Environmental Health Flashcards

0
Q

Bioaccumulation

A
  • Refers to both uptake of dissolved chemicals from water and uptake from ingested food and sediment.
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1
Q

Agent that causes Chloracne ?

A

Dioxin

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2
Q

Primary air pollutants?

A
  • SO2 (sulfur dioxide)
  • NO (Nitrogen oxides)
  • CO (Carbon monoxide)
  • Lead
  • Ozone
  • Particulates (PM)
    (NOx & SOx are from L.O.P, Co)
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3
Q

Stages of portable water tx?

A
  1. Aeration - gas out
  2. Coagulation
  3. Flocculation
  4. Sedimentation
    2.3.4 - decrease bacterial burden up to 90%
  5. Filtration
  6. Disinfection - chlorination
    Residual of chlorine for residential supplies > 0.2 mg /L
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4
Q

Recommendation on Fluoridation concentration?

A

0.7ppm

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5
Q

A fluoride concentration of 1.0 ppm can reduce incidence of dental caries by ? %

A

50-79%

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6
Q

Component of risk assessment

A
  1. Hazard identification (HI)
  2. Dose-response assessment (DR)
  3. Exposure Assessment (EA)
  4. Risk characterization (RC)
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7
Q

Biological oxygen demand?

A

A measure of organic content in water.
The greater the demand, the greater the load of organic content that can be broken down, reflecting a high bacterial load.

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8
Q

Treated sewage has a DOB of

A

10-20 mg/l

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9
Q

Untreated freshwater has a BOD of

A

25 mg/l

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10
Q

Domestic sewage has a BOD of

A

200-500 mg/l

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11
Q

Industrial sewage has a BOD of

A

> 2000 mg/l

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12
Q

To monitor the safety of freshwater

A

Enterococcus or

E. Coli criteria

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13
Q

To monitor the safety of saltwater

A

Enterococcus criteria

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14
Q

Leading cause of unintentional poison death in US?

A

CO

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15
Q

Secondary air pollutants

A
  • Formed after subsequent chemical reactions

- eg. Peroxyacetyl nitrate

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16
Q

Greatest single contributor to urban air pollutions is

A

Automobile.

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17
Q

In terms of tons of material emitted annually, in Industry, Automobiles, Electric power generators, and Refuse disposal

A

Automobiles contributes the most. Overall, 60% of air pollution comes from transportation.

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18
Q

The major US source of sulfur oxide air pollution is Electric power generation

A

Electric power generation accounts for approximately 40% of SOx emissions in the US.

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19
Q

Three primary process responsible for air pollution are

A
  1. Vaporization
  2. Attrition (in the wearing or grinding down of materials)
  3. Combustion

“VAC”

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20
Q

Troposphere

A
  • 12 mile layer that contains most of the air mass

- most of the pollution is also concentrated in the troposphere

21
Q

Nitrogen dioxide

A
  • Accounts for the brown haze of photochemical smog
  • it reacts with organic molecules to form oxidants such as peroxyacetyl nitrate
  • it also penetrates deep into the lung where it hydrolyzes to form nitric acid
22
Q

SOx caused corrosion of buildings and statues

A

SOx reacts in air with moisture to form sulfuric and sulfurous acids which are corrosive

23
Q

Aldehyde is the most reactive of organic compounds of common air pollutants

A

The finctional group of aldehyde is the carbonyl group (C=O) which makes these highly reactive

24
Q

primary contributor to the formation of smog are?

A

Olefins (also called alkene)

25
Q

Factors affect the dispersion of smoke plumes from a stack

A
  1. Terrain
  2. Height of the stack
  3. Building nearby

Relative humidity does not affect the dispersion of the smoke plumes significantly.

26
Q

The major source of sulfur dioxide pollution is from?

A

Coal fired electric power generation

- coal contains sulfur which, when burned, produced sulfur dioxide

27
Q

The three terms used to describe plumes in air pollution are ?

