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chapter 17 Flashcards

to study for the test (dec 4)

1
Q

risk

A

measure of the likelihood of suffering harm from a hazard
- expressed in terms of probability

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2
Q

risk assessment

A

the scientific process of using statistical methods to estimate how much harm a particular hazard can cause to human health or to the environment.

  • mathematical probability statement about how likely it is that harm will result from a hazard
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3
Q

risk management

A

deciding whether or how to
- reduce a particular risk to a certain level
- at what cost

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4
Q

four major types of hazards

A

biological, chemical, physical, cultural

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5
Q

biological hazards (examples)

A

pathogens, bacteria, viruses, parasites, protozoa, fungi

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6
Q

chemical hazards (examples)

A

harmful chemicals in air, water, soil, food

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7
Q

physical hazards (examples)

A

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, tornado, hurricane

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8
Q

cultural hazards (examples)

A

smoking, poor diet, drugs, alcohol, driving, criminal assault, poverty, unsafe working conditions, unsafe sex

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9
Q

poison

A

a chemical that has an LD50 of 50mg or less per kg of body weight

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10
Q

median lethal dose

A

aka LD50
the amount of chemical received in one dose that kills exactly 50% of subjects in a test population

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11
Q

non-transmissible disease

A

aka noncommunicable disease
are not caused by living organisms, do not spread from person to person
e.g. cancer, diabetes, asthma, malnutrition

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12
Q

transmissible disease

A

aka communicable disease
caused by a living organism or a virus, can spread from one person to another
e.g. covid-19, flu virus, common cold

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13
Q

pathogen

A

infectious agents that spread through air, water, food, bodily fluids, insects, and vectors

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14
Q

bioterrorism

A

the deliberate release of disease-causing bacteria or viruses into the air, water, or food of concentrated urban populations
with the aim of eradication of the inhabitants

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15
Q

factors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A
  • human travel/trade spreads resistant bacteria across the globe (pandemics)
  • overuse of antibiotics; facilitated purchase of antibiotics w/o a perscription
  • bacteria can transfer resistance to nonresistant bacteria
  • widespread use of antibiotics in livestock and dairy animals
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16
Q

factors for tuberculosis

A
  • many do not know they’ve been infected; lack of screening/control programmes
  • people are close together; increased population growth & urbanisation; air travel
  • genetically resistant strains of tb to almost all effective antibiotics
  • spread of other diseases weakens the immune system & allows tb to spread more easily
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17
Q

flu

A

biggest killer of all transmissible diseases (except tuberculosis)
about 1mil deaths per year

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18
Q

combatting hiv/aids

A

2nd most deaths by transmissible disease
- reduce the number of new infections below the number of deaths.
- provide hiv testing for people in high-risk groups (truck drivers, sex workers, soldiers)
- concentrate on those most likely to spread the disease

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19
Q

malaria

A
  • killed more people than all wars
  • caused by a parasite spread by mosquitoes
  • cases have been increasing due to mosquito species becoming genetically resistant to most insecticides; best prevention method is to control the spread
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20
Q

steps to reduce cases of infectious disease

A
  • immunise people early on
  • oral rehydration therapy to replace water in victims of diarrheal diseases (majority children under 5)
  • invest more money into preventing infectious diseases in developing countries
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21
Q

factors for increased rates of infectious disease

A
  • human activities: farming, air travel, urbanisation
  • infectious diseases are transmitted from wild and domesticated animals to humans (e.g. avain flu, sars, west nile, lyme disease)
  • clearing & fragmentation of forests exposes humans to new types of infectious disease
22
Q

ecological/conservation medicine

A

new field of research devoted to tracking down infectious connections between wildlife and humans

23
Q

hazardous chemicals

A

flammable, explosive, irritating/damaging to skin and lungs, interfere with oxygen uptake, induce allergic reactions

24
Q

mutagens

A

cause or increase random mutations in dna
- no safe threshold for exposure to harmful mutagens

