ENV SCI_001

8.4 Module #8: You are a toxicologist. Why is it so difficult to do your job?

For this exercise, I'm asking you to imagine yourself in the toxicologist role and explain your work's challenges.

1. Refer to Chapter 10 PowerPoint slides 13 and 16 here if you don't have a book - Start by definingtoxicology (in other words, what is the work of a toxicologist?).
2. Choose one of the following prompts to help you explain the challenges faced by toxicologists in doing their work:
   1. 1. Address the ubiquity of synthetic chemicals (perhaps mention the 2002 USGS stream study?), and the lack of testing of the chemicals on the market (how many are tested?). Does Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, offer any insights?
      2. What are some challenging characteristics of the toxicants themselves? They travel, concentrate, accumulate, and magnify...
      3. Determining health effects is challenging - how do you address the complexity of exposure, variations in responses to such exposure, and interactive effects?
      4. Good science informs policy - is there any relevant policy about which you should be aware?
      5. If you prefer, tell me what you've learned about one of the "heroes" in this chapter (who they are/were, what they contributed to the science in their field, and the focus of their work).

Please note, pay particular attention to the bolded terms in the chapter; I'll be looking for your use of them in your work!

Please limit your file uploads to Word Docs, Google Docs, or PDFs (I don't have any way to read Apple files, like pages, so I won't be able to grant points for such submissions.

:)

jh