Deck 14: Environmental Health and Toxicology

Question 1

(c) Unconventional dose-response curve
Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
Assuming that the scales for graphs (a)and (b)are identical,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)The toxicant shown in (b)has a lower LD50 compared to the toxicant shown in (a).
B)The toxicant shown in (b)has a higher toxicity than the toxicant shown in (a).
C)Graphs (a)and (b)show results for the same toxicant,but graph (a)shows a higher dose than graph (b).
D)Graphs (a)and (b)show results for the same toxicant,but graph (b)shows a higher dose than graph (a).
E)The toxicant shown in (b)has a lower toxicity than the toxicant shown in (a).

Answer 1

The toxicant shown in (b)has a lower toxicity than the toxicant shown in (a).

Question 2

The worldwide drop in sperm counts among men has been attributed to _______________.

A)endocrine disruptors
B)teratogens
C)allergens
D)DDT
E)radon

Answer 2

endocrine disruptors

Question 3

A risk manager would do which of the following?

A)determine the neurological effects of a new herbicide
B)establish rules restricting the use of a new herbicide
C)set the purchase price of a new herbicide
D)assess the LD50 level of a new herbicide
E)determine the level of exposure of farm workers to a new herbicide

Answer 3

establish rules restricting the use of a new herbicide

Question 4

_______________ are substances that cause birth defects.

A)Allergens
B)Vectors
C)Teratogens
D)Neurotoxins
E)Carcinogens

Question 5

The _______________ regulates pesticides in the United States.

A)FDA
B)BLM
C)USDA
D)EPA
E)PRA

Question 6

Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring focuses primarily on the environmental problems associated with _______________.

A)invasive species
B)deforestation
C)pesticide toxicity
D)aquifer depletion
E)overpopulation

Question 7

Why are many contaminants found at higher concentrations in polar bears and people living in Greenland than they are in bears and people living in temperate and tropical areas?

A)Polar bears and people living in Greenland eat penguins,which are naturally high in toxic contaminants.
B)The ice sheets in Greenland,which provide both people and polar bears with fresh water,were contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
C)Most of Greenland's GDP comes from importing toxic chemicals for disposal deep beneath its ice sheets.
D)There are fewer regulations regarding the release of toxic pollutants in Greenland than in other regions of the world.
E)Global atmospheric circulation carries airborne toxins toward the poles,where their deposition exceeds evaporation.

Question 8

The book Our Stolen Future was important because it _______________.

A)was the first book that discussed environmental problems with DDT
B)was the first book to dispute claims in Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring
C)was the first book that discussed water pollution problems in Lake Apopka
D)is credited with starting the environmental movement in the United States
E)was the first book to focus on the impacts of endocrine -disrupting chemicals

Question 9

Bisphenol -A is _______________

A)a currently used herbicide
B)an estrogen mimic that is used in plastic manufacturing
C)a banned insecticide
D)released from aerosol spray cans
E)produced when fossil fuels are burned

Question 10

Which of the following describes a scenario involving pesticide drift?

A)Pesticides are copied by companies producing generic varieties,but the generic varieties have greater toxic effects than the original pesticides.
B)Pesticides contain carcinogens that cause cancer in the workers using the chemicals.
C)Pesticides leach into groundwater aquifers,sickening those who use the aquifers for drinking water.
D)Pesticides being used in a mountain valley are carried by air currents into the surrounding hills,killing amphibians living in the hills' streams.
E)Pesticides run off into a local waterway that flows into a nearby fishing lake,killing some of the sensitive species of fish that live in the lake.

Question 11

The first goal of the Stockholm Convention is to _______________.

A)reduce exposure to allergens and teratogens in developing countries
B)prevent the spread of the AIDS
C)end the use and release of 12 POPs shown to be the most dangerous
D)reduce global warming by preventing the manufacture of HFCFs
E)educate women about birth control in developing countries

Question 12

The Toxic Substances Control Act regulates _______________

A)industrial chemicals
B)pesticides
C)cosmetics
D)food additives
E)drugs

Question 13

Carcinogens may be difficult to identify because _______________.

A)there is a long lag time between exposure to the agent and disease
B)they are the least common toxicants
C)there is no way to measure the carcinogenic potential of a substance
D)they are rare in nature
E)most are invisible

Question 14

The bald eagle and peregrine falcon are _______________

A)top consumers susceptible to eggshell damage caused by DDT
B)U)S.invasive species
C)extinct
D)overhunted for their feathers
E)found only in Florida

Question 15

Of the chemicals that fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act, _______________ have been thoroughly tested for toxicity and _______________ damage. have been tested for endocrine,nervous,or immune system

A)10; 2%
B)25; 10%
C)half; half
D)10; 10%
E)half; 25%

Question 16

_______________ are substances that cause cancer.

A)Carcinogens
B)Teratogens
C)Neurotoxins
D)Vectors
E)Allergens

Question 17

(c) Unconventional dose-response curve
Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
The flat line at the left in (b)probably represents __________________.

A)no visible effect because the body's physiological processes can cope with low doses of a toxicant
B)that no data were collected for the flatline area
C)competing effects of some other substance whose effect wasn't measured
D)the fact that no toxicant was introduced until the response line begins to rise
E)the fact that there is no physiological effect of the toxicant at low doses

Question 18

(c) Unconventional dose-response curve
Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
The LD50 indicates the _______________.

