Chapters 7 and so on!
LD50
-Lethal Dose (50) -Acute Exposure -Kill 50% -In 14 days X= LD50=25 more lethal Y= LD50=90 less lethal
Grey Box 7-3 Safety Tips for Mercury Cleanup Pg. 179
...
Health Risk Assessment constitutes a four-step process: Pg. 158
1. Hazard Identification: Aimed at determining whether a particular substance or agent has an adverse effect on human health. 2. Dose-response assessment: Since health effects of the same substance can either be harmful, beneficial, or neutral, depending on the amount of exposure received, determining the dose at or below which no effects are detected is important for establishing safety standards. 3. Exposure Assessment: Attempting to determine the numbers and types of people (age, sex, health status, etc) who might be exposed to the substance in question, as well as estimating the duration, magnitude, and geographic extent of exposure, constitute the third step in the risk assessment process. 4. Risk Characterization: Combining the information obtained from the first three steps of the risk assessment process, analysts produce a comprehensive picture of the types of adverse health effects likely to occur in exposed populations and the frequency with which such effects can be expected to occur.
5 types of insecticides
1. Inorganic 2. Synthetic organic 3. Chlorinated hydrocarbons 4. Organophosphates 5. Carbamates
The major causes of human-induced atmospheric changes are:
1. Introduction into the atmosphere of pollutant gases and particles not usually found there in significant amounts 2. Changes in the concentrations of natural atmospheric components.
Review: What is the minimum SPF sunscreen rating that is effective for preventing skin damage?
15
Hint Hint! Food Quality Protection Act 1996
1996 Amendment to the Delaney Clause, permits EPA to exclude pesticides residues in processed food from regulation as food additives, zero tolerance.
How many tons of asbestos were mined worldwide in 2005?
2.2 million
Margins of Safety
A buffer zone between the highest level of a chemical that produces no adverse effect in an animal species and a level of exposure assumed to be safe for humans.
Halocarbons
A chlorofluorocarbon or other compound in which the hydrogen of a hydrocarbon is replaced by halogens.
Asbestosis
A chronic disease characterized by a scarring of the lung tissue, asbestosis most commonly occurs among workers who have been exposed to very high levels of asbestos dust. It is irreversible, excruciatingly painful, progressively worsening disease, and the first symptom is shortness of breathe.
Black Carbon
A component of soot, is a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biomass, and biofuels. The largest amounts are contributed by diesel engines. Research indicates that black carbon is probably to blame for more than 30% of recent warming. India and China are responsible for 25-35% of world black carbon emissions, while the US is 6%.
Hint Hint! Delaney Clause (1958):
A food additives amendment, prohibits the use of food of any ingredient shown to cause cancer in animals or humans. Zero tolerance.
Persistent Organic Polutants (POPs) of. 196
A group of new chemicals to be added to the convention was agreed upon at a conference in 2008 and took effect in August 2010.
Grey Box 8-1: Avoiding the Bite Pg. 187
A much safer and more effective approach to reducing the risk of mosquito-borne disease is to focus on two complementary strategies 1. reducing the size of the mosquito population and 2. using repellents to avoid being bitten. 3. Mosquito nets
Radionuclides in the body
A number of radioactive substances enter the body by ingestion of food, milk, water, or by inhalation and are incorporated into body tissues where their concentration may be maintained at a steady state or gradually increase with age.
Asian Tiger Mosquito
A number of these alien invaders entered the port of Houston that year as stowaways in a shipment of used tires. Hitchhiked on truckloads of used tires.
What is Agent Orange?
A selective herbicide that killed weeds
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)
A serious ailment in which red blood cells are destroyed, leading to kidney failure and possible death.
Review: Which of the following statements is false about the term LD50?
A substance with LD50 of 85 is more toxic than a substance with a LD50 of 30.
Chiggers
A type of mite inhabiting many parts of the southern or midwestern US, can cause extreme skin irritation lasting for a week or more when they attach themselves to a human host, usually around the waist or armpits.
Integrated pest management (IPM)
A well-defined Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a program that should be based on prevention, monitoring, and control which offers the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce the use of pesticides, and to minimize the toxicity of and exposure to any products which are used.
Poison
A word many people use as a synonym for toxic, actually has a much narrower meaning, referring to a chemical that can cause illness or death at a very low dose of exposure approximately 3/4 of a teaspoon for an adult or 1/8 of a teaspoon for a toddler.
Review: A type of allergic reaction known as Chinese restaurant syndrome is experienced by many consumers who eat food containing the food additive? a. monosodium glutemate b. sodium bisolphite c. sodium nitrite d, Lecithen e. Safrole
A. Monosodium glutemate
Based on your readings which of the following toxic substances has been found as a contaminant in farmed salmon? A. PCBS B. Dioxin C. Led D. Arsonic E. Mercury
A. PCBS
Review: What previsions in 1996 "The food quality protection act addressed an important issue not covered by previous legislation a. Insuring that tolerance levels set for pesticide residues on food were safe for children b. Required that pesticide spraying of crops in the field be discontinued 2 weeks prior to harvest. c. Prohibited the use of sewage sludge on any produce marketed as "organic" d. ordered a total phase out of the addition of antibiotics to livestock feed by 2008 e. Required testing of all cattle for mad cow disease prior to slaughter
A. insuring that tolerance levels set for pesticide residues on food were safe for children
Acute toxicity
Ability to cause harm as a result of one-time exposure to a relatively large amount of the substance.
