What is the term for the route by which a substance moves from source to target?

What is the term for the route by which a substance moves from source to target?

• A. Metabolism
• B. Pathway
• C. Bioavailability
• D. Vector

Answer: (B)

Pathway describes the route by which a substance moves from its source to a target receptor. It encompasses the transport media and processes that carry the pollutant—air, water, soil, groundwater flow, and any intermediate steps that lead to exposure. In environmental health and risk assessment, you often map the exposure pathway from release to exposure to dose, which is basically tracing the route the contaminant takes to reach a receptor. Metabolism refers to chemical changes inside organisms, not the transport route. Bioavailability is about the fraction of the substance that can reach the target site to have an effect. A vector is an organism that transmits a disease, not the transport route for a chemical.

Pathway describes the route by which a substance moves from its source to a target receptor. It encompasses the transport media and processes that carry the pollutant—air, water, soil, groundwater flow, and any intermediate steps that lead to exposure. In environmental health and risk assessment, you often map the exposure pathway from release to exposure to dose, which is basically tracing the route the contaminant takes to reach a receptor.

Metabolism refers to chemical changes inside organisms, not the transport route. Bioavailability is about the fraction of the substance that can reach the target site to have an effect. A vector is an organism that transmits a disease, not the transport route for a chemical.