Deck 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health

Question 1

Which statement about mercury is true?

A)Mercury is found only in the atmosphere.
B)Mercury slowly breaks down and degrades in the environment.
C)At high doses, Mercury is a neurotoxin.
D)Only two states have issued warnings about the mercury content of fish.
E)The EPA has issued concerns about mercury, but the UNEP has not.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A risk is

A)something that is always to be avoided.
B)involves a biological or chemical hazard.
C)a lifestyle choice.
D)the probability of suffering harm from a hazard
E)is inherently transmissible.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Teratogens

A)are fatal to humans in low doses.
B)cause birth defects.
C)are harmful largely as allergens.
D)cause mutations.
E)are transmitted genetically.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Malaria

A)cannot be prevented by a vaccine.
B)is caused by a parasite transmitted in mosquito bites.
C)is most prominent in colder climates.
D)control is impossible to implement with antimalarial drugs.
E)cannot be prevented by spraying mosquitoes with DDT.

Question 5

Viruses

A)do not evolve.
B)are not affected by antibiotics.
C)are not transmitted in body fluids or air.
D)cause malaria.
E)are a result of multidrug resistant TB.

Question 6

Carcinogens are primarily known to cause or promote

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

Question 7

How can spraying DDT prevent the spread of malaria?

A)DDT prevents dehydration.
B)DDT is a teratogen.
C)DDT bioaccumulates at high trophic levels.
D)DDT is a pesticide that kills mosquitos.
E)DDT follows the precautionary principle.

Question 8

The influenza virus is typically spread by

A)body fluid contact or airborne emissions.
B)sharing needles.
C)resistance to cleaning chemicals.
D)body fluid contact only.
E)airborne emissions only.

Question 9

Neurotoxins are most likely to affect the

A)immune system.
B)nervous system.
C)endocrine system.
D)circulatory system.
E)musculatory system.

Question 10

Tuberculosis is caused by

A)mosquitoes.
B)houseflies.
C)viruses.
D)bacteria.
E)protozoa.

Question 11

The intake of hormonally active agents can severely disrupt the

A)digestive system.
B)endocrine system.
C)circulatory system.
D)respiratory system.
E)excretory system.

Question 12

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one of the five top toxic substances of major concern to human and environmental health is

A)sodium.
B)lead.
C)oxygen.
D)gold.
E)polonium.

Question 13

Mutagens

A)are fatal to humans in low doses.
B)are the primary cause of birth defects.
C)are harmful largely as allergens.
D)cause changes in cell DNA.
E)cannot be passed to future generations.

Question 14

Biological hazards are largely a result of

A)pathogens.
B)chemicals
C)natural disasters
D)cultural factors
E)lifestyle

Question 15

One key to reducing sickness and immature death from infectious disease is to

A)develop enhanced DDT.
B)isolate AIDS patients.
C)improve drinking water quality.
D)promote the use of teratogens.
E)increase antibiotic use.

Question 16

Two-thirds of all mercury reaching the atmosphere every year comes from.

A)volcanoes
B)rocks and soil.
C)toxicology studies.
D)industrial facilities.
E)methyl mercury.

Question 17

Slowing the spread of TB requires

A)healthy eating habits.
B)focusing on the elderly population.
C)developing a multidrug resistance.
D)eradicating poverty.
E)early identification and treatment of people with active TB

Question 18

An infectious disease

A)is the result of a pandemic.
B)always becomes an epidemic.
C)is caused by a pathogen.
D)cannot be caused by a pathogen.
E)is a type of chemical hazard.

Question 19

Toxic chemicals

A)are the primary cause of malaria.
B)cause temporary or permanent harm or death to humans and animals
C)support the immune and nervous systems.
D)are required to ensure proper endocrine system function.
E)counter the effects of hormonally active agents.

Question 20

Nontransmissible diseases

A)are resistant to antibiotics.
B)ten to develop rapidly.
C)are caused by something other than a living organism.
D)cause most epidemics.
E)can be prevented through immunizations.

Question 21

A substance with an LD50 of 1 mg/kg body weight would be considered

A)supertoxic.
B)extremely toxic
C)very toxic.
D)slightly toxic.
E)essentially nontoxic.

Question 22

In terms of number of deaths per participant, the most dangerous activity that most people in the U.S. participate in is

A)flying in an airplane.
B)swimming in the ocean.
C)riding in a motor vehicle.
D)visiting a relative.
E)walking in a thundershower.

Question 23

System reliability is determined by

A)degree of control.
B)technological reliability and human reliability
C)toxicology.
D)catastrophe.
E)acceptance of risk.

Question 24

The most important factor most people use in evaluating risk is

A)fear.
B)the degree of personal control.
C)whether the risk is chronic or catastrophic.
D)epidemiological studies.
E)technological reliability.

Question 25

What are most likely to weaken the immune system?

A)mutagens.
B)ions
C)arsenic
D)hormones
E)DNA

Question 26

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)reproductive system.

Question 27

The leading cause of preventable death each year in the U.S. is

A)smoking.
B)accidents.
C)illegal drug use.
D)pollutants.
E)homicides.

Question 28

Pollution prevention is a key strategy for implementing

A)an epidemiology study.
B)REACH.
C)risk analysis.
D)biohazards standards.
E)the precautionary principle.

Question 29

A person experiencing dizziness immediately after inhaling fumes from a strong household cleaner is exhibiting a(n)

A)chronic effect.
B)subchronic effect.
C)acute effect.
D)subacute effect.
E)superacute effect.

