PUBH 3025 Final Study Guide

The most widely supported economic strategy for combatting climate change is: "Putting a price on carbon" through a carbon tax or "cap and trade" mechanism -The "War on Coal," prohibiting coal production after 2025 -Placing large export tariffs on fossil fuels -Reforestation of parts of Brazil, Indonesia, and other areas where severe forest loss has occurred -Forcing OPEC to increase oil production to avoid any fuel shortages

"Putting a price on carbon" through a carbon tax or "cap and trade" mechanism

According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, injuries accounted for ____ of the world's disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and were a top 10 cause of death worldwide. 1% 11% 41% 81%

11%

The United Nations (2014) estimates that, by 2025, what fraction of the world's population could be living under water-stressed conditions 1/10 1/4 2/3 3/4

2/3

There are approximately ______ genes in the human genome 23 46 24,000 3 billion

24,000

In a landmark epidemiological study of ambient air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities, Dockery et al. (1993) found a ____ higher mortality rate in the city with the highest pollution compared to the city with the lowest 2.6% 26% 260% 2600%

26%

According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study (Lim et al., 2012), ambient particulate matter, one type of air pollution, was responsible for over _____ premature deaths and ________ of global disability-adjusted life years in 2010. 3,200, 3.1% 320,000, 3.1% 320,000, 31.0% 3,200,000, 3.1%

3,200,000, 3.1%

The percentage of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream that gets recycled grew from 6.4% in 1960 to _____ in 2012. 8.0% 34.5% 58.2% 78.7%

34.5%

According to World Bank estimates, per capita municipal solid waste generation in high-income countries is approximately _______ that of low-income countries. ½ 2 times 4 times 10 times

4 times

On average, how much of our day is spent indoors? 75% 50% 90% 100%

90%

What percent of Earth's total volume of water is potentially available for human use (e.g., drinking, irrigation, other uses)? <1% 10% 50% 100%

<1%

Confounding can bias results of epidemiological studies. Which of the following is true about confounders in environmental and occupational health studies -A confounder must be associated with the exposure -A confounder must be associated with the disease -A confounder must be associated with both the exposure and the disease -Confounding is another term for effect modification

A confounder must be associated with both the exposure and the disease

Which of the following defines environmental justice? -A focus on land conservation -A focus on environmental exposures of vulnerable populations such as racial minorities -A focus on the enforcement of environmental laws -A focus on ecosystem functioning -A focus on public-private partnerships to improve environmental health

A focus on environmental exposures of vulnerable populations such as racial minorities

Epidemiologists generally prefer confidence intervals over p values as a measure of precision because -Confidence intervals do not depend on sample size -p values are vulnerable to random error -A range of plausible values is more informative than a single p value -All of the above

A range of plausible values is more informative than a single p value

Major health impacts of fossil fuel combustion include all of the following EXCEPT: Allergies Contributions to climate change Air pollution Mercury exposure

Allergies

Most scientists agree we are in a new geological era, the Anthropocene, a time of human -Ingenuity and creativity -Alteration of fundamental Earth processes -Population decline -Colonization of other planets

Alteration of fundamental Earth processes

Which of the following statements about climate change mitigation and adaptation is true? -Mitigation occurs on a local scale, while adaptation occurs on a global scale -Climate change adaptation may justifiably be deferred for future generations, because it will be far less costly in the future -Mitigation includes both reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, and promoting the removal of greenhouse gases from the air through sequestration -Climate mitigation is the responsibility of the energy and transportation sectors, while the health sector is primarily responsible for climate adaptation -Climate change adaptation is counterproductive because it distracts from climate change mitigation

Mitigation includes both reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, and promoting the removal of greenhouse gases from the air through sequestration

Safe drinking water requires a _________ approach, incorporating source protection as well as treatment Public health engineering Multibarrier Multi-stakeholder Disinfection

Multibarrier

A cross-sectional study, if properly designed, should provide results that can be confirmed by cohort or case-control studies, however cross-sectional studies generally face the following major challenge (pick one) -Recall bias -Difficulty measuring past exposures -Difficulties in choosing representative cases and controls -None of the above

None of the above

A paradox of sustainability is that: -Sustainable economic growth requires higher birth rates -Residents of wealthy countries have lower carbon footprints than residents of less affluent countries -None of the above -Global environmental problems must be addressed with local responses

None of the above

Which of the following two laws were put into effect due to worker uprising and workplace disasters? Clean Water Act Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Federal Coal Mine and Health Safety Act

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) Federal Coal Mine and Health Safety Act

In the United States, the modern environmental justice movement has roots in all of the following other movements except Civil rights Indigenous peoples rights Right to free speech Farmworkers rights

