Environmental Health and Toxicology

Question 1

Environmental Health

Answer 1

The study of how environmental contaminants impact human health is known as environmental health

Question 2

Environmental Health can be broken down by

Answer 2

exposures, or the way you are exposed to a specific hazard

Question 3

Physical hazards

Answer 3

car accidents, tornadoes, sunburn

Question 4

Chemical hazards

Answer 4

rat poison, alcohol, bleach

Question 5

Biological hazards

Answer 5

fleas, ticks, STDs, tapeworms

Question 6

Cultural hazards

Answer 6

alcohol and sex

Question 7

The major focus of environmental health is

Answer 7

disease

Question 8

Disease can be broken down into two categories

Answer 8

Chronic Disease and Infectious Disease

Question 9

Chronic Disease

Answer 9

your body develops on its own

Question 10

Infectious Disease

Answer 10

something gave it to you ex: Malaria

Question 11

Infectious diseases account for ____% of the world’s deaths

Answer 11

26

Question 12

Epidemiological transition

Answer 12

where disease travels

Question 13

Third World countries tend to die of infectious diseases but as you become a more developed country, they start dying of

Answer 13

chronic diseases

Question 14

Toxicology is the study of

Answer 14

poisons (toxins) and how they impact the health of living organisms

Question 15

The dose makes

Answer 15

the poison

Question 16

What percentage of US streams and rivers have at least trace amounts of synthetic toxins?

Answer 16

80%

Question 17

Carcinogens

Answer 17

Toxins that cause cancer

Question 18

The largest source of cancer worldwide comes from synthetic chemicals like

Answer 18

benzene, ethylene oxide, aflatoxin, asbestos

Question 19

Mutagens

Answer 19

Toxins that cause mutations in the DNA of organisms. Can lead to cancer, but mostly cause abnormalities in offspring

Question 20

Examples of mutagens are

Answer 20

sunlight, alkaloid plants

Question 21

angiogenesis

Answer 21

the regrowth or growth of blood vessels

Question 22

Teratogens

Answer 22

Chemicals that cause harm to an unborn

Question 23

What percentage of birth defects are unknown?

Answer 23

65%

Question 24

Allergens

Answer 24

Allergy causing agents that over stimulate the immune system to incite a response that is not necessary

Question 25

Neurotoxins

Answer 25

Chemicals that attack the central nervous system. Mostly heavy metals, pesticides, and weaponry

Question 26

Endocrine disruptors

Answer 26

Chemicals that interfere or mimic the endocrine (hormonal) system

Question 27

example of Endocrine disruptors

Answer 27

Lake Apopka alligators, Taiwanese boys, and Tyrone Hays

Question 28

What are the different ways that disease can travel?

Answer 28

routes of exposure

Question 29

What are the modes of transmission?

Answer 29

inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption, and blood infection

Question 30

Any thing that carries a disease from one organism to another is called a

Answer 30

vector

Question 31

Epidemiology

Answer 31

The study of disease occurrence. The idea is to link areas with high disease outbreak to particular outcomes

Question 32

Toxicology studies

Answer 32

Usually contain animal testing through dose-response relationship

Question 33

LD50

Answer 33

Lethal Dose - 50%

Question 34

IC50

Answer 34

Inhibitory Concentration - 50%

Question 35

Threshold values

Answer 35

doesn’t affect the organism yet

Question 36

Acute Exposure

Answer 36

Short period exposures

Question 37

Chronic Exposure

Answer 37

Long Term exposures

Question 38

Additive exposures

Answer 38

one bad chemical + another bad chemical = two bad effects

Question 39

Synergistic effects

Answer 39

one bad chemical + another bad chemical = really bad effects (ex: aspirin and alcohol)

Question 40

Subtractive effects

Answer 40

one bad chemical + another bad chemical = cancel each other out

Question 41

Risk Assessment

Answer 41

A tool used by toxicologists to take into consideration the individual difference of people to help calculate risk