Mesophere
Above the stratopause is the region known as the mesophere, where temperature once again begins to fall with increasing altitude. 99% of our atmosphere lies within 18 miles of the earths surface.
Stratosphere
Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere, a region distinguished by a temperature gradient reversal. Here the temperature slowly rises with increasing altitude until it reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Ozone layer is here.
An example of persistence, broad spectrum, insecticides is?
Agent Orange stays in the evnifronment; DDT
Food quality protection act of 1996 "Test"
All of these factors suggested that the existing regulatory framework for ensuring food safety was inadequate to protect infants and Children. In response to these concerns, the US congress in 1996 enacted comprehensive legislation to reform and modernize the nation's laws dealing with food safety and the setting of pesticide tolerance levels. The Food quality protection act of 1996 now requires that when the EPA sets tolerance levels for pesticide residues on food, it must take into account available information on consumption habits of infants and children.
Cockroaches
Allergic reactions, asthma attacks. Salmonella food poisoning and other diarrheal illnesses to the presence of large numbers of cockroaches in or near food preparation areas, but the evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship is inconclusive.
Ionizing radiation (On Exam)
Alpha and beta particles, as well as X-rays and gamma rays, are referred to as Ionizing radiation.
Grey Box 8-2 Battling Malaria
Although HIV/Aids garners more media attention these days, malaria continues to take a more fearsome toll in terms of morbidity and mortality. Disease statistics are truly alarming. The CDC estimates that as many as 500 million new cases of malaria are contracted each year, with approximately one million people, mostly children, dying of the disease. It is in Africa however where the disease is taking its heaviest toll today fully 90% of all malaria victims live in sub-saharan Africa. Malaria is now the cause of 10% of hospital admissions and 20-30% of all doctors visits in Africa. Outbreaks occur in Kenya where there is higher elevation and is cooler.
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Although most attention is focused on the power plants themselves, nuclear power production is dependent upon a number of activities, collectively referred to as the nuclear fuel cycle
Agent Orange
American serviceman who, during their tour of Vietnam were exposed to dioxin a contaminant in herbicide.
Millisieverts (mSv)
An amount one-thousandth of a sievert, since these represent levels of exposure most commonly encountered by the average individual.
Neem
An extract of a South Asian tree of the same name, is another botanical insecticide registered for use on ornamental plants and vegetables.
In assessing health risk, how do investigators typically determine whether or not the substance in question poses a threat to humans?
Animal testing. Most commonly using rats or dogs.
Trichinellosis
Another foodborne illness caused by a parasitic roundworm, trichinella spiralis results primarily from the consumption of raw undercooked meat containing encysted larvae of the pathogen.
Grey Box 9-1: Abusing a Valuable Resource
Antibiotics represent one of the great medical advances of the 20th century, relegating once-dreaded bacterial killers to the status of easily curable diseases. In 2001 Mcdonald's corporation told its poultry suppliers to phase out use of fluoroquinolones in the chickens it purchased from them, the following year without any fanfare, two large poultry producers began reducing the use of growth-promoting products.
Pests
Any organism that adversely affects human interests.
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
Rat Fleas
Aside from the enormous economic damage caused by rats, these pests are of great public health concern because they are vectors of a number of diseases, the deadliest of which is plague (the black death of medievil times). vector for bubonic plague
Dietary exposure
Assessments involve the evaluation of dietary consumption and chemical residue data while taking into consideration additional factors that may affect a specified population of interest or sensitive population.
4. Serious GI diseases such as Cholera and desintary are carried by which insect vector? a. mosquito b. house fly c. cockroaches d. body lice e. rat fleas
B. House fly
Alpha Particles
Basically helium nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons, alpha particles are relatively massive particles that are the most energetic type of radiation, yet are the least penetrating.
Some Foods that were adulterated include:
Black Pepper Tea Green China tea Cocoa powder Milk supplies (Cow hormones) Coffee blended Food colors Copper salts
1. Lyme Disease newly diagnosed and recognized ailment transmitted by the bite of a? a. Chiggers b. Dog Ticks c. Black legged ticks d. Human itch mites e. Bed bugs
Black legged ticks
Only three spiders pose harm to a human:
Black widow (Female only) The Brown Recluse (Both Sexes) Aggressive House Spider (Males are more venomous and are more likely to bite than females).
