Chapter 19

Question 1

Environmental health:

Answer 1

Environmental health is the branch of public health science that focuses on how the environment influences human health.

Question 2

Exposure: When does it occur?

Answer 2

occurs when there is contact between people and an environmental contaminant, which can happen from ingesting, breathing, or touching a contaminant.

Question 3

Health of the environment became a popular topic when?

Answer 3

The health of the environment became a popular topic in the mid- to late 20th century.

Question 4

The health of the environment became a popular topic in the mid- to late 20th century.

What brought popular attention to how humans act?

Answer 4

Books such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) brought to public attention how human actions and pollution were affecting the quality of air, water, and land.

Question 5

In response to the publication of Silent Spring, what did the White House do?

Answer 5

In July 1970, the White House and Congress established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to the growing public demand for cleaner water, air, and land.

Question 6

EPA task:

Answer 6

The EPA had the daunting task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and establishing new criteria to make a cleaner environment a reality.

Question 7

Influential Environmental Laws include:

Answer 7

Clean Air Act

Clean Water Act

Superfund

Question 8

Clean Air Act:

Answer 8

The purpose of the legislation was to create a program that promoted air quality standards, monitoring policies and procedures, and accountability at the federal and state levels in efforts to address the ill effects from air pollution.

Question 9

Clean Water Act

Answer 9

The Act addresses water pollution by setting standards regarding contaminants in water from varied industrial and municipal sources and providing resources to reduce pollution and improve and maintain the safety and quality of water throughout the United States.

Question 10

Superfund

Answer 10

This Act commonly known as the Superfund supports the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in cleaning up sites contaminated by hazardous wastes.

Question 11

Health Care Without Harm (2022)

Answer 11

Health Care Without Harm (2022) has worldwide membership from health providers to raise awareness on issues such as safer chemicals (disinfectants, solvents in laboratories) in healthcare, green purchasing (less toxic, minimal packaging), and medical waste management.

Question 12

The precautionary principle maintains that if something has the potential to cause harm to the environment or humans, then precautionary measures should be taken if there is a lack of scientific evidence concerning cause and effect

Answer 12

The precautionary principle maintains that if something has the potential to cause harm to the environment or humans, then precautionary measures should be taken if there is a lack of scientific evidence concerning cause and effect

Question 13

The interaction between what explains why some people who are exposed to specific contaminants develop certain health effects, but others do not.

Answer 13

genetics and the environment may help explain why some people who are exposed to specific contaminants develop certain health effects, but others do not.

Question 14

Risk assessment—

Answer 14

a process to determine the likelihood or probability that adverse effects such as illness or disease may occur in a group of people because of exposure to an environmental contaminant.

Question 15

Exposure pathway

Answer 15

is a process by which someone is exposed to a contaminant that originates from a specific source

Question 16

An exposure pathway consists of five parts:

Answer 16

(1) source of contamination,

(2) environmental media and transport,

(3) point of exposure,

(4) route of exposure, and

(5) receptor population.

Question 17

The source of contamination is a term used to describe

Answer 17

The source of contamination is a term used to describe the contaminants and where they originated.

Question 18

contaminants can be thought of in three categories:

Answer 18

chemical (lead, mercury, volatile organic compounds), biologic (mold, anthrax, ricin), and radiologic (radium, radon).

Question 19

Environmental media include

Answer 19

Environmental media include groundwater, surface water (lakes, ponds, rivers), air, surface soil, subsurface soil, sediment, and biota (plants and animals).

Question 20

The point of exposure

Answer 20

The point of exposure is the place where people come in contact with the contaminated medium, which may include food or any other item

Question 21

The route of exposure

Answer 21

The route of exposure is how the contaminant enters the body.

Question 22

The receptor population

Answer 22

The receptor population is the population of people who are likely to be exposed

Question 23

Toxicology

Answer 23

is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biologic agents on people, animals, and the environment (

Question 24

An exposure estimate

Answer 24

determines a person’s level of exposure to a contaminant.

Question 25

Some factors used when calculating an exposure estimate include:

Answer 25

Some factors used when calculating an exposure estimate include the duration of the exposure, the concentration of the chemicals, the frequency of exposure, body size, and the bioavailability of the contaminant.

Question 26

Bioavailability

Answer 26

Bioavailability is the amount of a substance that is absorbed or becomes available at the site of physiologic activity.

Question 27

Taking an exposure history

Answer 27

can help nurses identify current or past exposures, eliminate exposures, and try to mitigate or reduce a client’s adverse health effects from exposures.

Answer 28

Epidemiology is a field of public health science that focuses on the incidence and prevalence of disease or illness in a population.

Answer 29

Environmental epidemiology can help determine whether the environment is affecting people’s health.

Question 30

One challenge in environmental epidemiology

Answer 30

One challenge in environmental epidemiology is that it is nearly impossible to create an experimental study.

Question 31

Environmental justice

Answer 31

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.