Right to free speech

The _________ of late 19th century U.S. and Europe, when the connection between urban planning and infectious disease transmission became recognized, was a formative stage in public health history. Industrial revolution Urbanization movement Migration waves Sanitary movement

Sanitary movement

In 2012, which type of material accounted for the largest percentage of the municipal solid waste stream in the United States (EPA 2012)? Paper Food Scraps Plastics Glass

paper

Spatial analysis of local disease risk involves investigating whether or not local rates are higher or lower than expected based on demographic characteristics; methods for assessing potential clusters of high risk are _______ part of standard biostatistics training or software. always usually sometimes rarely

rarely

In the United States, the Safe Drinking Water Act mandates legal limits, called _____________, on the levels of chemical and microbiological contaminants allowed in drinking water provided by utilities serving 25 people or more Maximum contaminant levels Maximum contaminant level goals Permissible exposure limits National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations

Maximum contaminant levels

Choose two types of nonionizing radiation: Microwave and radiofrequency radiations X- rays Gamma rays Ultraviolet (UVA, UVB, UVC)

Microwave and radiofrequency radiations Ultraviolet (UVA, UVB, UVC)

Of the different epidemiological study designs, the ecological design is considered the weakest because -It makes speculative inferences about the links between ecosystems and human populations -Very large sample sizes are needed to detect exposure-disease correlations in human populations -Across a population, individuals with risk factors are not necessarily the same individuals who contract the disease -None of the above

Across a population, individuals with risk factors are not necessarily the same individuals who contract the disease

Humans have faced environmental health challenges throughout history including: -Food Sanitation -Water Sanitation -Human Waste Management -Solid Waste Management -All of the above

All of the Above

What are some examples of extremely low frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields (EMF) Thunderstorms Power lines Household appliances All of the above

All of the above

Which of the following are key steps in toxicokinetics? Absorption Distribution Metabolism Excretion All of the above

All of the above

Although DDT is banned in many Stockholm Convention countries because of concerns over chronic and ecological toxicity, the WHO (World Health Organization) supports its use in areas with persistent ________. Malnutrition Rodent infestation Malaria Lyme disease

Malaria

Industrial hygiene involves addressing health and safety hazards with the following paradigm: Measurement, testing, assessment, and mediation Identification, assessment, mediation, and elimination Anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control Protection, exposure measurement, assessment, and treatment

Anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control

Most GIS studies are observational rather than experimental so _______, ________, and ______ must be considered when interpreting results -Bias, confounding, effect modification -Scale, resolution, projection -Location, correlation, demographics -None of the above

Bias, confounding, effect modification

Anthropogenic emissions result from human activity while ____ emissions come from natural sources (e.g., vegetation, volcanoes, deserts) Natural Organic Biogenic Ecological

Biogenic

Which of the following is true regarding public belief in climate change? -Family and friends are powerful determinants of a person's -beliefs about climate change -A majority of Americans deny that climate change is occurring -Beliefs about climate change are constant across political parties, religious affiliation, and age -Providing authoritative scientific information about climate change is associated with substantial shifts in opinion -Health professionals are not trusted sources regarding climate change and its risks; public trust is higher for elected officials and sports and media personalities

Family and friends are powerful determinants of a person's beliefs about climate change

Which best describes the following sentence, "Mapping is usually more useful for ambient exposures than overall personal exposure" -The first half of the sentence is generally true, while the second half is not -The first half of the sentence is generally false, while the second half is true -Both halves of the sentence are generally true -Both halves of the sentence are generally false

Both halves of the sentence are generally true

While the more traditional biomedical perspective of toxicology is to focus on a singular physiological outcome, environmental psychology is concerned with a broad set of outcomes including all of the following except Stress Cause of death Mental health Social interaction

Cause of death

In general, toxicants are classified by Chemical class, exposure source, or target organ Exposure source, exposure route, or health effect Chemical class, exposure route, or health effect Exposure source, dose-response, or health effect

Chemical class, exposure source, or target organ

Integrated pest management was developed in the 1960s as a comprehensive approach to pest control using a combination of methods, with ________ as a last resort. Structural maintenance Biological control agents Chemical pesticides Management and cultural practices

Chemical pesticides

Worldwide, _______ have the highest mortality rates from burns and drowning of any age group Teenage males Adult males The elderly Children < 5 years old

Children < 5 years old

The introduction of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and other ________ pesticides into agriculture after World War II changed pest control and food production worldwide. Lead-containing Arsenical Chlorinated Biological

Chlorinated

The vast majority of the world's energy comes from which of the following? Nuclear and hydroelectric power Nuclear power and coal Biomass and diesel Natural gas and petroleum Coal and petroleum