Body Lice
Body lice can be a source of intense discomfort, but they are of special public health concern because they are vectors of several serious epidemic diseases. Typhus Fever, characterized by elevated temperature, severe headache, and a rash, has been a major killer in past centuries, particularly during wartime when perhaps as many soldiers died from typhus as from swords or bullets. vector for typhus fever, trench fever
DDT
Broad spectrum insecticide, inorganic
Medical Applications
By far the greatest source of exposure to artificial ionizing radiation for the average American comes from the use of medical x-rays and radio-pharmaceuticals for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
5. An example of a persistent broad spectrum insecticide is what? a. Bordo mixture b. lead arsenic c. DDT d. Malathiom e. 2, 4-D
C. DDT
Review: The incidence of both tapeworm and round worm infections in the US has been increasing as a result of the growing popularity of which ethnic specialty? a. Girus b. Tofu c. Sushi d. Kimchi e. Heart attack pills
C. Sushi
Framework convention on climate control (FCCC)
Calling for a voluntary reduction in signatory nations greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000, the treaty was quickly ratified by the US senate and equivalent legislative bodies in Canada and Australia.
Campylobactor
Campylobacter is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. Campylobacter typically appear comma or s-shaped and motile. Most Campylobacter species can cause disease and can infect humans and other animals.
Mesothelioma Cont.
Cancer caused by asbestos exposure; attacks the mesothelium (protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs.)
Rats and Mice
Cause enormous economic losses, consuming as much as one-third of the world's harvest and rendering many stored food supplies unusable due to contamination of rodent hairs, urine, and droppings.
Termites
Cause incalculable damage to structures, especially in the tropics; in the United States alone, controlling termites and repairing the damage caused by these wood destroying pests cost property owners an estimated 11 billion each year.
Chapter 10: Radiation
Chapter 10: Radiation
Chapter 11: The Atmosphere
Chapter 11: The Atmosphere
Chapter 7 Review
Chapter 7 Review
Chapter 7 Toxic Substances
Chapter 7 Toxic Substances
Chapter 8: Pests and Pesticides
Chapter 8: Pests and Pesticides
Chapter 9: Food Quality
Chapter 9: Food Quality
Ozone-Depleting Substances
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Halon. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), Methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) Hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs) Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) Methyl bromide (CH3Br) Bromochloromethane (CH2BrCl)
Hint Hint! What is the largest human-caused source of mercury emissions?
Coal-burning power plants.
Vibrio Vulnificus
Commonly found along the Gulf coast in the southeastern US where it may contaminate oysters and other shellfish. Kills half of those infected, with number of deaths averaging 15-20 since 2001. Survivors suffer from excruciating pain, skin loss, amputation of arms and legs.
Beta Particles
Consisting of single electrons, beta particles are more penetrating than alphas, capable of passing through the skin to depth of about half an inch.
Food defect action level have been set by the Federal Government to regulate what kind of food quality?
Contaminants
Risk Management
Dependent on accurate risk assessment
Risk Assessment
Determining whether something suspected of presenting a human health threat is in fact dangerous, estimating how much injury or harm is likely to result from a given level of exposure, and determining if those consequences are serious enough to warrant action.
Halons
Developed in the 1950s as extremely effective fire suppressants and came into widespread commercial use in the 1960s and 70s.
Grey Box 10-1 Tragedy of the Radium Dial-Painters
Dial painters used radium. Radium used at a watch plant, women would use radium on their teeth, put it on their face, and eyelids. Women at the plant would get the radium in their mouths and eventually digest it. It then got into their bones and caused cancer.
Grey Box 10-4 Aftermath of Chernobyl
Do it!
Review: Food defect action levels are aimed at regulating what type of substance on food? a. Carcinogens b. Synthetic additives c. adulterants d. number of bacteria e. contaminants
E. Contaminants
Grey Box: China's "Carbon Footprint"
Early in 2007 China surged past the United States to claim the unenviable title of the world leader in CO2 emissions.
Low level radiation exposure:
Encompassing dosage levels 1 sv (100 rems), seldom results in immediately apparent health damage.
Troposphere
Extending from sea level to an altitude about 8 miles above the earth (slightly less above the poles, more above the equator) is the region known as the traposphere. all life activities occur in this region, most weather and climatic phenomena occur here.
What agency of the federal government regulates food additives and contaminants?
FDA
Organic Mercury
Far more toxic than elemental mercury are the organic mercury compounds such as methyl mercury which, being extremely soluble, can readily penetrate living membranes.
Where in the body does dioxin accumulate?
Fatty Tissues
Delaney Clause "Test"
Flatly prohibits the use in food of any ingredient shown to cause cancer in animals or humans.
Tolerance levels
For all pesticides used on food crops representing the maximum quantity of a pesticide residue allowable on a raw agricultural commodity.
Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs)
For carcinogens, the risk characterization typically yields acceptable daily intakes derived from dividing animal study NOELs by safety factors.
Scombroid poisoning
Generally associated with deep-sea fish such as tuna and mackeral, is caused by ingestion of a toxin produced by certain bacteria acting on the flesh of fish that aren't refrigerated and handled properly after catching.
Hint Hint! GRAS List (FDA)
Generally regarded as safe. An exemption from the Delaney Clause.
