Quizlet-Principles of Enviornmental Health-Quiz #4

Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung or stomach lining, is known as a "marker disease" because its only known cause is exposure to what toxic substance?

Asbestos

For which toxic substances do researchers say there is no safe level—no threshold below which exposure will result in no adverse health impact?

Asbestos and lead

What is the most problematic step in the risk assessment process?

Assessing the actual amount and duration of exposure received by human populations

Minamata Disease, reproductive failure among peregrine falcons and eagles exposed to DDT, and the death of western grebes at Clear Lake, CA, are all examples of:

Biomagnification

Which of these pests is a problem because its bite results in a painful ulceration which may take months to heal and leaves a large, permanent, ugly scar?

Brown recluse spider

Which of the following is characteristic of both PCBs and dioxin?

Chemically very stable, don't break down readily

An example of a persistent, broad-spectrum insecticide is:

DDT

The most serious effect of lead poisoning is:

Damage to brain and central nervous system

In recent years there has been a sharp rise in the incidence of malaria in many tropical countries due to

Development of resistant strains of insects

For what accomplishment did Paul Muller receive a Nobel Prize in 1948?

Discovered that DDT is effective for killing insects

Which of the following is a major threat posed by TCDD and related chemicals?

Disruption of endocrine hormones

PCBs, which biomagnify as they move up the food chain, are most commonly taken up by humans when they eat certain kinds of:

Freshwater fish

Which of the following is a nonselective herbicide, capable of killing any plant it contacts?

Glyphosate

Serious gastrointestinal diseases such as cholera and dysentery are carried by this insect vector:

Houseflies

Which two of the following toxic substances are capable of crossing the placental barrier and causing severe fetal damage in humans?

Lead and mercury

What is currently the leading cause of asbestos-related death?

Lung cancer

Prospecting methods employed by gold miners in Brazil are resulting in what serious public health problem?

Mercury poisoning

Which of the following insects could not be controlled through use of a stomach poison?

Mosquito

What characteristic of the organophosphate insecticides makes them more environmentally acceptable than the chlorinated hydrocarbons?

Not persistent

"Chloracne" is the first and most characteristic symptom of poisoning with which of the following?

PCBs

Which of the following is now banned from production, sale, and distribution in the U.S.?

PCBs

Which of the following toxic substances has been found as a contaminant in farmed salmon?

PCBs

What is the basic cause of the phenomenon known as "secondary pest outbreak"?

Population explosion of formerly insignificant pests which become economically important after spraying eliminates most of their natural enemies

What is considered to represent the single most frequent cause of lead poisoning among American children?

Swallowing paint chips or paint dust

What was the major reason EPA gave for banning the use of most chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides?

The chemicals had been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals

If a pesticide label indicates the product is "EPA-Registered," what does this mean in practical terms?

The product is legal to sell and use in the United States

What characteristic of botanical insecticides such as pyrethrum and rotenone makes them useful?

They are very effective against a wide range of insect pests, yet are harmless to humans and pets

Which of the following would be a likely target of public health efforts to control breeding of the Asian tiger mosquito?

Tire casings

The first large-scale use of DDT occurred in Italy in 1943 when the insecticide was used for dusting refugees in a successful attempt to prevent an outbreak of a deadly disease spread by body lice which frequently occurs under wartime conditions of overcrowding and poor sanitation. Which disease did DDT prevent in this situation?

Typhus fever

Which of the following statements about LD50 is false?

a substance with an LD50 of 85 is more toxic than one with an LD50 of 30