Quiz 5: Environmental Issues Affecting Human Health

Question 1

What is a zoonotic disease?

Answer 1

diseases that can spread between infected animals and humans

Question 2

________ is a naturally occurring substance that seeps up from the ground and is potentially toxic to people.

Answer 2

radon gas

Question 3

Toxicologists are scientists who study

Answer 3

the specific properties of potential toxins

Question 4

The experience with PBDE’s has shown that

Answer 4

the removal of PBDE from the environment reduces its concentrations in human bodies

Question 5

What type of hazard includes infectious diseases?

Answer 5

biological

Question 6

Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focuses primarily on the environmental problems associated with

Answer 6

pesticide toxicity

Question 7

Chemicals that can pass easily through cell membranes are called

Answer 7

fat soluble

Question 8

Children exposed to neurotoxic pesticides are most likely to suffer from

Answer 8

learning impairments

Question 9

People in less developed nations are more likely to die of

Answer 9

infectious diseases

Question 10

Individuals react differently to toxin exposures. What factors could affect an individual’s reaction to toxin exposure

Answer 10

-age of the individual
-genetics of the individual
-dose of toxin
-route of exposure (inhalation or skin contact)

Question 11

The tobacco and asbestos industries for decades denied that their products may cause cancers. It was difficult to prove the carcinogenic nature of these products. Why?

Answer 11

There is a long lag time between exposure and disease

Question 12

Why is triclosan used in personal care products?

Answer 12

It is added to soaps to act as an anti-fungal or anti-bacterial agent.

Question 13

In recent decades, a worldwide drop in sperm counts among men in developed countries has been reported. To what has this observation has been attributed?

Answer 13

endocrine disruptors

Question 14

How does BPA cause its endocrine disruptor effects?

Answer 14

It binds to the estrogen receptors on the cells, which will cause the same results that actual estrogen would

Question 15

Why was the book “Our Stolen Future” (published by Theo Colburn in 1992) important to understanding the health impacts of chemicals on human health?

Answer 15

It was the first book to focus on the impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals

Question 16

Studies of endocrine disruptors have shown that they are closely associated with all of the following except

Answer 16

lung cancer

Question 17

Which of the following describes a scenario involving pesticide drift?

Answer 17

Pesticides being used in a mountain valley are carried by air currents into the surrounding hills, killing amphibians living in the hills’ streams

Question 18

Transport of airborne toxicants like pesticides is a specific problem in agricultural environments. What is this type of airborne pesticide movement called?

Answer 18

drift

Question 19

Why is knowledge about the persistence of a chemical important when considering its toxicity?

Answer 19

Persistence measures how long a chemical remains in its present state in an area and, therefore, how long it might be a health concern.

Question 20

The increase in concentration of a fat-soluble substance in a food chain is called

Answer 20

biomagnification

Question 21

What is the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification?

Answer 21

Bioaccumulation is the buildup of substances within one organism, while biomagnification involves these substances moving up the food chain as one organism eats another

Question 22

Ocean tuna eat smaller fish that consume material containing mercury. Mercury is a persistent toxin that builds up in higher amounts in the bodies of fish. The mercury in the smaller fish accumulates in the ocean tuna in higher amounts. When we consume tuna, the mercury in the tuna can accumulate in our bodies in higher amounts. This phenomenon is called

Answer 22

biomagnification

Question 23

What is the term for chemicals that work together in the body to produce toxic effects greater than the sum of their individual effects would predict?

Answer 23

synergistic

Question 24

What does the dose of a toxicant mean in animal testing of new products before releasing to the public for consumer use?

Answer 24

It is the quantity of a toxicant that is given to the test animal.

Question 25

What about chronic versus acute exposure is true?

Answer 25

Safe levels for chronic exposure to a toxicant are lower than safe levels for acute exposure

Question 26

What does the LD50 indicate?

Answer 26

The amount of toxicant it takes to kill half the population

Question 27

The Toxic Substances Control Act regulates

Answer 27

industrial chemicals

Question 28

In risk assessment, why is it not possible to carefully weigh all of the risks and benefits associated with a new chemical?

Answer 28

-unknown synergistic interactions with other chemicals
-insufficient funding
-the need for the chemical to be available immediately
-not enough people power available

Question 29

From the information on perceived risks provided in the Lecture 12 slides, list the following hazards according to the risk they pose (with the most risky listed first).

Answer 29

automobile accident, homicide, drowning, airplane accident

Question 30

Which is true about the precautionary principle?

Answer 30

Harmful products are prevented from reaching store shelves