Deck 17: Environmental Hazards and Human Health

Question 1

Tuberculosis is caused by

A)mosquitoes
B)flies
C)viruses
D)bacteria
E)protozoa

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Since 1970 the occurrence of malaria has

A)remained at the same levels
B)increased then leveled off
C)greatly reduced
D)greatly increased
E)decreased then increased slightly

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Four of the following are means of transmitting the HIV virus from person to person; one is not such a means.Choose the one that is not.

A)unsafe sex
B)sneezing or coughing
C)exposure to unsafe blood
D)sharing needles by drug users
E)infected mothers passing the virus to offspring before or during birth

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Risk is expressed as a probability of suffering from all of the following, except

A)disease
B)economic loss
C)death
D)injury
E)prejudice

Question 5

All of the following are considered to be natural hazards, except

A)driving
B)hurricanes
C)volcanoes
D)earthquakes
E)fires

Question 6

The five main types of hazards include all of the following, except

A)biological hazards
B)natural hazards
C)economic hazards
D)cultural hazards
E)chemical hazards

Question 7

All of the following are non-transmissible diseases, except

A)heart disease
B)most cancers
C)tuberculosis
D)malnutrition
E)asthma

Question 8

All of the following are considered to be cultural hazards, except

A)working conditions
B)drought
C)unsafe highways
D)poverty
E)criminal assault

Question 9

A 2003 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated what percentage of Americans over the age of 6 had trace BPA levels in their urine above EPA thresholds.

A)100%
B)93%
C)67%
D)50%
E)35%

Question 10

A global outbreak of an infectious disease is called a(n)

A)threat
B)parademic
C)pandemic
D)epidemic
E)outbreak

Question 11

Ways to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases in less-developed countries includes all of the following, except

A)reduce poverty
B)decrease malnutrition
C)reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics
D)increase antibiotic use in livestock
E)provide oral rehydration for diarrhea victims

Question 12

All of the following are considered to be biological hazards, except

A)protozoa
B)parasites
C)diet
D)bacteria
E)fungi

Question 13

All of the following are viral diseases, except

A)malaria
B)AIDS
C)hepatitis B
D)influenza
E)West Nile

Question 14

Malaria is spread by

A)snails
B)flies
C)contaminated feces
D)certain types of mosquitoes
E)bacteria

Question 15

The West Nile virus is transmitted to humans by

A)mosquitoes
B)houseflies
C)birds
D)physical contact
E)coughing and sneezing

Question 16

Which of the following not a reason the incidence of tuberculosis is increasing?

A)too few TB screening and control programs
B)genetic resistance to antibiotics
C)weakened immune systems from the spread of AIDS
D)population growth, urbanization, and air travel
E)effects of global warming

Question 17

Which of the following infectious diseases is not among the five most deadly?

A)pneumonia and flu
B)mumps
C)malaria
D)tuberculosis
E)HIV/AIDS

Question 18

All of the following are transmissible diseases, except

A)diabetes
B)flu
C)measles
D)tuberculosis
E)HIV

Question 19

A transmissible disease is not likely to be caused by a

A)bacterium
B)hazardous chemical
C)virus
D)parasite
E)protozoa

Question 20

During the mid-1900s, the spread of malaria decreased sharply as a result of all of the following, except

A)draining swamplands
B)draining marshes
C)spraying breeding areas with DDT and other pesticides
D)using drugs to kill the parasites in the bloodstream
E)a new vaccine

Question 21

The ability of a substance to cause injury, illness, or death to a living system, is

A)toxicity
B)biomagnification
C)persistent
D)response
E)dose

Question 22

Toxicity is rated according to the amount of a substance that is necessary to kill 50% of humans, given in milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Supertoxic has an LD50 of

A)less than 5 mg/kg
B)5-50 mg/kg
C)50-500 mg/kg
D)500-5000 mg/kg
E)5000-15000 mg/kg