Which of the following is a non-selective herbicide capable killing any plant contact?
Glyphosate
Baked Bread
Government regulation of food quality prior to the 20th century was extremely limited, focusing primarily on commercially baked bread.
What was undoubtedly the most infamous episode of mass poisoning with methyl mercury occurred during the years of 1953-1961?
Happened in the coastal town of Minamata on the Japanese island of Kyushu. A plastics factory, chisso corporation, had for a number of years been discharging inorganic mercury wastes into the waters.
A Hundredfold Margin of Safety
Has traditionally been employed for regulatory control of toxic substances. this number was arbitrarily chosen, based on the assumptions that 1. humans are 10 times more susceptible to the toxic effects of chemicals than are laboratory animals and 2. the more vulnerable members of the population young children, the elderly, the immunocompromised are 10 times more sensitive than the average healthy adult.
Pre-emergents
Herbicides applied to the soil shortly before weeds are expected to germinate.
Translocated
Herbicides that are absorbed from the soil via the roots or through the foliage into the plant's vascular system, through which they are carried to all parts of the plant.
Cosmic radiation
High-energy particles composed primarily of protons and electrons continually stream toward the earth both from outer space and from the sun following episodes of solar flares.
What controversial food product is the subject of the large debate food safety between the US an EU?
Hormone Treated meat
Grey Box 7-1
Humans are exposed to BPA. Over 6 billion pounds are produced in America each year for making plastics. Tests done by CDC on more than 2,500 volunteers showed that ages 6 to adult found that 93% had traces of BPA in their urine. Infants and children have the highest daily intake of BPA. FDA set a safe daily exposure level for BPA at 50/ug kilogram of body weight. When congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976 requiring manufacturers to provide epa with data on the health and environmental effects of new chemicals prior to their introduction. BPA is more harmful to rodents than humans. Don't microwave any plastic food containers with the #7 on the bottom, don't wash such containers in the dishwasher, reduce personal use of canned foods, eat fresh or frozen instead, whenever possible use glass, ceramic or, stainless steal food containers, especially for hot or foods liquids, use bpa free baby bottles.
In-situ Leaching (ISL)
ISL is a close-loop mining system whereby uranium is dissolved in place by a leaching agent usually sulfuric acid that is injected into the ore deposit, with the liquid subsequently being pumped to the surface where the uranium is recovered out of the solution.
(PCBs) Polychlorinated Biphenyls
In 1964 Dr. Soren Jenson, a Swedish chemist at the University of Stockholm began a project to determine DDT levels in human fat and wildlfe samples, instead he discovered that the tissues he was examining contained large amounts of synthetic organic chemicals called PCBs. Fish, birds, to polar bears, to animals living in deep sea trenches contained detectable levels of PCBs. PCBs were first synthesized in 1929, their production being taken over in 1930 by Monsanto. Outboard Marine Corporations dumping PCBs into Waukegan Harbor on lake Michigan. Adverse Health effects= liver disorder, miscarriage, low birth weight, abnormal multiplication of cells, and liver cancer. Most common route of entry, affecting the largest amount of people, is consumption of sports fish caught in PCB contaminated lakes and rivers.
Hint! Hint! The most commonly observed health effects in people exposed to PCBs are:
In 1968 in Japan, PCB contamination in rice bran oil caused a mass poisoning known as Yushō Disease in over 14,000 people. -Increased levels of some liver enzymes, with possible hepatic damage, Chloracne and related dermal lesions, and Respiratory problems.
Dioxin (TCDD)
In 1997 the international agency for research on cancer officially classified TCDD as a group 1 human carcinogen. Such findings have led most researchers to the conclusion that while dioxin does cause cancer in humans at very high levels of exposure, it poses a minimal threat of malignancies at the low concentrations commonly encountered.
Consumer products
In addition to the sources mentioned above, very small amounts of exposure are received from luminous instrument dials (radium, tritium), home smoke detectors (americium), static eliminators (polonium).
West Nile Virus
In the United States and Canada West Nile Virus presents the most mosquito-borne health threat. Mosquitoes pick up the virus when they feed on the blood of infected birds, subsequently transmitting the pathogen to a human victim.
Positive feedback loops
In the context of climate change, positive feedbacks are impacts that magnify the degree or warming beyond that provoked by the initial increase in greenhouse gases.
Carbon capture and sequestration
In which CO2 is captured at the source of combustion, converted to a quasi-liquid, and then injected under pressure deep underground.
rBGH and rBST (EXAM)
Injected into dairy cows every 14 days, resulting in a 10-20% increase in milk production.
No-observed-effect-levels (NOELs)
Investigations into the relationship between levels of exposure and the observed human health effects led to the identification of NOELs.
Secondary Pest outbreak
Involves the rise to prominence of certain plant eating species which, prior to the spraying were unimportant as pests because natural enemies kept their populations below the level at which they cause significant economic damage.
Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
Is a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a chemical substance or physical agent such as loud noise.
