either of the situations we are talking about whether or not the decision that is made is going to be in the best interest of the town members and the tourist that our town so desperately needs. After looking over the information and making some notes about Malathion in the areas of hazard identification, dose-response, exposure, and risk characterization there is enough data to draw a solid conclusion. As a result of the research I have opted to allow the Malathion to be sprayed, but there will be some stipulations to this agreement. The hazard identification test showed that many test had been…show more content…
Some of the symptoms that can occur due to exposure are: • Common early signs or mild symptoms of acute cholinergic poisoning include miosis (pinpoint pupils), headache, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, muscle weakness, drowsiness, lethargy, agitation, and anxiety. • Moderate or severe poisoning can result in chest tightness, difficulty breathing, bradycardia, tachycardia, hypertension, pallor, abdominal pain, incontinence, diarrhea, anorexia, tremor/ataxia, fasciculation, lacrimation, heavy salivation, profuse sweating, blurred vision, poor concentration, confusion, and memory loss. • Life-threatening or very severe signs and symptoms, such as coma, seizures, respiratory arrest, pulmonary edema, loss of reflexes, and flaccid paralysis, can occur at high doses, such as in the cases of attempted…show more content…
The other reason this is a concern is that the sooner it disintegrates the fewer chances citizens of Genericville have at exposure and illnesses. The only time there would be a prolonged exposure to Malathion is if there was not much organic life surrounding the sprayed area. Yet given that the area is the banks of a river with wetlands also depending upon the river Malathion should be absorbed quickly. As shown in the study if the water if neutral it should be hydrolyzed in 6-7 days. If the water is slightly more of a base then it will absolve within 12 hours. Anywhere from 80-95% of the Malathion will have biodegraded within the first 10 days. The length of time for the soil degradation is all dependent upon the pH level of the soil. With these kinds of statistics the risk characterization for the town seems

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