A
  1. Fanning
  2. Looping
  3. Coning
28
Q

Carbon dioxide

A

Leads to a Greenhouse effect by causing the atmosphere to retain more of the heat from the sun.

29
Q

Major contributor to carbon monoxide pollution is ?

A
  • Transportation, which results in 69% of CO pollution

- Industrial processes are second

30
Q

Eutrophication

A

The process in which an excess of essential elements causes a plant population explosion, leading to serious degradation of water quality.
Eutrophication is most common in lakes and ponds.

31
Q

The most common cause of indoor air quality problem is

A

Poor ventilation

32
Q

The concentration of CO2 often associated with indoor air quality complaints is greater than?

A

1000 ppm

The Symptoms observed are not thought to be caused by the CO2, rather the CO2 is an indicator of the buildup of other materials in the indoor air.

33
Q

Inside a well ventilated building, CO2 level is usually about ?

A

600 ppm

34
Q

The ACGIH v for CO2 is

A

5000 ppm

35
Q

Hydrogen peroxide is best for killing

A

Bacterial spores

36
Q

Phenol, alcohol, and halogens such as iodine are not effective against

A

Bacterial spores

37
Q

EPA recommends remediation for homes with radon levels at or above ?

A

4 pCi/L

38
Q

Radon

A

Accounts for the single largest source of ionizing radiation exposure in US, it account about 55%.

39
Q

A Risk-Specific Dose (RSD)

A
  • RDS is a dose that corresponds to a specific level of risk to an individual of contracting cancer over a 70-year lifetime due to the intake of contaminated drinking water.
  • RDS applies to carcinogens
40
Q

A Reference Dose (RfD)

A
  • An RfD is an estimate of daily exposure of human population, including sensitive groups, to a substance that would not represent an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime.
  • RfD applies to non-carcinogens.
41
Q

WHO IARC classification

A
Group 1: carcinogenic to human
Group 2A: probable
Group 2B: possible 
Group 3: not classifiable
Group 4: probably not
42
Q

WHO IARC classification

A
Group 1: carcinogenic to human
Group 2A: probable
Group 2B: possible 
Group 3: not classifiable
Group 4: probably not
43
Q

Most effective engineered water purification system for elimination of cryptosporidium is ?

A

Filtration

  • slow sand, rapid granular, or membrane filtration is the most effective water treatment methods to remove cryptosporidium, as they are not destroyed by disinfection.
  • high turbidity may affect the ability of filtration
  • boiling is not an engineered water sanitation process, but it is the simplest effective method if the water is contaminated or has not been treated adequately.
  • the water intended for drinking should be boiled for 1 min
  • immunosuppressed persons, such as HIV, are particularly at risk of severe infection
44
Q

Most effective engineered water purification system for elimination of cryptosporidium is ?

A

Filtration

  • slow sand, rapid granular, or membrane filtration is the most effective water treatment methods to remove cryptosporidium, as they are not destroyed by disinfection.
  • high turbidity may affect the ability of filtration
  • boiling is not an engineered water sanitation process, but it is the simplest effective method if the water is contaminated or has not been treated adequately.
  • the water intended for drinking should be boiled for 1 min
  • immunosuppressed persons, such as HIV, are particularly at risk of severe infection
45
Q

PCBs

A
  • birth defects

- live cancer

46
Q

Temperatures Inversions

A
  • In inversion layer, Tm increase with height (normally Tm decreases with height)
  • traps pollutants close to earth surface
  • most common cause of air pollution disasters
47
Q

Milwaukee Spring 1993 - 403,000 cases of Cryptosporidium due to?

A

Filtration failure

- Cryptosporidium oocysts are resistant to chloride treatment.

48
Q

Public health response in disaster

A

Needs assessment within 24-48 hrs for natural disasters/sudden pact events

49
Q

Population health needs in disasters

A

Potable water: 15-20 liter/person /day

Drinking water: 3 liter/person/day