A Clean Environment: The Basis of Public Health Flashcards
1
Q
basic ingredients of life
A
air, water, and food
2
Q
what are the first evidence of public health measures
made by the cities of?
A
water supply, drains, and sewers
india, egypt, greece and south america
3
Q
public health measures
A
organized
community efforts to provide healthy conditions for the population.
4
Q
functions of the government on the environmental health
A
- clean water supply and safe disposal of wastes
2. ensure clean air and safe food
5
Q
what year did the americans realize that the environment was deteriorating?
A
1960s
6
Q
In the late 1960s and early 1970s,
many new laws set standards for
A
air, water, and waste disposal
7
Q
first Earth day was celebrated on?
it was the beginning of the ?
A
April 22, 1970
modern environmental movement with coast-to-coast rallies and teach-ins
8
Q
what is the most difficult environmental health issue today
A
climate change
9
Q
A major role of the federal government in environmental health is to
A
identify hazards and to set safety standards
10
Q
T or F
identification of substance as hazardous and the setting of standards are not difficult and controversial
A
false
11
Q
T or F
Testing for potential harmful effects is expensive
and time-consuming, and the choice of chemicals to test may be politically controversial.
A
True
12
Q
why do citizens resist reqs to meet standards?
A
because it is expensive and inconvenient to clean up the environment
13
Q
what is the health hazard that people tend to worry about only when it is artificially produced?
A
radiation
14
Q
natural radioactive materials are found in ?
A
soils and rocks
15
Q
what is radon gas?
A
natural radioactive decay of uranium, is
present in many homes, a fact that was recognized only in the mid-1980s
16
Q
A natural radioactive decay of uranium, is
present in many homes, a fact that was recognized only in the mid-1980s
A
Radon gas
17
Q
prolonged exposure to radon can potentially cause what type of diseases
A
lung cancer
18
Q
ultraviolet radiation causes what type of disease?
A
skin cancer and melanoma
19
Q
skin cancer and melanoma are caused by what type of radiation?
A
ultraviolet radiation
20
Q
when was x-rays discovered
A
mid 1890s
21
Q
what was the first alarm that was raised in the mid-1920 on raddiation
A
deaths from kidney and bone disease of
a number of workers who painted watch dials with radium so they would glow in the dark
22
Q
what year did the socially prominent businessman die?
what was the cause of death?
what did he intake?
A
1932
radium poisoning
hundreds of bottles of Radithor, a radium-containing patent medicine
23
Q
Because of the Radithor scandal what did a certain government organization do?
what organization was it?
A
regulate patent medicine as well as specific limitations on radioactive pharmaceuticals
Food and Drug Administration ( FDA)
24
Q
T or F
Average age at death for radiologists was
5 years younger than that of other specialists
A
True
25
how was the long-time damaging effects of radiation exposure confirmed?
what type of diseases was found to have been developed or increased the risks?
bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, Japan, which ended the Second World War
leukemia and other
cancers was significantly increased among these people
26
what is the largest source of non background radiation exposure
medical and dental xrays
27
which was recognized in the 19th century to cause
neurological damage in workers who made felt hats
what was the expression for this occurence
mercury
"mad as a hatter"
28
What happened in Japan’s
Minamata Bay in the 1950s ?
how many deaths and brain damages
The devastating effects of the mercury discharged by a plastics factory into Japan’s
Minamata Bay
caused some 700 deaths and varying degrees of paralysis and brain
damage in 9000 other people.
29
explain the mercury poisoning occurred in Iraq, in ___.
How many people were poisoned and deaths.
1972, when the substance was used as a fungicide on seed grain. The contaminated wheat was turned
into bread
poisoned more than 6500 people, 459 of whom died
30
In the United States, mercury enters the environment mainly by emissions from ?
coal-burning
| power plants.
31
fish species that have the highest average amounts of
| mercury in their flesh:
tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, and shark
32
Mercury is regulated under what act?
Clean Air Act
| and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
33
what metal damages red blood cells and kidneys?
it is believed to be the?
