Write a 3–4-page analysis on the impact of a selected toxin on human health.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Toxins are substances that can harm a living organism. When air, water, or soil is contaminated by toxins, it can lead to serious health problems. The Assessment 2 Context document provides a brief overview of topics related to toxicity. You may wish to review this document for key concepts and ideas related to this assessment.
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
The purpose of this assessment is for you to learn how to summarize and critically evaluate a scientific paper on environmental toxins.
To begin, choose a toxin to research. Note: The CDC Web site and other materials listed in the Resources should provide you with a starting point in selecting a toxin.
Then, select at least two peer-reviewed articles about your chosen toxin to read carefully. Craft a 3–4-page analysis of the toxin’s impact on human health based on what you have learned. Address the following in your analysis:
Your analysis should follow a logical structure and be evidence based. Use the MEAL Plan to help guide the organization of your analysis:
Use the APA Paper Template (linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading) to format your analysis.
Determining Toxicity
Toxicity is determined by the following:
Toxins can be divided into categories based on their potential harm to humans.
Toxicologists are scientists that study toxins. They determine whether the toxins have any harmful effects on the environment or the human body. Toxicologists often describe toxins as either hazardous or poisonous. Hazardous substances are substances having the capacity to do harm. Poisonous substances are able to kill, injure, or impair living things with a small dose.
After determining that a substance is toxic, toxicologists and other scientists create risk assessment models. Risk assessment involves considering four steps:
Cost-benefit analysis can be used to determine if a risk should be taken, and what strategies can be used to regulate and control the risk. In some cases, after a risk assessment, a risk will be determined unavoidable.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a government agency created in 1972 to address some products that have presented an unreasonable risk of injury. The CPSC requires safety labels, recalls hazardous products, and enforces bans upon them.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 400 Americans die each day due to injuries caused by accidents (2014). In fact, most people experience a significant injury at least once in their lifetime (Hilgenkamp, 2006). Although not all accidents can be avoided, understanding where the risks are, and taking steps to avoid them, is important to protecting our health.
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in individuals between 1 and 44 years of age (CDC, 2006). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is charged with increasing safety on the roads by writing and enforcing safety laws. Seat belts, safety seats for children, air bags, and anti-lock brakes are just some of the devices that can make traveling in a motor vehicle safer. We can reduce our risk of a motor vehicle accident by following traffic laws, and always considering what is prudent based on the driving conditions.
Accidents can also occur when we are in our homes. Common occurrences involve falls, poisonings, accidental shootings, fires, and power equipment. Young children are particularly at risk, which is why child-proofing a home is so important. Cabinets with toxic materials, medicines, and guns should be locked. Matches and lighters should be kept in a safe place.
Concerns of hazards in the workplace led to the development of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA’s mission is to prevent injuries and protect the health of United States workers by ensuring safe and healthful places to work (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). The major areas of concern in the workplace are air contaminants (dust, fibers, gases, and vapors), and physical (temperature, noise, and radiation), biological (pathogens), and chemical (inhaled, absorbed, ingested, or injected) issues.
CDC. (2006, June 28). Deaths: Preliminary data for 2004. National Vital Statistics Reports, 54(19). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_19…
Hilgenkamp, K. (2006). Environmental health: Ecological perspectives. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). Healthy people.gov. Retrieved from http://healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx
United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). About OSHA. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/about.html
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