Deck 4: Environmental Crime

Question 1

An assistant administrator in which federal agency would eventually go to prison for perjury? Her agenda included changing the perception of Love Canal from dangerous to benign, obtaining data that 50 of the most dangerous sites were benign, and proving that industries today were not dangerous to public health.

A)Environmental Protection Agency
B)Securities and Exchange Commission
C)Food and Drug Administration
D)Federal Emergency Management Agency

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Johns-Manville, the largest manufacturer of asbestos, endangered workers by doing all of the following except:

A)deciding not to install a dust-control system.
B)providing inadequate insurance coverage.
C)failing to inform workers of dangers after learning of them.
D)not informing symptomless asbestosis victims of illness.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

W.R Grace and its Cryovac Division that produced the Woburn Leukemia Cluster was guilty of performing all of the following activities except:

A)providing false information to the federal government about toxic disposal practices.
B)dumping toxic waste.
C)admitting to the dumping but denying the carcinogenic nature of the substances.
D)inadequate workplace safeguards.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Toxic terrorism is:

A)government inattention to environmental problems.
B)use of chemicals and biological weapons.
C)pollution of the environment by American manufacturing companies.
D)the exporting of environmental problems to foreign companies.

Question 5

Studies have shown that all of the following have contracted asbestosis despite the fact they did not work in an asbestos factory except:

A)spouses of workers.
B)workers hired on to remove insulation from a manufacturing plant.
C)domestic pets of workers.
D)children of workers.

Question 6

Landfills and toxic waste disposal sites are more likely to be located near:

A)warehouse districts.
B)government housing.
C)retirement communities.
D)African American communities.

Question 7

DuPont is the manufacturer of Teflon, which produces PFOA, which in turn causes a wide variety of serious health injuries.By the time the EPA filed charges against DuPont, all of the following were true except that it had:

A)paid $10 billion in damages.
B)billions of dollars in profits.
C)concealed the risks of contamination for two decades.
D)exposed child-bearing women to contamination.

Question 8

Which one of the following companies has not been fined or cited for environmental pollution?

A)Wal-Mart
B)Proctor & Gamble
C)Texaco
D)Ocean Spray

Question 9

A recent decade was known as the golden age of environmental crime.Which President's administration is associated with an anti-regulation mindset during the same decade?

A)Bush I
B)Clinton
C)Bush II
D)Reagan

Question 10

Three major kinds of contamination and predictable effects have been recognized. They include all of the following except:

A)radioactivity and prenatal damage.
B)chemical contamination and birth defects.
C)inorganic metals and developmental problems.
D)organic contamination and cancer.

Question 11

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). It is more commonly known as:

A)Greenfund.
B)Environmental Fund.
C)Emergency Fund.
D)Superfund.

Question 12

The Hooker Chemical Corporation dumped 20 million pounds of chemical waste that contaminated the Love Canal area. The chemical waste contained very dangerous levels of what substance?

A)Benzene and dioxin
B)Strychnine and chromium
C)E.coli and salmonella
D)Arsenic and belladonna

Question 13

Ralph Nader has commented that the following distinguishing characteristic of white-collar crime has been dispelled:

A)That is less costly
B)That it affects few people
C)That it lacks physical threat
D)That its effects are not as long-lasting

Question 14

According to the EPA, what percent of chemical wastes were disposed of illegally in the golden age decade of environmental crime?

A)50%
B)90%
C)75%
D)60%

Question 15

Allied Chemical Corporation, developer of Kepone, a highly toxic pesticide, committed all of the flowing acts in connection with manufacturing or in an effort to avoid liability for the health damage caused by the chemical except:

A)it caused the state of Virginia to prohibit consumption of fish in the James River.
B)it slowed down but did not stop production to investigate complaints.
C)it formed a new corporation.
D)it produced airborne drifts so thick traffic had to be diverted.

Question 16

Studies done in 1977, 1979, 1989, and 1994 noted the presence of dangerous substances in the Love Canal area. Hooker Chemical had known of the danger since:

A)1958
B)1965
C)1975
D)1962

Question 17

What percent of all cancer cases come from carcinogens in the workplace?

A)30%
B)40%
C)10%
D)20%

Question 18

What fraction of disease is waterborne?

A)1/2
B)1/4
C)7/8
D)3/4

Question 19

Toxic terrorism includes all of the following except:

A)importation of hazardous wastes.
B)careless destruction of dangerous chemicals.
C)construction of polluting factories.
D)inadequate health care for immigrant workers injured on the job.

Question 20

Rockwell International, the company responsible for the problem at Rocky Flats, was able to make a $4.1 million profit because:

A)of the government's failure to assess a fine.
B)the bonus paid by the government exceeded the fine.
C)of kickbacks from vendors.
D)of additional government contracts for the company.

Question 21

Heart disease has become the most rapidly increasing cause of death in America.