25
teratogens
literally "monster makers" chemicals that cause harm to fetus/embryo; cause birth defects e.g. alcohol, thalidomide
26
carcinogen
chemicals that cause/promote cancer
27
immune system
specialised cells & tissues that protect the body against disease & harmful substances - forms antibodies that attack invading agents
28
nervous system
consists of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves
29
neurotoxins
a poison that specifically attacks the nervous system
30
endocrine system
glandular system that releases hormones into the bloodstream
31
hormonally active agents (haa)
can mimic hormones - can disrupt: human immune functions, endocrine/nervous systems, reproductive & growth/developmental processes, thyroid function (growth, weight, brain, behavioural disorders) - promote cancer
32
bhopal, india
1984 - world's worst industrial accident - explosion of underground storage tank released highly toxic MIC gas - MIC gas was converted to deadly hydrogen cyanide
33
factors determining harm caused by exposure to chemicals
- amount of exposure (dose) - frequency of exposure - affected person's medical/biological processes (genetic makeup, effectiveness of body's detox system)
34
toxicity
measures how harmful a substance is in causing injury, illness, or death
35
five major factors affecting the amount of harm caused by a substance
- solubility - persistence - bioaccumulation - biomagnification - chemical interactions/reactions
36
solubility
- affects the amount of harm caused by a substance - high solubility means the chemical can move through the environment more easily - fat- and oil-soluble toxins can accumulate in an organism
37
persistence
- affects the amount of harm caused by a substance - chemicals may resist breakdown & remain in the environment for a long time - may have long-lasting effects
38
bioaccumulation
- affects the amount of harm caused by a substance - molecules that are absorbed can be stored in the body at higher levels with each dose
39
biomagnification
- affects the amount of harm caused by a substance - toxins accumulate at greater levels as they move up tophic levels
40
chemical interactions/reactions
- affects the amount of harm caused by a substance - antagonistic interaction: reduces harmful effects of toxins - synergistic interaction: enhances harmful effects
41
acute vs chronic effect
- acute: immediate reaction to a toxin - chronic: long-lasting consequence from exposure to a harmful substance
42
basic concept of toxicology
any synthetic or natural chemical can be harmful if ingested in a large enough quantity
43
three major bodily mechanisms for reducing harmful effects of chemicals
- break down, dilute, or excrete toxins; keeps them from reaching harmful levels - enzymes can repair damaged dna & protein molecules - cells can reproduce fast enough to replace damaged cells
44
poverty
- greatest risk, in terms of premature deaths per year & reduced life span - reducing poverty would improve human rights, provide more people with income (stimulating economic development), reduce environmental degredation, reduce threat of terrorism
45
factors for difficulty in determining risk for complex tech
- unpredictability of human behaviour - human error - sabotage - chance events
46
system reliability (equation)
% = [tech reliability] * [human reliability]
47
ionising radiation
- in the form of x-rays - radiation from nuclear sources - uv radiation from the sun/sun lamps
48
minamata disease
- neurological effects from mercury poisoning - 1956, minamata, japan - mercury from industrial wastewater bioaccumulated in fish & shellfish
49
epidemiological transition (phases 1-5)
- phase 1: high death rates due to epidemics, famine, war - phase 2: less frequent epidemics, medical advances =dropping death rates - phase 3: levelling off of death rate, nontransmissible disease associated with aging is majority of death toll - phase 4: level death rate, imedical advances leads to increasing average life span - phase 5: urbanisation & overuse of antibiotics/pesticides leads to increase in death rate due to re-emergence of new infectious diseases
50
factors that impact the sense of evaluating risk
- degree of control over situation - fear of the unknown - conditions of the situation; voluntary risks vs forced risks - unfair distribution of risks
51
factors for poor risk evaluation
- misinformation - denial; confirmation bias - irrational fears/phobias

APES (9 decks)

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