Lecture 1 Flashcards
How many chemicals are there in commerce?
85,000 - 350,000
Of 3,000 HPV, what % have basic risk information?
Only 7% of these chemicals have all 6 of the most basic screening tests
Globally, rivers that serve __ people are plagued by chemical, biological, and physical stressors?
5 billion
NAQS = ____________________
National air quality strategy
How many Americans live in areas that are above NAQS
1/3 of Americans
How many litres of air do you inhale per day?
11,000 L
How many people die prematurely each year because of pollution?
10 million
GBD = _____________
Global burden disease
Name some groups that are vulnerable to pollution?
- Old
- Young children
- Pregnant
- Poor
What was the position of the Lancet Commission on pollution and health?
- Pollution kills, tremendous GBD
- We have not dealt with it properly
- Vulnerable groups are disproportionately impacted
- Health and environment is linked with economic and human rights
- Win-win-win solutions exist
- Canada can provide global leadership
Define bioavailability:
it is how much a chemical can actually be consumed by the body
What is one of the most polluted place in the world?
The Arctic
Give an example of NIMBY:
Sarnia, located between Ontario and Michigan, a lot of industries are installed there and there’s a neighborhood nearby. The pollution caused by the industries contained some endocrine disruptors that affected the sex ratio.
Who are the main drivers of pollution?
Humans
Why is Agbogbloshie ranked the most polluted place worldwide?
Because it is one of the largest electronic waste dump worldwide
DDT appeared as a contaminant around the __________
1950s
What are the most recent contaminants (1990s) ?
Endocrine disruptors (PCBs, pesticides)
In the 1850s industrial soot caused melanism of ______
moths
What is the dilution paradigm?
The solution to pollution is dillution
What is the boomerang paradigm?
What you throw away can come back and hurt you
What principle states that: When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically
The Precautionary Principle
DDT =
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
DDT = _______________ + __________________
trichloroethanol + chlorobenzene
Good boomerang example is ____
DDT
T or F: Hormones like cholesterol & testosterone possess the same type of structure as DDT (very strong / resilient)
T
T or F: DDT has a planar structure (benzene rings are not going to split up easily)
T
T or F: DDT is fat soluble and readily crosses biological membranes
T
What chemical was the 1st modern pesticide?
DDT
DDT is a contact ________________________
poison against several arthropods/insects
Paul Muller in 1939 discovered what ?
DDT
Whar is the mechanism of action of DDT?
It opens the sodium (Na) channels in insect neurons which causes hyperstimulation, spasms and death
DDT can treat malaria, _________ and _________
Dutch elm disease and gypsy moths
What happens if DDT loses 1 Cl?
A C=C bond will form, different metabolites can be more toxic than the original DDT because they can bind to more compounds in the body
Fate: T or F: DDT is considered a persistent chemical?
true, it has a half life of 2-15 years
DDT builds up in the food chain (biomagnification) because it is _______________
lipophilic / accumulates in fatty tissues
DDT biomagnifies ______________
10-million-fold
What species are at risk of DDT?
- high trophic birds (ie: falcons)
- direct effects on humans: minimal
- indirect effects on humans: numerous
Anthropogenic =
coming from human activity
DDT is not banned in ______________
south african countries, because Malaria is very present
Stockholm Convention =
2001, changing attitude towards nature
Name 2 risks of using DDT:
1) Ecosystem wide effects
2) Long-term consequences are unknown (precautionary principle)
Name 3 benefits of using DDT:
1) DDT eradicated malaria in N.America/Europe
2) 500 million people contract
3) kills 1% (children under age of 5, African, poor)
