APES Chapter 14

In which of the following years was the sea surface temperature more than 1ºC above the average temperature?

1. 1983 2. 1987 3. 1997

In which of the following years did the incidence of cholera reach its lowest level?

1989

In what percentage of Americans is BPA traceable within their bodies?

90%

Although the authors disagree on the effectiveness of our current "innocent until proven guilty" approach, they do agree on one impact of requiring more comprehensive toxicity testing. On which of the following impacts would both authors agree?

Additional testing is time-consuming and difficult and may be technically impossible.

Which of the following has contributed to longer life spans in the United States?

All of the listed responses are correct.

Which age group has a higher relative exposure risk to BPA?

Babies and small children

Based strictly on increases in air pollution over the past few decades, where would we expect to see the greatest decrease in life spans? We would expect to see a decrease in life span in _.

Beijing, China

You are a toxicologist studying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Which of the following diseases should concern you the most?

Cancer

Which of the following would likely be the best way to decrease polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons?

Decrease fossil fuel burning.

Which of the following best describes the influence of climate on the distribution of Ebola cases?

Ebola cases located within the tropical savanna zone are widely dispersed.

_ studies are comparisons that track the fate of large groups of people for long periods of time in order to help answer an environmental question.

Epidemiological

In which of the following African countries is the population growth rate above 2.5% and life expectancy at least 61 years old?

Ethiopia

Which of the following statements about the United States and Europe are true regarding toxins?

European nations tend to use the precautionary principle, whereas the United States follows the innocent-until-proven-guilty approach.

Which of the following appears to be true?

Increasing aerosol viscosity leads to an increase in the distance polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons travel.

In comparison to Porter, Marian Stanley suggests that current screening processes are adequate. Based on her essay, what might Stanley say about Porter's criticisms of the current approach?

Initial chemical screening triggers higher-level testing if there are any adverse effects.

Which of the following describes the process of biomagnification?

It is the increase in toxicant concentration as it moves up to the top trophic levels in the food chain.

Which of these is a major concern driving the push to ban BPA?

It mimics the female sex hormone estrogen.

Which role has the international community taken regarding toxins?

Its actions have resulted in the proposal of conventions for toxicant regulation.

Examine the countries with a dependency ratio greater than 50%. Which of the following statements accurately interprets the mapped data?

Japan has a high dependency ratio because a high percentage of its population is over age 65.

Warren Porter compares the costs and benefits of current industry testing practices. Which of the following statements does he include as a benefit of the current approach?

Leads to greater economic activity

Porter describes some limitations of the current "innocent until proven guilty" approach. Identify the statement below that represents a limitation.

Linear dose response does not necessarily measure hormonal and immune responses.

Shanghai is very polluted. Which of the following would you expect to find there as compared to the United States?

More soot in the atmosphere and more soot found on birds.

In which of the following African countries, with lower than 65% of its population having access to clean water, and HIV and AIDS prevalence greater than 38 per 1,000, would an individual be likely to have a life expectancy of less than 54 years?

Mozambique

Which of these Sub-Saharan African nations possesses the lowest density of population?

Namibia

In which of the following conditions are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons most likely to be oxidized?

Over a warm, humid area.

If trends continue, which of the following will be true in 2030?

Plastic use worldwide will be increasing.

If you were on a legislative panel to review the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and wished to include new requirements based on the Precautionary Principle, which of the following policies would you include?

Require low physiological dose testing.

Which of the following countries has a negative rate of natural increase and equal death and birth rates, indicative of stage 4 of the demographic transition?

Russia

Which important environmental book exposed the hazards of using the insecticide DDT?

Silent Spring

Regarding the species used in this study, which of the following is true?

Soot accumulated on their feathers annually.

Which of the following best demonstrates the amount of soot in the atmosphere in the United States over time?

Soot fluctuated in the early 1900s, then increased followed by stabilization and finally a drop off.

Which part of Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence per 1,000 adults aged 15-49?

South

Which of the following is true about the impact of diseases on life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa?

South Africa's low life expectancy is determined more by the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate than malaria risk.

You conduct an experiment exposing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to ozone. Which of the following is most likely?

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will break down.

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

The rate of HIV infections in the United States is higher than that in most African countries.

What is contributing to the extremely low population density in the southwest corner of the region?

The region is too arid for extensive settlement.

Why are pristine areas, undisturbed by humans, contaminated with human-generated toxicants?

The toxicants are carried by the wind.

The Smithsonian decides to apply this method to other species of birds. Which of the following do they compare?

