10 - Environmental Health Flashcards
Environmental health is important to nurses because chemical, biological, and radiological materials are:
a. ) a major cause of global warming.
b. ) often found in the air, water, and products we use.
c. ) frequently linked to the development of chronic illnesses.
d. ) products that nurses work with on a daily basis.
b.) often found in the air, water, and products we use.
Chemical, biological, and radiological pollutants are often found in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the products we use. These are not a major cause of global warming. They are not frequently linked to the development of chronic illnesses. These are not products that nurses work with on a daily basis.
A nurse has identified a point source of air pollution. Which of the following has the nurse identified?
a. ) A smoke stack
b. ) The number of cars and trucks
c. ) The amount of fossil fuel consumed in a community
d. ) Ground ozone levels
a.) A smoke stack
Point sources of pollution are identifiable sources of air pollution, such as a smoke stack. Nonpoint sources come from more diffuse exposures, such as from cars and trucks. The amount of fossil fuel that is consumed and ground ozone levels do not identify sources of air pollution.
A nurse is completing the first phase of a risk assessment. Which of the following questions would the nurse most likely try to answer?
a. ) Has the chemical been released into the environment?
b. ) How much and by which route of entry can the chemical enter the body?
c. ) Is the chemical known to be associated with a negative health effect?
d. ) What is the prediction for potential harm?
c.) Is the chemical known to be associated with a negative health effect?
The first phase is determining if a chemical is known to be associated with negative health effects (in animals or humans): Is the chemical known to be associated with a negative health effect? The second step is determining if the chemical has been released into the environment: Has the chemical been released into the environment? The third step is estimating how much and by which route of entry the chemical might enter the human body: How much and by which route of entry can the chemical enter the body? The final step takes into account the previous steps: What is the prediction for potential harm?
Which is considered a nonpoint source of pollution?
a. ) Hazardous waste site
b. ) Animal waste from wildlife
c. ) Chlorine poured down a well
d. ) Stagnant water
b.) Animal waste from wildlife
Nonpoint sources come from more diffuse exposures to pollution. Animal waste is the only diffuse exposure given. The others are considered point sources; point sources are individual, identifiable sources such as smoke stacks.
A PHN working with a family living in poverty is concerned about their exposure to environmental hazards. Which of the following factors should the nurse consider that may put the family at risk? (Select all that apply.)
a. ) Limited funds to pay for health care
b. ) Poor nutrition
c. ) Homes located closer to hazardous waste sites
d. ) Less education
e. ) Unsafe working conditions
a.) Limited funds to pay for health care
b.) Poor nutrition
c.) Homes located closer to hazardous waste sites
Families living in poverty are more likely to experience environmental justice issues such as disproportionate environmental exposures. Substandard housing, living closer to hazardous waste sites, working in more hazardous jobs, poorer nutrition, and less access to quality health care all contribute to this issue. Although limited education is related to poverty, it is not discussed as causing an increase in environmental exposure.
A nurse is assessing for environmental health risks in the community. Which of the following approaches would be most appropriate for the nurse to use? (Select all that apply.)
a. ) Ask legislators to provide a list of environmental pollutants in the area
b. ) Develop a list of exposures associated with urban, rural, or suburban settings
c. ) Assess the risk by medium such as air, water, soil, or food
d. ) Divide the environment into functional locations: home, school, workplace, and community
e. ) Recruit community members to sign a petition to decrease pollution
b.) Develop a list of exposures associated with urban, rural, or suburban settings
c.) Assess the risk by medium such as air, water, soil, or food
d.) Divide the environment into functional locations: home, school, workplace, and community
Developing a list of exposures associated with urban, rural, or suburban settings, assessing the risk by medium such as air, water, soil, or food, and dividing the environment into functional locations: home, school, workplace, and community are ways a nurse can assess the environment. Asking legislators for a list of pollutants or recruiting community members to sign a petition are not effective means to assess for environmental health risks.
A nurse works at the individual level to reduce pollution in the environment. Which of the following actions would most likely be taken by the nurse?
a. ) Provide a tax incentive to factories that do not pollute
b. ) Make laws related to allowed levels of pollution in the area
c. ) Recycle paper, glass, cans, and plastic
d. ) Move to an area with less pollution
c.) Recycle paper, glass, cans, and plastic
Nurses can reduce pollution by doing their part, which can include choosing to recycle paper, glass, cans, and plastic. Providing a tax incentive and creating laws would not be completed at the individual level to reduce pollution in the environment. Moving to an area with less pollution would not help to improve the problem.
Employees working with hazardous chemicals have the “Right to Know” about the chemicals they are working with through the creation of the:
a. ) Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
b. ) Consumer Confidence Report.
c. ) Hazard Communication Standard.
d. ) EPA.
c.) Hazard Communication Standard.
