Risk Assessment

The West Nile Virus (WNV) is a dangerous virus that is mainly spread by mosquitoes. One way to prevent the WNV from spreading is by using the insecticide spray which a proposal was brought forth to use this insecticide spray, Malathion, in the city of Genericville. The use of Malathion may prevent WNV at a minimal risk and should be used in Genericville.

Malathion shows little cause of increased likelihood to adverse health effects. Compared to other organophosphate insecticides Malathion has relatively low toxicity to humans, other mammals, and birds, which is why Malathion is the preferred method used to kill mosquitoes and prevent WNV (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2005). This will likely attract more tourist into the city Genericville, knowing that there are little problem with mosquitoes related to WNV. Along with preventing the spread of WNV Genericville’s dependency on summer tourist will then be solved as well. This in turn will continue to bring outside income and maybe even potentially increase the city’s economy.

Exposure to Malathion may have different effects depending on the dosage a person or thing is receiving. It is indicated that Malathion can lead to death if there is a very high dosage, but

these life-threatening cases only occur in cases such as attempted suicide (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2005, Section 3). It would suggest that it will be unlikely for a person to die from Malathion unless they somehow were exposed to a very high dosage of Malathion. According to a study Malathion that was given to rats orally appears to be quickly absorbed after dosage and readily excreted, mainly through urine, within 72 hours. It also appears that Malathion does not bioaccumulate in organs or tissues. (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2005, Section 4). This indicates that Malathion may also not stay in the human body for long. The human body would then reject this chemical and try to excrete it out of the body as soon as it can.

The likelihood of exposure to Malathion outweighs the likelihood of exposure to mosquitoes. It is not likely that the general population will be exposed to large amounts of Malathion, but it is possible to have some exposure to the residue of Malathion (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2005, Section 2). Therefore, the general population of Genericville does not have to worry about life-threatening dosage of Malathion. Although, some citizens of Genericville may be exposed to the residue it will not be life-threatening and they will only have temporary illness. With the extensive precautions and awareness campaign to avoid exposure of Malathion applications there will be less chances of people being exposed during and after