A)lowest dose required to cure the entire population
B)lowest dose required to cure half of the population
C)lowest dose that kills any member of the population
D)lowest dose that kills 50 out of 1000 members of the population
E)amount of toxicant it takes to kill half the population

Question 19

All of the following statements are true of allergens EXCEPT _______________.

A)asthma can be triggered by allergies
B)allergens trigger an immune response when one is not necessary
C)everyone is affected by an allergen at a high enough dose
D)synthetic chemicals may trigger allergic reactions
E)people with allergies have weakened immune systems

Question 20

_______________ is/are biodegradable and known to have (a)short persistence time(s).

A)Bt toxin
B)PBDEs
C)DDE
D)PCBs
E)DDT

Question 21

In her study performed in Yaqui Valley,Mexico,Elizabeth Guillette found that _______________.

A)infectious disease is more widespread in poor countries
B)frogs were affected by water pollution
C)wealth is correlated with intelligence
D)organic agriculture can be successful with government support
E)developmental delays occurred in children exposed to pesticides

Question 22

Which of the following are indoor chemical hazards?

A)BPA and PCBs
B)wastewater toxicants
C)DDT and DDE
D)radon and asbestos
E)petroleum and pesticides

Question 23

The European Union's experience with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)has shown that _______________.

A)economic factors have superseded health concerns
B)if the toxin is removed from the environment,concentrations in human tissues fall
C)human metabolism of these compounds could solve the problem without legislation
D)exposure to these molecules results in birth ratios of 9 males : 1 female
E)these molecules can be rapidly metabolized by decomposers

Question 24

What are epidemiological studies,and what is their value? Are there any disadvantages to epidemiological studies?

Question 25

According to a 2002 study by scientists at the National Water -Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA), _______________ % of U.S.streams contain traces of wastewater contaminants.

A)less than 1
B)100
C)50
D)10
E)80

Question 26

Which of the following is a cultural hazard?

A)flooding
B)a high -fat diet
C)Zika virus
D)an earthquake
E)UV radiation from the sun

Question 27

Infectious disease accounts for _______________% of deaths globally.

A)less than 1
B)almost 17
C)almost 50
D)almost 64
E)almost 79

Question 28

Explain what endocrine disruptors are,and give examples.Explain why endocrine disruptors are a problem for humans,and discuss why they have not been banned.

Question 29

Synergistic effects of toxicants _______________.

A)always involve synthetic toxicants
B)are greater than the sum of the effects of the components
C)are not numerous in the natural environment
D)have effects of individual toxicants that tend to cancel one another out
E)typically exhibit additive effects of the individual toxicants

Question 30

The effect of a toxicant on fetuses and young children tends to be _______________.

A)higher in females than males
B)less than on adults because their metabolism is higher
C)higher for allergens than for teratogens
D)greater than on adults
E)the same as for adults because all individuals generally have the same response to a toxicant

Question 31

Initiated in 2007,the REACH program _______________

A)requires all chemicals imported into the United States to have a material safety data sheet
B)regulates the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing
C)protects European companies who have patented trade secrets from revealing the chemical information about their products
D)replaced the Toxic Substances Control Act with a policy that was more strict regarding chemical safety
E)was passed by the European Union to protect its citizens from unsafe chemicals

Question 32

Explain and give an example of biomagnification.Identify two key characteristics of toxins that become biomagnified.

Question 33

Louis Guillette is well known for his studies of _______________ in Florida.

A)the neurological effects of pesticide poisoning in flamingos
B)the contamination of soil near orange orchards
C)the effects of DDT on tadpole development
D)reproductive and developmental abnormalities in alligators
E)gonadal abnormalities in frogs

Question 34

_______________ is a naturally occurring substance that is potentially toxic to people.

A)DDE
B)Radon
C)Carbon dioxide
D)Bisphenol A (BPA)
E)PCB

Question 35

How is the precautionary principle used in environmental health? What is an alternative philosophical approach?

Question 36

A student wants to test the toxicity of water on corn plants.After providing different amounts of water to different groups of corn plants for the duration of a growing season,the student graphed the results.The graph is most likely to look like which of the dose -response curves depicted above?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)E

Question 37

Studies of endocrine disruptors have shown that they are closely associated with all of the following EXCEPT _______________

A)gonadal abnormalities
B)thyroid hormone abnormalities
C)erectile dysfunction
D)lung cancer
E)male feminization

Question 38

The "dirty dozen" POPs targeted by the Stockholm Convention include _______________.

A)Roundup and glyphosate
B)Dr.Pepper and Mountain Dew
C)BPA and radon
D)Bt toxin and isopropyl alcohol
E)DDT and PCBs

Question 39

What are the properties of toxicants that are likely to build up in animals through bioaccumulation?

A)They are carcinogenic and mutagenic.
B)They contain nitrogen and sulfur.
C)They are gases that are readily carried by pesticide drift.
D)They are nonbiodegradable and lipid -soluble.
E)They are biodegradable and water soluble.

Question 40

Debate over the use of DDT to control malaria is likely to continue.However,over the past several decades,much has been learned about how this insecticide works,and why its extensive use poses an environmental concern.Discuss three characteristics of this chemical that cause it to be problematic.

Question 41

What does the field of environmental health encompass?

Question 42

Explain how response to hazards can vary based upon individual differences and type of exposure.Give examples,where appropriate.

Question 43

List the environmental factors and chemical properties that determine the rate of degradation of toxicants.

Question 44

Explain risk assessment and risk management.Discuss how risk management combines science and other social factors.

Question 45

Briefly explain dose -response analysis.