MDARD Michigan Core Pesticide Applicator Practice Exam

The statement that pesticide residues can build up in the bodies of animals is accurate and highlights an important aspect of pesticide use and its environmental implications. This accumulation, known as bioaccumulation, occurs when an animal absorbs a substance at a rate greater than it is eliminated. Pesticides can be persistent in the environment and are often lipophilic, meaning they tend to accumulate in fatty tissues of living organisms. This process can lead to biomagnification, where higher concentrations of the pesticide accumulate in the food chain, posing risks not only to individual species but also to entire ecosystems and human health through trophic levels.

In contrast, the other statements either oversimplify or misrepresent the behavior of pesticide residues in the environment. For example, while some pesticides may degrade quickly under certain conditions, many remain in the environment longer than anticipated, contradicting the idea that they disappear quickly. The notion that pesticide residues affect only the application area ignores the potential for runoff, drift, and other transport mechanisms that can spread residues to surrounding areas. Lastly, the claim that pesticides have no long-term impact fails to consider the documented effects of long-term exposure to residues, which can include chronic health effects on wildlife, domestic animals, and humans, as well as negative impacts