Question 23

The term that is given to the damage that occurs from exposure to a chemical or other agent is

A)toxicity
B)biomagnification
C)persistence
D)response
E)dose

Question 24

Specialized cells, tissues, and organs that secrete hormones are part of the

A)digestive system
B)endocrine system
C)excretory system
D)circulatory system
E)immune system

Question 25

Carcinogens cause

A)genetic defects
B)birth defects
C)cancer
D)chronic health effects
E)allergic reactions

Question 26

The Lyme disease bacterium is passed onto humans directly from

A)foxes
B)deer
C)white mice
D)field mice
E)ticks

Question 27

More than 100 studies have found a number of adverse effects from exposure to very low levels of BPA, including all of the following, except

A)brain damage
B)meningitis
C)prostate disease
D)breast cancer
E)obesity

Question 28

Birth defects can be caused by all of the following, except

A)alcohol
B)angel dust
C)benzene
D)formaldehyde
E)iodized sodium chloride

Question 29

An immediate or rapid harmful reaction to exposure to a chemical, ranging from dizziness to death, is

A)bioaccumulation
B)acute response
C)persistence
D)chronic response
E)dose

Question 30

DDT, PCBs, atrazine, bisphenol-A, and phthalates are all examples of

A)insecticides
B)hormonally active agents
C)estrogens
D)androgens
E)plastic additives

Question 31

The effects of neurotoxins can result in all of the following, except

A)behavioral changes
B)learning disabilities
C)hair loss
D)attention deficit disorder
E)death

Question 32

____ relates to the increase in the amount of a potentially toxic substance as it passes through food chains and webs.

A)Toxicity
B)Biological magnification
C)Persistence
D)Response
E)Dose

Question 33

The top toxic substances in terms of human and environmental health include all of the following, except

A)lead
B)mercury
C)vinyl chlorides
D)DDT
E)PCBs

Question 34

In 2003, the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed that in determining risk, regulators should assume children have ____ times the exposure risk of adults to cancer-causing chemicals.

A)5
B)10
C)15
D)25
E)100

Question 35

This term refers to a substance's resistance to breakdown.

A)toxicity
B)biomagnification
C)persistence
D)response
E)dose

Question 36

This term refers to the amount of a substance a person ingests, inhales, or absorbs through the skin.

A)toxicity
B)biomagnifications
C)persistence
D)response
E)dose

Question 37

Of the 100,000 registered synthetic chemicals in commercial use, only ____ have been adequately tested to determine whether they are carcinogens, teratogens, or mutagens.

A)2%
B)4%.
C)10%
D)12%
E)15%

Question 38

The system responsible for defense against disease and harmful substances is the

A)circulatory system
B)endocrine system
C)immune system
D)excretory system
E)skeletal system

Question 39

All of the following are practices that encourage the spread of diseases among animals and humans, except

A)clearing or fragmenting of forests
B)expanding suburbs into fragmented woodlands
C)cutting down tropical forests displacing fruit bats
D)hunting wild game for food
E)eating meat from local farmers

Question 40

Teratogens

A)are fatal to humans in low doses
B)cause birth defects
C)are harmful because they are irritating to skin or lungs
D)cause infections
E)cause allergic reactions

Question 41

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the human body.

Question 42

Hormone mimics can cause human males to become feminized, have smaller penises, lower sperm counts, and hermaphroditism.

Question 43

Smokers have how much higher risk of suffering from Alzheimer's disease?

A)80%
B)70%
C)60%
D)50%
E)40%

Question 44

AIDS is a pandemic.

Question 45

A person experiencing liver damage after a lifetime of alcohol abuse is showing

A)a chronic effect
B)a subchronic effect
C)an acute effect
D)a subacute effect
E)superacute exposure

Question 46

Cigarette smoking is the world's most preventable major cause of premature death among adults, resulting in one death every ____ seconds.

A)2
B)4
C)6
D)8
E)10

Question 47

Determining how much harm a particular hazard can cause is called risk management.