Question 30

The study of the pattern of a disease in a population is known as

A)pathology.
B)oncology.
C)epidemiology.
D)ecology.
E)bacteriology.

Question 31

A threshold dose-response model

A)implies there is a dose below which no detectable harmful effects occur.
B)errs on the side of safety.
C)implies that each dose of a harmful substance carries a risk of causing harm.
D)is useful for assessing chronic toxicity.
E)assumes chemicals vary widely in their toxicity.

Question 32

Animal testing

A)extrapolates from low dose levels to high dose levels.
B)extrapolates from test animals to humans.
C)is noncontroversial.
D)usually involves low dose levels.
E)always involves high dose levels.

Question 33

A person experiencing liver damage after a lifetime of alcohol abuse is exhibiting a(n)

A)chronic effect.
B)subchronic effect.
C)acute effect.
D)subacute effect.
E)superacute effect.

Question 34

The endocrine system is least likely to be disrupted by the intake of

A)herbicides.
B)PCBs.
C)mercury.
D)Vitamin E.
E)DDT.

Question 35

Epidemiological studies rely on comparing the health of a(n)

A)experimental group and a diseased group.
B)dose group and a response group.
C)nervous system group and a control group.
D)dose group and a control group.
E)experimental group and a control group.

Question 36

In terms of the number of premature deaths per year, the greatest risk people in the U.S. face today is

A)toxic chemicals.
B)poverty.
C)AIDS.
D)driving.
E)smoking.

Question 37

Why do some officials in European Union countries advocate the strategy of pollution prevention?

A)They would to support the manufacturing industries.
B)They want to learn about substitutes for toxic chemicals.
C)They support the threshold dose-response model.
D)They have the leading epidemiologists globally.
E)They are not interested in experimental research.

Question 38

The toxicity of a substance is a measure of its

A)harmfulness.
B)biodegradability.
C)dosage.
D)mass.
E)proliferation.

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

The damage to health resulting from exposure to a chemical is known as the

A)dosage.
B)toxicity.
C)transmissibility.
D)variance.
E)response.

Question 41

Natural chemicals are safe, and synthetic materials are harmful.

Question 42

Under the precautionary principle approach, chemicals are assumed safe until scientific research could support otherwise.

Question 43

Malaria cannot be transmitted by blood transfusions or by sharing needles.

Question 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

A(n) ____________________ is caused when a pathogen invades the body and multiplies in its cells and tissues.

Question 47

Probability gives us a mathematical estimate that an event is likely to occur.

Question 48

____________________ diseases were previously unknown or absent from human populations for more than 20 years.

Question 49

Human reliability is usually much lower than technological reliability and is almost impossible to predict.

Question 50

DDT is banned in most countries but is still widely used for malaria control.

Question 51

Malaria is caused by a bacterium spread by all species of mosquitoes.

Question 52

A risky activity, such as smoking, may be deemed less risky than it really is because of the immediate gratification it provides.

Question 53

Although infectious diseases have decreased, human health is still threatened by pesticide-resistant insects and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Question 54

At low toxin dosages, scientist often choose the no-threshold dose response model.

Question 55

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

Question 56

After poverty and gender, the greatest risks people in the United States face are mainly from lifestyle choices.

Question 57

A large-scale outbreak of a disease is called a(n) ____________________ and a global-scale outbreak is called a(n) ____________________.

Question 58

In order to account for uncertainty, regulators typically set allowed levels of exposure to toxic substances at 100 or even 1000 times the estimated harmful levels.

Question 59

Many AIDS patients are less vulnerable to tuberculosis infection because the immune system is already compromised.

Question 60

An immediate allergic reaction to a bee sting would be a(n) ____________________ reaction to a toxin.

Question 61

Critical Thinking

According to the accompanying diagram, how does the life expectancy for males with AIDS change? How does the life expectancy with AIDS compare between males and females?

Question 62

Reducing the amount of human input can decrease the risks associated with a system's reliability. Why is this so? Why is this not always the best solution?

Question 63

A volcano eruption is a(n) ____________________ risk because it involves a single event.

Question 64

____________________ is the process of estimating how much harm a hazard can cause to human health or the environment.

Question 65

____________________ is the process of deciding how and at what cost to reduce a particular risk.

Question 66

Discuss the factors that limit the usefulness of epidemiological studies in estimating the harmful effects of chemicals.

Question 67

Critical Thinking

What does the accompanying age structure diagram imply about the economic productivity of this country?

Question 68

One problem with the ____________________ is that chemicals would require thorough toxicity screening, making it very expensive to introduce any new chemicals into society.

Question 69

Distinguish between a non-transmissible disease, a transmissible disease, and an infectious disease, and provide one example of each.

Question 70

Give two examples of how you can make your lifestyle more environmentally sustainable while reducing the major risks you face?

Question 71

Discuss the distinction between risk assessment and risk management.

Question 72

Name three human systems vulnerable to chemical effects. Then, for each of the three systems, provide two examples of harm to humans and the chemicals that cause the harm.

Question 73

How does pollution prevention support the precautionary principle in preventing harm to humans and ecosystems caused by toxic chemicals?

Question 74

Lung damage developed from years of cigarette smoking is an example of a(n) ____________________ toxic effect.

Question 75

Why is it difficult to estimate chemical toxicity in real life using laboratory experiments?