GRAS list "test"
Is an American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements.[1] The concept of food additives being "generally recognized as safe" was first described in the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, and all additives introduced after this time had to be evaluated by new standards.
Kyoto Protocol
Is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations framework convention on climate change that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that global warming exists and human-made CO2 emissions have caused it. US and Canada Dropped off the Kyoto Protocol
High level radiation exposure:
Is defined as a whole body dose of 1 sv (100 rems) or more delivered within a relatively short period of time, minutes, or hours.
Water Vapor
Is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases it's the primary contributor to the natural greenhouse effect but because human activities have negligible impact on its atmospheric concentrations and because the amount of water in the air varies widely from place to place and day to day. Levels of this atmospheric constituent are not taken into consideration when discussing global warming scenarios.
Chronic Toxicity
Is the development of adverse effects as the result of long term exposure to a toxicant or other stressor.
DEET (Grey Box 8-1)
Is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. It is a slightly yellow oil intended to be applied to the skin or to clothing, and provides protection against mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, chiggers, leeches, and many biting insects.
Cross-contamination
Just one infected organ or carcass or animal feces can contaminate cutting equipment or workers hands and thereby can transfer the bacteria to other carcasses or foods, a process referred to as cross-contamination.
Nitrosamines
Known to be carcinogenic, food processors wishing to use the additive must take precautionary measures to severely limit nitrosamine formation
What is the term used to describe the actue toxicity of a chemical?
LD 50 (LD= Lethal Dose)
Continuum of Toxicity
Lead is a poison that exhibits what health experts refer to as a continuum of toxicity, any amount of exposure, however small, carries with it some degree of harm.
While any amount of asbestos exposure entails some degree of hazard, the extent of that risk is determined by a combination of several factors, among the most important of which are?
Level and duration of exposure, time since exposure occurred, age at which exposure occurred, personal history of cigarette smoking, and type and size of asbestos fibers.
Hint Hint! What is a marker disease?
Mesothelioma
What ailment is considered a "marker disease" for asbestos?
Mesothelioma
METHANE CH4
Methane is far more potent as a greenhouse gas and is increasing at a 0.6% annual rate. Curtailing methane emissions will not be easy since over half originate from rice cultivation (due to the respiration of anaerobic bacteria in waterlogged paddy fields. It is estimated that a cow belches methane approximately twice a minute!
Hint Hint! What is worse, Methylmercury or Elemental Mercury?
Methylmercury!
Grey Box 7-2: Deadly Dust
No community in the US is suffering more grievously from the ravages of asbestos related disease than the small town of Libby Montana. By 2001, shortly before remediation efforts got underway, over 200 residents of the area had died of asbestosis or asbestos-caused cancer and nearly 1,400 were being treated for asbestos disease. According to a 2000 report from the federal Agency for toxic substances and disease registry (ATSDR), the number of asbestos-related deaths in Libby is 60 times higher than the U.S. average and, given the long latency period associated with the onset of asbestos disease symptoms, the toll is likely to increase further in the years immediately ahead.
Pest Resurgence
Occurs when an insecticide application that initially resulted in a drastic reduction in the pest population is quickly followed by a sudden increase in pest numbers to a level higher than that which existed prior to the spraying.
Prevention
Of lead poisoning should be a high priority societal goal.
Infections and intoxication's
Of the various foodborne diseases, the greatest number of outbreaks can be traced to ingestion of food containing certain pathogenic bacteria or bacterial toxins preformed in the food before it was eaten.
Infections Include:Salmonellosis
Often referred to by more descriptive such as "Delhi Belly" or "The Tropical Trots," salmonellosis is one of the most common bacterial foodborne infections in the US.
Chlorofluorocarbons
One of the best known of which was the refrigerant Freon. Utilized commercially since the 1930s for home and industrial refrigeration, freezing, and air-conditioning, CFC applications expanded in the post World War II period to include use as propellants in aerosol spray can.
Pure food and drug Act 1906 (EXAM)
One of the first federal laws intended to protect consumers against adulteration, mislabeling foods, and harmful ingredients in food.
Organic Food
Organic food represents the most rapidly growing segment of the food market. increasing their market share by 20%.
Greenhouse gases
Particularly methane, nitrous oxide, and halocarbons are further enhancing the greenhouse effect by capturing wavelengths of infrared radiation not readily absorbed by CO2.
Contact
Poisons that kill any actively growing plant part with which they come into contact.
Ingested Lead
Poses a much greater hazard for young children than it does for adults.
Lead Arsenate
Primary chemical used to kill insect pests prior to the introduction of DDT. Once deposited, such chemicals may remain in soils as long as 2,000 years.
Asbestos
Probably no other hazardous substance has resulted in so many deaths and cases of disabling disease as has asbestos, the collective term for a group of six fibrous silicate minerals (amosite, chrysotile, trmolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, and crocidolite) found almost worldwide. 85% of all asbestos produced today is incorporated into asbestos-cement construction materials. Inhalation represents the primary route by which asbestos enters the human body, people may also be exposed to the mineral in drinking water.