Question 48

Which statement is true?

A)All chemicals are unsafe.
B)Natural chemicals are safe, and synthetic chemicals are deadly.
C)Synthetic chemicals are deadly, and natural chemicals are safe.
D)Some chemicals, whether synthetic or natural, are safe and others are deadly.
E)All chemicals are safe except those that cause cancer.

Question 49

A person experiencing dizziness after using a strong household cleaner is showing

A)a chronic effect
B)a subchronic effect
C)an acute effect
D)a subacute effect
E)superacute exposure

Question 50

Viruses respond well to antibiotics.

Question 51

How much of the American population is either overweight or obese?

A)one-quarter
B)one-third
C)one-half
D)two-thirds
E)three-fourths

Question 52

In terms of number of premature deaths per year and reduced life span, by far the greatest risk is

A)AIDS
B)poverty
C)smoking
D)malaria
E)industrial chemicals

Question 53

It takes an average of 3 to 5 years for an HIV infection to progress to AIDS.

Question 54

In the human body hormones operate at very low levels controlling sexual reproduction, growth, development, learning ability, and behavior.

Question 55

Which of the following is not one of the factors that cause people to see a technology or product as being more or less risky than experts judge it to be?

A)fear caused by overestimating the risk
B)degree to which we have personal control over the risk
C)degree to which a risk is catastrophic rather than chronic
D)degree to which the risky item gives instant gratification
E)degree to which the risk is caused by the government

Question 56

Diseases that have been absent in human populations for 20 or more years and then reappear, are called emergent diseases.

Question 57

A nontransmissible disease is caused by something other than a living organism.

Question 58

People with AIDS are 30 to 50 times more likely to develop active tuberculosis.

Question 59

Over the course of human history, malarial protozoa probably have killed more people than all the wars ever fought.

Question 60

A study published in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that 93% of humans over 6 years of age had trace levels of BPA in their urine that exceeded the current threshold level set by EPA.

Question 61

Estrogen mimics and hormone blockers are sometimes called gender benders because of their possible effects on sexual development and reproduction.

Question 62

A 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that _____ of Americans over the age of 6 had levels of BPA in their urine above the current threshold level set the EPA.

Question 63

In terms of the number of premature deaths per year and reduced life span, the greatest risk, by far, is malaria.

Question 64

____________________involves deciding whether or how to reduce a particular risk to a certain level and at what cost.

Question 65

A __________ is an organism that can cause disease in another organism.

Question 66

A widely used estrogen mimic is __________, a chemical building block in certain hardened plastics.

Question 67

Of all the PCBs made in the United States, only 20% remain in the environment.

Question 68

The overuse of ____________________ can cause bacteria to develop genetic resistance.

Question 69

A large-scale outbreak of an infectious disease in an area or country is called a(n) ____________________.

Question 70

Estimating human exposure to chemicals and their effects is very difficult because of the many variables involved.

Question 71

Fear causes people to overestimate risks and worry more abut unusual risks than they do for common, everyday risks.

Question 72

A ____________________ is an infectious disease that can be transmitted from one person to another.

Question 73

A _______________ is the probability of suffering harm from a hazard that can cause injury, disease, death, economic loss, or damage.

Question 74

Research has indicated that long-term exposure to some chemicals may disrupt the body's immune, nervous, and endocrine systems.

Question 75

One out of every twelve women of child bearing age in the United States has enough mercury in her blood to harm a developing fetus.

Question 76

One significant source of mercury emissions into the atmosphere is from coal-burning power plants.

Question 77

Teratogens are chemicals that cause cancer.

Question 78

All chemicals in commercial use were screened for toxicity before they were deemed acceptable for use.

Question 79

Some chemicals released to the environment are hormone disrupters and are probably responsible for lower sperm counts in human males.

Question 80

We tend to be far more frightened of everyday risks, such as diabetes or smoking, than about plane crashes.