Lead
single most important environmental threat to the health of american children
34
how can low levels of lead impact a child?
slow a child’s development and can cause learning and behavior problems
35
Permissible levels of lead have been steadily lowered from _______ per
deciliter of blood in 1970 to _____at present
60 micrograms
| 10 micrograms
36
In the Roman
Empire, it was a component of wine casks, cooking pots, and water pipes.
what is its latin word?
what does it mean in english?
Lead
"plumbum" --- plumbing
37
major source of lead exposure for millions of Americans is?
it was stopped on?
what was it replaced by?
water contaminated with lead from lead pipes or from lead solder used with copper pipes
1980s
plastic plumbing
38
Lead are also components of what? (except plumbing)
what was the government response to lower its rates?
1. emitted from the tailpipes of motor vehicles that burned leaded gasoline
- --phasing out of leaded gas
2. component of paint
- --banned in 1977
39
what commissions recalled millions of wooden toys that had been painted with lead paint,
what toy was including that was very
popular at that time?
Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC)
Thomas the Tank Engine
40
what is regarded as the "king of poisons"?
It was also well known as a?
Arsenic
common means of homicide throughout the centuries
41
what organization turned arsenic into a toxin?
what year was it, and where?
what campaign did they lead to prevent epidemics of cholera, dysentery, and other water-borne diseases to lead to that?
United Nations Children's Funds
1970 in India and Bangladesh
campaign to drill millions of wells so that the population would not longer need to drink contaminated surface water
42
what happened with the united nations children's fund?
what was the occurrence called?
percentage of affected people in Bangladesh
what did the people experience?
They campaigned on drilling millions of wells so that people would no longer need to drink contaminated surface water but was found to have high concentrations of arsenic
" the worst mass poisoning in history"
80%
abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, pain and swelling in the hands
and feet, and skin eruptions. In some cases, symptoms progressed to progressive nervous system
deterioration and death.
43
lower concentrations, long-term exposure to arsenic
in drinking water increases risk of.
In the United States, regulations call for
public water systems to contain no more than _____ per liter of arsenic, well below
levels known to cause harm.
Some parts of the country who have private
wells may be drinking water that contains _____per liter of arsenic
diabetes and cancer
10 micrograms
50 to 90 micrograms
44
What is Asbestos
fibrous mineral valuable for a variety of uses because of its strength and fir
resistance.
45
Inhalation
of high concentrations of asbestos dust caused _________ of the lungs of miners and
other asbestos workers, a condition known as ______
they were more likely to get
stiffening and scarring
asbestosis
lung cancer or mesothelioma
46
what is mesothelioma?
lung cancer or mesothelioma, a rare
cancer of the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity that seems to be caused exclusively by inhalation
of asbestos.
47
The general public is most likely to be exposed to asbestos fibers released into the air in the
dust from
crumbling walls and ceilings of old, deteriorating buildings.
48
when was the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
was passed?
what is it?
1986
It required all primary and secondary schools to be inspected and, if loose asbestos
was found, to carry out plans for removing( but was doe improperly and caused more asbestos to be release in the air)u, enclosing or encapsulating material
49
study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety
and Health found how many deaths from the vermiculite ore mining in Libby, Montana?
count for those who died due to mesothelioma
death rates from asbestosis
1,675
15
165 times higher than expected
50
death rates from asbestosis in the area of Libby, montana than the rest of Montana
rate compared to US
40
60u
51
Libby has been declared a _____ and is being cleaned up.
In fact, in June 2009 the EPA declared a public health emergency
under the ____law, the first time such an emergency has been declared.
Superfund
site
Superfund
52
how much was did the company that operated the vermiculite mine in Libby, Motana pay for clean up
$250 million
53
what book served as a wake up all to the american public, a warning that chemical in the environment can cause harm?
What year was it published?
who was the author?
Silent spring
-- launched the environmental movement that led
to sweeping legislation in the 1970s.
1962
Rachel Carson
54
what are the harmful effects of the
| virtually ubiquitous pesticide DDT.
