What phenomenon describes when the resulting health effect from multiple concurrent local stressors is greater than the sum of individual effects?
Answer
Synergism.
Local environments rarely present residents with only one single stressor. When a population is simultaneously exposed to pollutant A from one source and pollutant B from a separate nearby source, the resulting negative health consequence can be amplified beyond what would be expected if the effects were simply added together. This synergistic interaction represents a composite risk that is crucial for comprehensive local health assessment.
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