The Hazard Communication Standard requires employers to maintain a list of all hazardous chemicals that are used on site. Each of the chemicals should have an associated chemical information sheet known as an MSDS, which is written by the chemical manufacturer. Consumer Confidence Reports summarize the results of the annual testing of the public water supply. The EPA sets forth policies, regulations, and public laws for the safety of the environment and the population.
Epidemiology:
a. ) is a science that studies the poisonous effects of chemicals.
b. ) explains the association between learning disabilities and exposure to lead-based paint at the cellular level.
c. ) helps nurses understand the strength of the association between exposure and health effects.
d. ) is a method for tracking the prevalence of health outcomes.
c.) helps nurses understand the strength of the association between exposure and health effects.
Epidemiology studies the incidence and prevalence of disease, helping nurses understand the strength of the association between exposure and health effects. Toxicology is the science that studies the poisonous effects of chemicals. Environmental surveillance provides data with which to track and analyze the incidence and prevalence of health outcomes. Epidemiology does not examine causes at the cellular level.
A nurse fulfills the environmental health competency of “assessment and referral.” Which of the following actions has the nurse most likely completed?
a. ) Advocating for public policy changes
b. ) Understanding policy framework and major pieces of legislation
c. ) Completing an environmental health history
d. ) Describing the scientific principles about environmental health
c.) Completing an environmental health history
Assessment and referral states that all nurses should be able to successfully complete an environmental health history, recognize the potential environmental hazards and sentinel illnesses, and make appropriate referrals for conditions with probably environmental causes. Advocating for public policy changes is part of advocacy. Understanding policy framework and legislation is part of legislation and regulation. Describing the scientific principles of environmental health is part of basic knowledge and concepts.
A nurse wants to find more information about indoor air quality. Which of the following websites would be most helpful?
a. ) The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
b. ) The American Lung Association
c. ) “Right to Know”
d. ) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
b.) The American Lung Association
Indoor air quality is a growing public health concern in office buildings, schools, and homes and is reflected in the alarming rise in asthma incidence in the United States, particularly among children. Sources of information about indoor air quality include the EPA and the American Lung Association. The NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) and is responsible for health and biomedical research. “Right to Know” is part of a workplace safety legislation. OSHA regulates safety in factories and businesses.
A nurse is addressing the problem of air pollution in the community. Which of the following would be the first step the nurse would take?
a. ) Setting standards
b. ) Monitoring
c. ) Permitting
d. ) Compliance
c.) Permitting
Permitting is a process by which the government places limits on the amount of pollution emitted into the air or water. Environmental standards may describe a permitted level of emissions, a maximum containment level, an action level for environmental cleanup, or a risk-based calculation. Monitoring is an ongoing process after an action has happened. Compliance refers to the processes for ensuring that permit/standard/regulatory requirements are met.
A public health nurse (PHN) is working with a migrant farm worker who has experienced an exposure to a pesticide. When researching pesticides, the nurse looks at the “family” of the chemical. What similarities are found among chemicals that have been placed in the same family?
a. ) Route of entry into the body
b. ) Actions and associated risks
c. ) Effects that they have on the body
d. ) Potency and toxicity
b.) Actions and associated risks
Chemicals are grouped so it’s possible to understand the actions and risks associated with each group. Although some common health risks exist within these families of chemicals, the possible health risks for each chemical should be evaluated individually when a potential human exposure exists.
A PHN is organizing a multidisciplinary team to address the issue of water pollution in the community. The most likely members that would be invited to address this issue would be:
a. ) physicians, water sanitation workers, and occupational therapists.
b. ) pharmacologists, radiologists, and epidemiologists.
c. ) nurse practitioners, pharmacologists, and environmentalists.
d. ) geologists, meteorologists, and chemists.
d.) geologists, meteorologists, and chemists.
Scientists who study how pollutants travel in air, water, and soil are geologists, meteorologists, and chemists. The other professionals are not experts in the area of water pollution in the community.
Which environmental law sets basic structure for regulating pollutants to United States waters?
a. ) Safe Drinking Water Act
b. ) Toxic Substance Control Act
c. ) Clean Water Act
d. ) Pollution Prevention Act
c.) Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act sets basic structure for regulating pollutants to United States waters. The Safe Drinking Water Act authorized the EPA to establish safe standards of purity and required all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with primary standards. The Toxic Substance Control Act gives the EPA the ability to track the 75,000 industrial chemicals currently produced or imported into the United States. The Pollution Prevention Act focused industry, government, and public attention on reduction of the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and use of raw materials.