When eaten or drunk by fish and birds, it accumulated in their flesh, to be eaten
in turn by predators, which concentrated these chemicals further in their own bodies.
- found in the body fat from all people
55
when was the use of DDT banned in the US?
when was other insecticides related to DDT banned?
what chemicals share the same characteristics as DDT?
1972
1970s
chlordane, aldrin, mirex, and Kepo
56
what does PCB stand for?
it is considered as?
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
most widespread chemical contaminant
worldwide.
57
The most conspicuous
and consistent symptom of PCB poisoning is?
Define it.
what are other effects?
chloracne, severe skin rashes and discoloration that show
up soon after exposure and may persist for years
endocrine and immune
system defects, fatigue, headaches, and aching joints.
58
"Coca Cola babies" are a result of
what condition is it
what do these babies suffer
infants of those that experienced or were poisoned or intake PCBs
small at birth and had dark discoloration of the
skin
These
infants suffered developmental delays and persistent cognitive deficits that were still apparent
decades late
59
what are other POPs
dioxins and furans
60
T or F
POPs are very
stable, remaining in the fatty tissues of fish, animals, and humans indefinite
True
61
What is Stockholm Convention?
how many nations was involved excluding the US
when was it?
reduce and/or eliminate the production, use, and release of 12 of the
POPs of greatest concern. However, the convention has not yet been ratified in the United
States Senate.
90
2001
62
Other chemicals that have stimulated concern in the last few years are
```
bisphenol A (BPA)
and phthalates
```
63
BPA is found in
hard plastics used to make everything from compact discs to baby bottles and linings of soft
drink and food cans.
64
Phthalates are used to produce
soft and flexible materials such as vinyl
flooring, shower curtains and some water bottles; they are also used in personal-care products
such as soaps, shampoos, hair sprays, and nail polishes
65
How does Bisphenol A(BPA) interfere with normal hormone action in the body?
how about Phthalates
BPA can mimic estrogen, causing early puberty in females and abnormalities in male and
female sex organs
Phthalates interfere with testosterone synthesis in males, causing low sperm
counts and abnormalities in the development of male sex organs
66
1999–2002 data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey found that concentrations of phthalates in the urine of adult American
men were associated
with increased waist circumference and insulin resistance
67
what is the world's oldest and largest organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology?
The endocrine society
68
when was it reported by the New York Times that the FDA banned BPA baby bottles and drinking cups?
July 17, 2012
69
The first environmentally caused cancer to be recognized was from an occupational exposure:
scrotal cancer was common in 19th century English chimney sweeps
70
what are the chemical carcinogens through occupational exposure
benzidine, arsenic, vinyl chloride, radiation, asbestos, neurotoxins
71
benzidine causes what type of cancer,, in what occupation
which caused bladder cancer in dye factory workers
72
which caused lung and lymphatic
| cancer in copper smelters;
arsenic
73
used to make some plastics, which causes ________,
| a rare cancer of the liver
vinyl chloride
angiosarcoma
74
Tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals have been manufactured since World War II and, in
the United States alone, ______________of them are released into the environment
each year.
three to four billion pounds
75
The _______empowered the federal government to set standards for workers’ exposure to toxic
substances
Occupational Safety and Health
| Act of 1970
76
Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
allowed the government to require
testing of potentially hazardous substances before they go on the market and to ban them in
certain instances.
77
federal agencies that set standards for exposure to toxic substance
EPA, FDA, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Consumer Product
Safety Commission, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
78
Today
there are more than ______chemicals registered for use, with about new _____ones introduced
each year
80,000
| 2000
79
The EPA has information suggesting that _______ percent of the newly
introduced chemicals each year need more extensive toxicological evaluation
10 to 15
80
One of the NTP’s major goals for the 21st century is to
develop and validate improved testing methods that will reduce the need for animal testing
81
Risk-benefit analysis argument
Public health may be better served by aiming for looser, more easily achieved standards.
82
______________ tried to roll back all kinds of regulations under the
argument that they were irrational and expensive, examples of government interference that had
negative economic impacts on business
The Republican Congress elected in 1994
