What is an adverse effect in the context of pesticides?

• A. Impairment of or damage to the environment, human health, or property.
• B. An improvement in crop yield.
• C. No effect on surroundings.
• D. Only minor nuisance.

Answer: (A)

An adverse effect refers to any negative impact from pesticide use that harms the environment, human health, or property. This broad sense covers a range of outcomes, such as water or soil contamination, harm to non-target organisms (like birds, fish, or pollinators), health symptoms in workers or nearby people, and damage to crops, equipment, or structures. Because it explicitly describes harm across these areas, it matches what regulators mean by an adverse effect and why this choice is correct.

Others don’t fit because they describe positive or neutral outcomes: an improvement in crop yield is beneficial, not adverse; no effect on surroundings means there’s no harm, and only a minor nuisance doesn’t rise to the level of impairment or damage implied by an adverse effect.