What does chronic toxicity measure?

Chronic toxicity measures the potential for long-term injury resulting from repeated exposure to a substance, such as pesticides. This assessment is crucial for understanding how continuous or prolonged contact with a chemical can affect health over time, particularly when individuals may be exposed to low doses that accumulate and cause damage. Chronic toxicity is concerned with issues such as cancer risks, reproductive harm, and developmental effects, which may not appear until after many years of exposure. The assessments focus on identifying these long-term risks to better inform safe handling practices and regulatory measures.

Other options address different aspects of pesticide safety. Immediate effects relate to acute toxicity, which examines the short-term consequences of a single exposure. Allergic reactions are a specific type of response that occurs based on the immune system, while environmental contamination pertains to the broader impact on ecosystems rather than the direct health effects on humans from chronic exposure to chemicals. Thus, the correct understanding of chronic toxicity highlights its role in evaluating health risks over extended periods.