Coal and petroleum

The U.S. agency with jurisdiction over the safety of infant cribs and similar items is called National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Consumer Product Safety Commission American National Standards Institute National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Choose one of the ways humans can indirectly drive environmental change: -Consumption choices -Harvest and resource consumption -Both of the above -None of the above

Consumption choices

Exposure refers to the mass of a contaminant that ______ a tissue barrier, while dose refers to the mass of a contaminant that _____ a tissue barrier Contacts, harms Contacts, crosses Absorbs to, harms Harms, crosses

Contacts, crosses

With the development of industrialization and urbanization in the 17th through 19th centuries, which of the following most contributed to heightened public health threats? -Urban mass transit -Crowding and substandard housing in cities -Mass production of industrial products -The development toxic pesticides -Bubonic plague

Crowding and substandard housing in cities

In general, which particle size category is likely to penetrate most deeply into the lung? Choose One: A. TSP B. PM100 C. PM10 D. PM2.5

D. PM 2.5

The modern environmental justice movement in the United States emerged in 1982 when a predominantly African American community in Warren, North Carolina protested the siting of what type of facility in their community? Coal-fired power plant Nuclear power plant Hazardous waste incinerator Hazardous waste landfill

Hazardous waste landfill

According to the information presented in the textbook. which of the following jobs is considered to have the highest injury rate in U.S. industries? Agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting Arts/entertainment/recreation Health care/social assistance Transportation/warehousing

Health care/social assistance

All of the following except which are examples of different levels at which toxicity can occur in humans Molecule Cell Organ Ecosystem

Ecosystem

Poison control centers are examples of which type of countermeasure against acute poisonings Education Enforcement Engineering Environmental

Education

Consideration of spatial scale is important because the spatial extent of exposure may, in turn, define the spatial extent of _______ and potential ______ -Exposure, risk -Exposure, health impacts -Health impacts, interventions -Interventions, health impacts

Health impacts, interventions

Health care can adopt sustainable practices, but which of the following is not an example? -Supporting local agriculture through food purchasing policies -Promoting community resilience through emergency planning - Encouraging patients to bring their own healthy food from home during hospital stays -Reducing/reusing/recycling materials and chemicals

Encouraging patients to bring their own healthy food from home during hospital stays

Of the three E's of injury control, which takes the least amount of voluntary cooperation from the people it is designed to protect. Education Enforcement Engineering Evaluation

Engineering

The work of John Snow included: -Conducting the first analysis of vital statistics in England -Identifying workplace hazards in a rapidly industrializing England -Identifying contaminated water as the cause of a cholera outbreak in London -Proposing postulates, or requirements, that establish a causal connection between a microorganism and human disease -Campaigning against unsafe housing in the tenements of London

Identifying contaminated water as the cause of a cholera outbreak in London

Which of the following statements about the human health impacts of energy use, at the scale of societies or countries, is true? -There is no association between a society's per capita energy use and the average health of the society. -Increasing per capita energy use is associated with improved health. -Increasing per capita energy use is associated with improved health, but only if fossil fuels provide most of the energy. -Increasing per capita energy use is associated with improved health but only up to a point; after that, increasing energy use confers no further health benefit.

Increasing per capita energy use is associated with improved health but only up to a point; after that, increasing energy use confers no further health benefit.

Some of the familiar assumptions in biostatistics are not valid with spatial data. For example, biostatistics methods typically assume nearby observations are _____ while they are often ____. -Correlated, independent -Independent, correlated -Unweighted, weighted -Weighted, unweighted

Independent, correlated

In the United States, the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 requires U.S. EPA to set health-based tolerances for pesticides in food, in particular, to protect ________. Infants and children Elderly people Immunocompromised people Low socioeconomic status people

Infants and children

All of the following are principal routes of contaminant exposure for humans except Injection Inhalation Ingestion Dermal exposure

Injection

All of the following are true about tropospheric ozone except It is a powerful oxidant that can trigger asthma attacks It is formed by the reaction of precursors (VOCs, NOx) and sunlight It protects us from ultraviolet radiation Indoor concentrations are usually lower than outdoor concentrations

It protects us from ultraviolet radiation

What is the main reason why randomized clinical trials, the gold standard for evidence in medicine, are not commonly used in environmental and occupational epidemiology -It would be unethical to randomize participants into exposed and unexposed groups -Environmental and occupational exposures generally take place outside a clinical setting -It is impossible to randomize study participants since the exposed group knows they were exposed -They are very expensive so can generally only be conducted by large hospitals and health care systems

It would be unethical to randomize participants into exposed and unexposed groups

