HAZARD IDENTIFICATION:
West Nile virus (WNV) is a dangerous nervous system disease that spreads primarily by mosquitoes (2007). According to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2007), there were 4,269 West Nile Virus cases in the United States in 2006 and 177 were fatalities. The West Nile Virus does not discriminate from the rich, the poor or the uneducated. By administering the application of harmless pesticides we can not only cut down the death rate, but we can also provide a safer environment.
Our city, Genericville has an economically diverse population of 100,000 people that depend on its summer tourism to provide its inhabitants a sense of belonging. …show more content…
Implementing the doses could kill the natural predators of mosquitoes and ultimately increase the spread of the West Nile Virus. Using the pesticide would drop the cases of West Nile virus from 50 to 5 with a less than 20% chance of fatalities in each of the 5 cases.
EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT:
Many people in town especially the poor or uneducated would not follow safety precautions required by the Malathion application program. This would come from not knowing the pros and cons of the effects of the Malathion application.
. Residents could be outside during the aerial and ground spraying or they could handle or eat matter containing residues from the application of the pesticides. Informing the residents would reduce the risk of this happening.
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RISK CHARACTERZATION:
Government studies indicated that long-term environmental risk from Malathion application was unlikely because the pesticide degrades to harmless materials rapidly after application. These findings come from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, (2005, Section 1). There could be 90 cases of Malathion-related illnesses from the proposed application program. But there could be many more without the application. Malathion applications can be controlled safely. But the mosquito population would prove to be harder without the