Introduction
As people become increasingly aware of the existence of harmful chemical substances in food, drinking water, air, and generally in the environment as a whole, concerns have also risen. Some other people disregard these concerns as exaggerated or unfair. In order to determine whether there is a potential danger that requires attention and where the focus of our efforts should be and the resources we need for it, a procedure is needed. This tool or procedure is known as Health risk assessment, which government agencies and other parties use to determine the potential hazards that are most significant. Health risk assessment for Herbicide x is as follows.
Hazard identification
Laboratory findings of herbicides X on rats in several peer-reviewed studies have shown that the herbicide cause cancer in high dosages. There are no studies carried out on humans for Herbicide X.
Exposure assessment
This stage determines the length of exposure to the chemicals, the amount exposed to, whether exposure was continuous or intermittent, and the method of exposure. Herbicide X is sprayed on the weed in the farms once in spring and once in the fall where it lasts for three months before it degrades to harmless substances. The herbicide, when sprayed settles on the surface of water, leaves, and forage crops that are used to feed animals. The animals also absorb it by breathing contaminated air. Chemicals then enter the food chain where they reach human beings. Herbicide X is also absorbed into the human system by ingestion through water, vegetables, fruits exposed to the herbicide. Children playing in the playground may become exposed through playing in the contaminated dirt when they put their hands and toys into their mouths. There is also the risk of exposure to breastfeeding babies as the chemicals in the herbicide can pass to them through their mothers’ milk. Humans can also become exposed if they consume fish in the rivers around where the herbicide is swept into a surface runoff when it rains. The fish may ingest them with contaminated food particles or absorb them through the skin when they swim through the contaminated water.
Dose-Response Assessment
In this section an estimate of the amount likely to cause a particular health effect is done. Herbicide X is being used at 1% of the strength of the one used in studies on rats. Since Herbicide X has been indicated to cause cancer in high doses, low exposure to even small amounts of the chemical is harmful as this is enough to modify cellular functions which can lead to the development of cancer. Exposure to carcinogens in Herbicide X is an important consideration since cancer can develop after many years since exposure and therefore, have serious long-term effects.
Risk characterization
The cancer risk for Herbicide X is 100 in one million. However, an individual’s actual risk of contracting cancer from exposure to Herbicide X can be lower than this due to maybe a shorter residence period and the genetic background, health, diet, and lifestyle choices.
Conclusion
People have become increasingly aware of the existence of harmful chemical substances in the food, drinking water, air, and generally in the environment as a whole and therefore concerns have also risen. In order to determine whether there is a potential danger in Herbicide X that requires attention and where the focus of our efforts should be and the resources we need for it, a health risk assessment is required. This is done in four stages as follows: hazard identification; exposure assessment; Dose-Response Assessment; and risk characterization.
References
Principals of Environmental Science: Inquiry and Applications. Cunningham and Cunningham.