Preplanting
Products applied to the soil before a crop is planted
Nuclear power plant emissions
Public opposition to construction of nuclear power plants often centers around fears concerning radioactive emissions both to the air and in wastewater released from such plants.
Hint Hint! One of the federal laws to protect consumers against adulteration (mislabeling foods, harmful ingredients in food) was?
Pure Food & Drug Act
In which of the following groups of organisms would you expect to see the greatest effect of pesticide biomagnification?
Quatenary consumers (pelicans) Because it's higher up the food chain.
Linear no-threshold theory
Radiation protection policies since the 1950s have been based on the assumption that all radiation exposure, no matter how low, is harmful. Low doses are regarded as having the same effects as high doses, though at lower rate of incidence (a concept known as the linear no-threshold theory).
Radioactive Minerals in the Earths Crust
Radioactive compounds of uranium, thorium, potassium, and radium are found in soils and rocks in many parts of the world.
Grey Box 10-3 Term: radiological dispersion device (rdd)
Referred to as dirty bomb, designed to scatter radioactive materials throughout a localized area without a nuclear explosion, dirty bombs could take on several forms.
Core Meltdown
Represents a worst-type accident scenario, would be nearly as devastating.
Ciguatera fish poisoning
Responsible for numerous food poisoning outbreaks in Florida and hawaii, is caused by eating certain large reef-dwelling fish such as barracuda, amberjack, and red snapper containing a potent algal toxin and is one of the most common seafood-related illnesses in the US.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)
Results from eating shellfish such as oyster, clams, or scallops contaminated with saxitoxin, a nerve poison produced by microscopic dinoflagellates (Algae).
Who was the largest producer of asbestos world wide?
Russia, with 40% of the worlds share, followed by China and Kazakhstan.
Figure 11-1 Regions of the Atmosphere:
Sea Level Troposphere Tropopause (6 to 10 miles above sea level)(-55 degrees) Stratosphere (Ozone layer is in the stratosphere, temperature rises until 32 degees) Stratopause (30 miles above sea level) Mesophere (Temperature once again begins to decrease) Thermosphere
The use of DDT in Vietnam was a?
Selective herbicide
Dosage
Since ionizing radiation can be neither seen nor felt, human exposure is measured in terms of the amount of tissue damage it causes.
Nuclear weapon fallout
Since the explosion of the first atomic bomb in 1945 until the signing of the limited test-ban treaty in 1963, atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons by several of the major powers, primarily the US and the former Soviet Union, resulted in significant amounts of radioactive fallout worldwide.
Ionizing radiation
Some consisted of subatomic particles protons, neutrons, or electrons released when atoms spontaneously decay; these came to be known as particulate radiation, a group that includes alpha and beta particles. Other emissions, such as Roentgen's X-rays and naturally occuring gamma rays, were shown to consist of highly energetic short wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, a form of energy that also includes ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared waves, and microwaves.
Potentially hazardous foods
Some foods are implicated in food-poisoning outbreaks much more frequently than others and are therefore designated by the US public health service as potentially hazardous food.
Greenhouse effect
Some of the infrared waves leaving the earth (those in the 5-8 and 12-20 micrometer range) are obsorbed by water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a portion of which are re radiated back to the earth's surface, thereby keeping the earth's climate warmer than it would otherwise be.
Grey Box 8-3: Dengue Fever Spreads as the World Warms Up
Sometimes called "breakbone fever" because of the excrutiating joint pains experienced by some victims, dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitos. Its principle vector is Aedes aegypti, the same species that carries yellow fever, but it can also be transmitted by Aedes albopictus, the asian tiger mosquito a species accidentally introduced into the US in 1985 and now well-established in many parts of the country.
Defect Action Levels
Specifying the maximum limit of contamination at or above which the agency will take legal action to remove product from the market.
Insecticides
Stomach Poision: taken into the body through the mouth, effective against insects with biting or chewing mouthparts like caterpillars. Contact Poisons: Penetrate through the body wall Fumigants: Enter insect through its respiratory system.
What is the way in which spent nuclear fuel rods are currently being managed?
Stored at cooling ponds.
Contaminants
Substances accidentally incorporated into foods.
Additives
Substances intentionally added to food to modify its taste, color texture nutritive value, appearance, resistance to deterioration, and so forth .
Grey Box 9-2: Petting Zoo perils
Tainted produce and undercooked poultry top the list of "What's to blame?" for symptoms endured by those stricken with E. coli poisoning, salmonellosis, and campylobacter infections. However, for a number of victims the majority of them young children the cause of gastrointestinal distress has nothing to do with what the ate, but rather with what they touched or fondled. According to CDC, public setting like these have been responsible for approximately 100 infectious disease outbreaks reported from 1996 to 2008. In the home environment as well, ill-advised though well intentioned gifts of newly hatched chicks or baby turtles given to small children present serious risk of acute salmonellosis.
Hint Hint Danger Zone:
Temperature Window= 41 degrees to 140 degrees!
