Are Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Biologically Magnified?

[Soaring Crane]

1) Compared to chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates are ___ persistent and are ___ biologically magnified.

A. less...less
B. less...more
C. more...less
D. more...more
E. equally...equally

I believe it's B. (Well, the first part is "less.")

2) Chlorinated hydrocarbons are

A. biologically magnified.
B. likely to be target specific.
C. degraded faster than other organic pesticides.
D. more toxic than organic pesticides.
E. None of the above

I want to say A as the correct one. Is it right?

Thanks.

 

[Soaring Crane]

Wait, now that I think about it, is #1 A?

 

[GCT]

You might also want to ask this in the biology forum, I'll do some research if I have the time.

 

[DocToxyn]

1) Compared to chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates are ___ persistent and are ___ biologically magnified.

A. less...less
B. less...more
C. more...less
D. more...more
E. equally...equally

I believe it's B. (Well, the first part is "less.")

Yes, you got it right in your reply, the answer would be "A". Since the chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (this should be added since there are numerous chlorinated hydrocarbons that are not pesticides) are not as readily biotransformed or broken down as the organophosphates, it logically follows that they will last longer in a biological system and therefore have more potential for biomagnification.

2) Chlorinated hydrocarbons are

A. biologically magnified.
B. likely to be target specific.
C. degraded faster than other organic pesticides.
D. more toxic than organic pesticides.
E. None of the above

I want to say A as the correct one. Is it right?

Thanks.

I agree with "A", but let's break this one down and see if any others fit. "B" does not work since it has been shown that numerous non-pest species including fish, birds and mammals are affected by chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. "C" we resolved above. "D" doesn't make sense since they are in fact "organic pesticides", perhaps the question is referring to pesticides derived from natural sources such as pyrethroids from Chrysanthemum sp. , but that is not apparent. "E" is wrong since we already know that they are definitely biomagnified ("A").