Question 22

McWane, Inc., is the dominant company in the cast iron water and sewer pipe manufacturing industry. It also holds the record for most safety violations. The unsafe environment is created by all of the following except:

A)a financial incentive system.
B)missing safety guards and no training.
C)no bathroom breaks for workers.
D)those workers who complain about violations are transferred.

Question 23

Whistleblowers at nuclear weapons facilities have been threatened with all of the following except:

A)being chased on a highway.
B)holes punched in their gloves.
C)negative references to future employers.
D)negative reporting to plant manager.

Question 24

There are more harmful pollutants outdoors than indoors.

Question 25

The EPA states that 75% of chemical wastes disposed were disposed of illegally in the golden age decade of environmental crime.

Question 26

In the deregulation era, which of the following entities took the lead in pursuing workplace violators?

A)Occupational Safety and Health Administration
B)Department of Labor
C)Federal Trade Commission
D)Individual states

Question 27

The Food and Drug Administration has urged the courts to view environmental crime as a crime of violence and an egregious departure from responsible citizenship.

Question 28

Paper use worldwide has decreased due to the use of electronic files and e-mail.

Question 29

The EPA has estimated that as many as 30,000 waste sites may pose significant health problems related to water contamination.

Question 30

The Bethlehem steel plant at Sparrows Point was fined $27,000 for failing to place shields around wire machines. The shields had been recommended but the company did not have to install them based on:

A)political contributions.
B)demonstration that cost would force the plant to close.
C)shutting down the work area.
D)executive protest at a meeting with agency officials.

Question 31

More than three-quarters of all human disease is waterborne.

Question 32

Toxic dumps are randomly distributed across America.

Question 33

Benzene and dioxin are the chemical wastes that contaminated the Love Canal area.

Question 34

The infamous case at Love Canal has become the symbol of environmental crime.

Question 35

British Petroleum will ultimately end up having to pay ____________for legal settlements in the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig disaster.

A)$30 billion
B)$50 million
C)$100 billion
D)$250 million

Question 36

Workers at private weapons plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania allegedly were exposed to levels of beryllium dust ____________times federal safety limits.

A)25
B)50
C)75
D)100

Question 37

The case of Illinois v.O'Neil involving Film Recovery Systems was significant and trendsetting in the area of workplace safety because:

A)the company was forced to give up all of its yearly profit.
B)those individuals responsible for the death of the employee were forced to pay civil damages out of their own pockets.
C)the company was forced out of business as part of a settlement.
D)company officials were prosecuted criminally and sentenced to prison.

Question 38

Tyson foods, the nation's largest poultry-processing company with profits of $403 million in 2004, was penalized for the deaths of two men who died in a vat of decomposing chicken parts from exposure to methane gas and for other violations. The fine was what percent of its profits?

A).1%
B).05%
C).001%
D).0004%

Question 39

Toxic terrorism includes the careless destruction of dangerous chemicals, the importation of hazardous wastes, and the construction of polluting factories.

Question 40

Which of the following companies has the worst safety record in the United States?

A)McWane, Inc.
B)Exxon Oil
C)Proctor & Gamble
D)Wal-Mart

Question 41

________________ has been called the most widespread toxic substance in the nation.

Question 42

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the parties responsible for the hazardous conditions are supposed to do the cleanup themselves or reimburse the government for doing it.

Question 43

Incarcerating corporate officials whose decisions or neglect endanger workers is predicated on the belief that it is a far more effective deterrent than fines.

Question 44

Within one week in 1976, ________________ miners were killed at the Scotia Mine.

Question 45

Identify and describe four hazardous substances that affect employee health in the workplace. What are the health problems that can be associated with these substances?

Question 46

The EPA estimates that ________________ % of the hazardous waste produced in the U.S.each year is disposed of in an environmentally unsafe manner.

Question 47

Illustrate the development of Superfund and discuss its deficiencies, including (but not limited to) the Brio site.

Question 48

Exposure to________________ dust causes brown lung.

Question 49

Exposure to cotton dust may cause asthma.

Question 50

The most serious health problem with water contamination is cancer, and the most susceptible population is ________________.

Question 51

The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in ________________.

Question 52

Identify the three major types of contaminations resulting from waterborne diseases.

Question 53

Examine environmental racism. Discuss the underlying issues of economic and social assumptions.

Question 54

How does air pollution occur? Illustrate your answer with instances from the text.

Question 55

Pearland, Texas, home to the abandoned Brio refinery, a site targeted for clean up under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), is said to have developed the highest ________________ rate in the country.

Question 56

Beryllium is a strong lightweight metal used to encase ________________ weapons.

Question 57

Discuss the various ways that water has the potential to become contaminated based on cases from the text.

Question 58

________________ disease has become the most rapidly increasing cause of death in America.

Question 59

Criminal law is a relatively new tool used to enforcing environmental statutes.

Question 60

Identify the principle of the preemption doctrine and discuss implications for state prosecution of crimes in the workplace. What specific actions have states taken against environmental and workplace safety violators?