Food Quality Protection Act 1996
That EPA consider the consumption habits an unique vulnerability of children when setting tolerance levels and must be able to guarantee that any tolerance level approved by the agency is safe for children.
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.
Sievert (Finish)
The SI unit of dose equivalent (the biological effect of ionizing radiation), equal to an effective dose of a joule of energy per kilogram of recipient mass. Origin 1940s: named after Rolf M. Sievert (1896-1966), Swedish radiologist.
Health Effects of Mercury Exposure
The action of mercury on the human system depends primarily on the form of mercury to which the victim is exposed, either inorganic metallic mercury of the far more toxic organic mercury.
Dose-time "exam"
The amount of the chemical in question (dose) and the duration of exposure (time)
Cockroaches
The bread and butter of the structural pest control industry are found worldwide and are universally despised for contaminating food and materials in homes, restaurants, and supermarkets, cruise ships, and warehouses.
Adulteration
The deliberate addition of inferior or cheaper material to a supposedly pure food product in order to stretch out supplies and increase profits. Example is the injection of cow hormones!
Geoengineering
The deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process that affects the earths climate, in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming.
In the US undercooked hamburgers were initially identified as:
The food most often implicated in E.Coli outbreaks.
Hazardous
The hazardous nature of a substance is dependent both on its inherent capacity to do harm (e.g. its degree of toxicity, corrosivenes, flammability, etc). and equally important, on the likelihood of that substance coming into contact with people.
Ricin
The leaves of the plant are only slightly toxic, but the colorful mottled seeds can be deadly, containing a toxin called ricin!
Cicutoxin
The poisonous substance in water hemlock, is a neurotoxin present in all parts of the plant and at every stage of development.
Albedo
The proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface, typically that of a planet or moon.
Dose Rate
The quantity of radiation received within a given unit of time, is thought to be very significant in determining the extent of tissue damage incurred, perhaps even more important than total dose.
Toxicology "exam"
The study of toxic substances. Modern toxicology is a relatively recent offshoot of pharmacological science.
The half life of a radioactive isotope is or refers to?
The time required for half of the original amount to undergo radioactive decay.
Stratopause:
The upper boundary of the stratosphere. 30 miles above sea level.
Tropopause
The upper limit of the troposphere. 6 to 10 miles above sea level. -55 degrees.
Gamma Rays
These are the most penetrating form of ionizing radiation and generally accompany beta radiation.
Inorganic Metallic Mercury
This form of mercury frequently attacks the liver and kidneys; it also can diffuse through the alveolar membranes of the lungs and travel to the brain where it can cause such neurological problems as lack of coordination.
Greenhouse Effect
This heat absorbing property of certain atmospheric gases described by Tyndall eventually became known as the greenhouse effect (sometimes currently referred to as the "natural greenhouse effect" to distinguish it from the "enhanced greenhouse effect" caused by human activities).
Mercury
This liquid metal, the "quicksilver" of ancient times, has been used for a wide variety of purposes for at least 2,500 years and has been contributing to illness and death among those exposed to it for an equal period of time. At very low levels, Mercury does not seem to be damaging. Has been used in the manufacture of plastics, paper making, fluorescent light bulbs, fungicide in paints, and alloy in dental fillings. Warnings are targeted primarily at pregnant women since children exposed to IN UTERO are at increased risk of subtle developmental delays and learning disorders. The EPA estimates that 10% of U.S women of childbearing age have blood mercury levels high enough to put a baby at risk.
Relative biological effectiveness
This measurement reflects the fact that the health impact of radiation depends not only on the amount of energy absorbed, but also on the form of that energy.
Mesothelioma
This previously rare cancer of the lung or stomach lining today kills more than 5% of all asbestos workers. Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period, onset of disease symptoms occurring 25-40 years after initial exposure. Some health officials predict that western Europe alone will experience 250,000 mesothelioma deaths during the first three decades of the 21st century. Half will be construction workers and men employed in ship yards
Post emergents
Those applied to the soil or directly onto foliage of the weeds after the crop and or the weeds have sprouted.
Selective
Those that kill only certain types of plants
X-rays
Though slightly less penetrating, X-rays have basically the same characteristics as Gamma rays.
Dose response curve
Three parts: The first portion of the curve on the far left, is horizontal an indication that low doses of the toxicant produce no ill effects. The middle portion of the curve begins at a point called the threshold, where increasing dosage is beginning to provoke adverse symptoms. The curves continues to climb upward as the dose increases until, its final portion, it again flattens out after reaching its maximum effect (i.e. death).
On a dose-response curve, what is the term used to indicate the point at which the previously horizontal line begins to curve upward? "Exam"
Threshold
Dermal
Through Skin
Reprocessing
To separate these two useful products from the other isotopes that constitute high-level radioactive wastes, reprocessing of the material in the spent rods was once envisioned as a vital part of the nuclear fuel cycle.