The year the specimen was collected, and the amount of light reflected off of it.

Which of the following statements is supported by the data in the graph?

There is a positive correlation between sea surface temperature and the incidence of cholera.

Why are insecticides (such as DDT) used in developing countries despite being banned in many developed countries?

They are used because the benefits to human health are believed to outweigh the environmental costs.

How do endocrine disruptors affect human health at very low doses?

They mimic or block hormones that direct reproductive and developmental processes.

Which of the following statements is true regarding toxins?

Toxic exposures can be natural or because of exposure to synthetic chemicals.

Identify a country where the age profile of the population and the incidence of HIV/AIDS are most likely to make it difficult for that society to care adequately for the young people.

Uganda

A low LD50 indicates _.

a high toxicity

On average, it appears that over the past 25 years, improved air quality in the United States has resulted in _ in the lifespan of the average individual.

an increase of about five months

Scientists are interested in the effects of environmental hazards on wildlife because _.

animals can serve as an early warning to the damage of environmental toxins

The problems with the Puget Sound killer whale population have taught us to _.

be very careful when adding new chemical compounds to natural environments

Which of the following types of hazards spread quickly worldwide because of human mobility?

biological hazards

The booming plastics industry in Appalachia is in direct conflict with the Governor of Pennsylvania's plan to decrease which of the following?

carbon emissions

Which term describes a type of toxicant that can cause cancer?

carcinogen

Exposure to low amounts of a chemical over long periods of time is _.

chronic exposure

The amount of soot in the atmosphere is directly tied to use of which of the following?

coal

Which of the following describes the greatest health risk posed by air pollution? Air pollutants _.

damage blood vessels in human lungs

How is the population of killer whales in the Puget Sound changing? The killer whale population is _.

declining in animals of all ages

The leading cause of death in the world today is _.

disease

Environmental health advocates criticize the process of risk management, saying that it gives too much weight to _.

economic interests

BPA and phthalates are known _.

endocrine disruptors

Which determines whether groups of people that have been exposed to a chemical have experienced a statistically greater degree of harm as opposed to a group that was not exposed?

epidemiological studies

Epidemiology is important for understanding human toxicology because _.

following individuals with exposure to toxicants or mutagens allows for the calculation of the rates at which health problems are likely to develop

Dose-response curves are developed by _.

graphing the response of model systems or organisms to specific doses of toxicants

Based on the health problems of Puget Sound killer whales, we would expect to find _.

high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in salmon in the Puget Sound

A _____ LD50 indicates low toxicity while a _____ LD50 indicates high toxicity.

high; low

What does the red graph line represent?

incidence of cholera

Cigarette smoke and radon are two of the most common _ hazards.

indoor

A child enters the pediatrician's office with symptoms that include anemia, hearing loss, kidney, and stomach problems. The family has just recently moved into a 50-year-old home and is doing renovations. What might be the problem with this child?

lead poisoning

In many waterways around the United States, poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have contaminated the sediments and wildlife. Given that most of the PCBs in the environment were released before 1980 and are still present in these ecosystems, which best describes this phenomenon?

long persistence

Risk _ includes decisions and strategies that will minimize risk.

management

Which types of experiments are needed to establish that a certain toxicant actually causes a particular disease?

manipulative

Living on a fault line that is prone to severe earthquakes is an example of a _ hazard.

physical

Even if the United States switches to renewable forms of energy, fracking will likely continue as it is closely linked to which of the following industries?

plastics

If an evaluating committee places the burden of proof of the safety of a new chemical on the manufacturer of the chemical, then the committee is using the _

precautionary principle

The "precautionary principle approach" to chemical testing _.

prevents products from entering the marketplace until well tested

Risk is determined using the statistical description called _, which helps us to determine the likelihood of a certain even occurring.

probability

Which term quantitatively describes the likelihood that you would have an effect from exposure to an environmental toxin?

probability

A wet gas well is out of methane. What does it contain that will likely still be of value?

propane

What does the left y-axis show?

sea surface temperature anomaly, in degrees Celsius

ExxonMobil hopes to locate new fracking wells in Appalachia. Which of the following types of deposits should they look for?

shale

Which of the following is an example of a cultural hazard?

smoking cigarettes

The health problems of Puget Sound killer whales include _.

symptoms similar to AIDS

Nicotine and alcohol have been shown to be harmful to a fetus in the womb in that they can lead to birth defects. Nicotine and alcohol are therefore potential _.

teratogens

An infant can receive _.

toxins from its mother while in the womb