________ and _______ are examples of healthy community design policies that encourage physical activity and reduce automobile dependence Ride Score, bundled parking Ride Score, unbundled parking Joint use policies, bundled parking Joint use policies, unbundled parking

Joint use policies, unbundled parking

Which of the following major ambient air pollutants are considered primary pollutants, vs., secondary or primary and secondary Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide Sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone Lead, toxic pollutants, volatile organic compounds

Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide

The United States Clean Air Act mandates health-protective national ambient air quality standards for which group of key outdoor pollutants (i.e., the criteria pollutants) -Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide -Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulates, ozone -Lead, toxic pollutants, volatile organic compounds- -Lead, toxic pollutants, volatile organic compounds, biological pollutants

Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulates, ozone

All of the following are major human diseases transmitted by mosquitoes except Malaria Lyme disease Dengue fever West Nile virus

Lyme disease

In low-income countries, the municipal solid waste stream tends to have more _______ and less _______ than in high-income countries. Plastics, organic material Organic material, paper Paper, yard trimmings Wood, metals

Organic material, paper

Global climate change contributes to each of the following EXCEPT: Rising sea levels Ocean acidification Species extinctions Peak petroleum production More severe storms

Peak petroleum production

Why is understanding the concept of food webs important to environmental health? -Humans can be consumed by predators at the top of the food chain -Decomposers can be sources of infectious disease in human populations -Persistent pollutants can bioaccumulate or biomagnify up the food web -Humans need food to survive

Persistent pollutants can bioaccumulate or biomagnify up the food web

Each of the following is a vector-borne disease that has expanded its range in recent years, in a pattern consistent with climate change contributions, EXCEPT: Dengue fever Lyme disease Polio Malaria Chikungunya

Polio

All of the following except which are regulatory strategies used to control air pollution in the United States NAAQS for criteria air pollutants MACT for hazardous air pollutants Power plant cap-and-trade for SOx emissions Power plant cap-and-trade for CO2 emissions

Power plant cap-and-trade for CO2 emissions

Choose three of the key elements of a healthy building presented in the lecture Proper lighting Pest control Space to park cars Universal design

Proper lighting Pest control Universal design

The impacts of climate change on food and agriculture include all of the following EXCEPT: -Reduced production of wheat, maize, and other staple crops in much of the world, especially parts of Africa and Asia -Increased production of staple crops in some parts of the world, such as parts of Canada and Russia -Reduced growth of most weeds, enhancing crop production -Reduced nutrient content of some foods -Increased crop loss due to plant diseases

Reduced growth of most weeds, enhancing crop production

Which two federal laws govern solid and hazardous waste management in the United States today? -Solid Waste Disposal Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act -Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act -Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Act, Superfund Act

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

Reducing vehicle miles traveled in ____________ is a primary way to reduce air pollution and the resulting health consequences Single-occupancy vehicles Older vehicles with outdated emissions control technologies Public transportation Diesel trucks and buses

Single-occupancy vehicles

Approximately half the 1.4 million deaths from intentional injury worldwide in 2012 (WHO 2013) were War-related killings Terrorist attacks Suicides Family/partner violence

Suicides

Ambient concentrations of an air pollutant can be highest under conditions of stagnant winds and ________ Temperature inversions Atmospheric turbulence Seasonal transitions Nighttime deposition

Temperature inversions

A home can offer an individual a sense of psychological well-being and security, but homes can also post threats to that person's health. True False

True

A toxin refers to a substance of natural origin and toxicant refers to a synthetic substance. True False

True

Any substance can be toxic, it just depends on the dose. True False

True

Important health-related aspects of buildings include injury risks, exposure to pests, exposure to mold and moisture, indoor air quality, toxic exposures, and mental health effects True False

True

In gene-environment interactions, environmental response genes dictate a person's response to certain environmental exposures. True False

True

Ionizing radiation and nonionizing radiation are two types of radiation. Ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, making it a health risk. True False

True

Ionizing radiation can be human-made, such as x-rays. True False

True

Upstream thinking includes everything listed below, except: -Water treatment plants are generally placed upstream from sources of drinking water -The root causes of disease may operate at a location far from the affected population -The root causes of disease may operate long before the disease appears -The root causes of disease may operate outside the health sector, say, in the energy or food sectors -Complex systems thinking is often necessary to understand fully the risks a population faces

Water treatment plants are generally placed upstream from sources of drinking water

All of the following except which affect an air pollutant's ability to penetrate the respiratory system Size Chemical properties Exercise Weather

Weather

The Global Burden of Disease Project, which gathers data on health and environment, and compares the amount of misery caused by a key list of health conditions, is an example of which modern ethics principle in practice? Scientific integrity Realism Welfare Bioethics

Welfare