What approach has the government taken for regulating pesticide levels in agriculture products
Tolerance Levels
Toxicants
Toxic or Toxicant are terms scientist use to describe a chemical that provokes an adverse systematic effect on living organisms. Toxicants Have the ability to cause harm to organs or biochemical processes away from the site on the body where exposure occurred. In this sense they differ from other harmful chemicals such as corrosives or irritants, which damage only the tissues they contact.
Oral
Toxic substance can enter the body through the mouth when a person eats, drinks or smokes.
Biomagnification "exam"
Toxic substances present in minute amounts in the general environment can thus become quite concentrated as they move along a food chain, sometimes reaching lethal doses in organisms at the highest trophies levels.
Non-Ionizing radiation
UV lights
Hint Hint! Gasoline used to be leaded, now it is
Unleaded
Hint Hint! What is the biggest source that has reduced lead in our environment?
Unleaded Gas
mosquitoes
Vector for malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, west nile virus.
Ticks
Vector for rocky mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease
Flies
Vector for typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and parasitic worm infections.
Respiratory
Via lungs if the substance is inhaled.
What food borne disease has the highest mortality rate
Vibrio Vulnificus
Hint Hint! What is the largest natural source of mercury emissions?
Volcanoes
Hint! Hint! What consitutes the largest source of dioxin entering the environment at present
Waste-burning incinerators
Hint Hint! The major source of dioxin in the environment comes from?
Waste-burning incinerators.
Hint Hint! What is the #1 concern in the U.S when it comes to mosquito born virus?
West Nile Virus!
Asbestos Abatement
When an asbestos hazard is identified, those charged with remedying the situation have several options from which to choose: 1. Encapsulation- This is a technique in which exposed asbestos is heavily coated with a polymer sealant to prevent further release of fibers 2. Enclosure- Feasible when the area affected is relatively small, this process involves building a nonpermeable barrier between the source of exposure and surrounding open areas. 3. Removal- A labor-intensive process whereby all asbestos containing materials are physically removed from the structure.
Nitrous oxide N2O
With atmospheric concentrations up by 17% (46ppb) since 1750 and still rising, the so-called "laughing gas" once used as a painkiller by dentists is a more efficient greenhouse gas than CO2 but because its total atmospheric concentrations are in the parts per billion range, its overall contribution to global warming is still fairly limited.
Bioaccumulation
With continuing exposure, PCB concentrations in the body increase over a period of time.
Lung Cancer
With the gradual reduction in dust levels asbestos factories, deaths due to asbestosis have been decreasing allowing workers to live long enough to develop today's leading cause of asbestos-related mortality, lung cancer. Approximately 5-7% of all lung cancer cases today can be attributed to occupational exposure to asbestos, with roughly 20,000 new victims diagnosed each year in developed nations with a long history of asbestos production. 20-25% of asbestos workers are now succumb to the disease.
Does dioxin and the environment it comes from cause cancer?
YES
Hint Hint! Does dioxin and the environment it comes from cause cancer?
Yes!
Human poisonings due to mercury exposure most commonly result in what kind of health damage? a. Brain and nervous system disorders b. liver damage c. lung cancer or other respiratory illness d. bone deterioration and kidney malfunction e. skin eruptions
a. Brain and nervous system disorders
Which two of the following toxic substances are capable of crossing the placental barrier and causing severe fetal damage in humans? a. Dioxin & PCBs b. Asbestos & PCBs c. Lead and Mercury d. Mercury & Asbestos e. Asbestos & lead
c. Lead and Mercury
Review: Which of the following forms of radiation is non ionizing? a. X-rays b. Gamma Rays c. UV lights d. Alpha Particles e. Beta particles
c. UV lights
PCBs which bio magnify as they move up the food chain are most commonly taken up by humans when they eat certain kinds of? a. leafy vegetables b. fruits from roadside orchard c. liver and eggs d. fresh water fish e. cooking oils
d. fresh water fish
3. In which of the following groups of micro-organisms would you expect to see the greatest effects of pesticide biomagnification? a. producers (phytoplankton) b. primary consumer ex zooplankton c. secondary ex small fish d. 3rd ex large fish e. 4 ex Pelican
e. 4 ex pelican Because it's higher up the food chain.
2. Which of the following is no longer an effective method for controlling malaria? a. Insecticidal spraying with DDT b. The use of insecticide impregnated mosquito nets c. Removing sources of mosquito breeding near homes d. Personal use of mosquito repellent e. Treatment of victims with chloroquine
e. Treatment of victims with chloroquine
What danger is associated with drinking as opposed to inhaling asbestos? a. Mesophelioma b. colon cancer c. kidney damage d. gastric ulcers e. no known health defect
e. no known health defect.
If a besticide is labeled as EPA registered what does this mean in practical terms?
it is legal to sell in the US
What is regarded as the most important environmental health problem affecting American children?
lead Poisoning
What is the single most frequent cause of childhood lead poisoning?
lead paint
6. Which of the following would be a likely target of public health efforts to control breeding of the asian tiger mosquito?
tire casings
The major source of dioxin in the environment comes from?
waste-burning incinerators.
