BOS4201 Unit 2. Toxicity. Biological & Biomedical Sciences Essay

Toxicity
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Institutional Affiliation
Toxicity
A broad range of chemicals is classified as toxic chemicals with the ability to cause harm to both plants and animals, which includes humans. Several classes of these substances contaminate the atmosphere, water, and soil. For instance, toxic mercury, which is an example of chemical contaminants, affects fish and the fish food web in many states that depend on fish as a source of proteins. For this essay, the paper will provide five categories of toxins such as organic and inorganic compounds, atmospheric contaminants, biological toxins, pesticides, and emerging concern-contaminants (CECs) with a list of examples in the region where I live. The paper will also identify the factors that modify toxicity such as biological and chemical factors to explain how the differential effects of same-duration and concentration of toxin exposures affect healthy, middle-aged males than females with the suppressed immune system and smoking lifestyles. There are notable differences between males and females following toxic chemical exposures due to gender which affects the rates of drug metabolism such as barbiturates metabolism by liver enzymes. Next, the essay highlights some of the beneficial applications of toxins and discusses an example of a specific toxin such as a venom peptide from Bothrops jararaca and its application in the treatment of hypertension. Finally, the paper will provide the four manifestations of toxicity and describe in detail how toxicity is manifested.
Categories of Toxins with Examples
There are five categories of toxins, including organic and inorganic compounds, atmospheric compounds, biological contaminants, pesticides, and contaminants of emerging concerns or CECs. Organic and inorganic contaminants include heavy metals such as mercury, PBS, and PAHs (Vermont.gov, 2017). These toxins are either directly or indirectly discharged from industrial or municipal facilities that treat wastewaters, landfills, hazardous waste sites, fuels and roads, stormwater runoffs, and past or present discharges from industries. Atmospheric compounds are emitted into the atmosphere and can be deposited on watersheds. Biological toxic compounds include cyanotoxins, which are produced in nature. Pesticides as toxic compounds include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and biocides used in agricultural purposes in controlling weeds and pests or diseases. These pesticides often find their ways to waters and land and cause contamination. The last category of toxins includes CECs, which comprise of unregulated and unmonitored chemicals that have recently been discovered in drinking water supplies, ambient receiving waters, and wastewater discharges. Examples of these chemicals are personal care products such as perfumes, pharmaceuticals, household, and industrial compounds, and products produced through nanotechnology (Vermont.gov, 2017). In the region I live in, the majority of toxins include CECs and pesticides. These categories are common in these areas as people practice agriculture and apply them to control pests and diseases in plants and livestock. Personal care products and unused pharmaceuticals are also common in my region as people dumb unused drugs in landfills which get...