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Chapter 8
McGraw Hill textbook
65
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 2
10/08/2024

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Term
Today health agencies calculate DALYs rather than mortality rates as a measure of disease burden because ______.
Definition
DALYs are a more complete measure combining premature deaths and the loss of a healthy life resulting from mental illness or physical disability AND mortality data fail to capture the impacts of nonfatal outcomes of disease and injury on human well-being
Term
A pandemic is ______.
Definition
a worldwide (or very widespread) epidemic
Term
True or false: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health, we are all ill to some extent.
Definition
True
Term
What characteristics define an emergent disease?
Definition
It has not been previously known or has been absent for at least 20 years.
Term
Mortality refers to being ill, whereas morbidity refers to dying from a disease.
Definition
False (relationship should be reversed)
Term
Eighty percent of antibiotics used in the United States are:
Definition
for livestock.
Term
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that though 90 percent of all disease burden occurs in developing nations only about 10 percent of health care dollars are spent there.
Definition
True
Term
The DALY measure is the ______.
Definition
disability-adjusted life years, which evaluates the total cost of disease, not just how many people die
Term
Which of these is not a consideration of toxicology?
Definition
Eradication of diseases such as polio or smallpox
Term
The Black Death, the 1918 influenza, and the H1N1 flu virus were all ______, as they caused widespread and worldwide infections
Definition
pandemics
Term
Poisons that are produced naturally are called _____ substances.
Definition
toxic
Term
What factors make emergent diseases a special problem?
Definition
At times we lack the medicines with which to treat them, as some emergent diseases are caused by drug-resistant strains of a pathogen.
Term
All toxic substances are hazardous, but all hazardous substances are not toxic. This is because, unlike toxic substances, hazardous materials ______
Definition
do not damage or kill living organisms by reacting with cellular components to disrupt metabolic functions AND must be handled carefully in large doses, but they can be rendered relatively innocuous by dilution, neutralization, or other physical treatment
Term
Antibiotics for humans are generally ______ in the United States.
Definition
misused AND over-prescribed
Term
Which of the following is not a concern of environmental toxicology?
Definition
The study of the effects of flammable chemicals on forests
Term
The heaviest burden of illness is borne by ______.
Definition
developing countries where many people cannot afford adequate health care or to live in a healthy environment
Term
Sick building syndrome refers to symptoms such as headaches, allergies, and chronic fatigue caused by a variety of toxins that build up in poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
Definition
True
Term
The study of toxicology ______.
Definition
draws from many disciplines, including biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, among others
Term
Neurotoxins are poisons that affect us by ______.
Definition
causing nervous system damage
Term
Another term for toxin is ______.
Definition
poison
Term
Chemicals or other factors that specifically cause abnormalities during embryonic growth and development are called
Definition
teratogens
Term
Substances that cause invasive, out-of-control cell growth resulting in tumors are called ______.
Definition
carcinogens
Term
The field that specifically deals with the interactions, transformation, fate, and effects of natural and synthetic chemicals in the biosphere, including individual organisms, populations, and whole ecosystems is ______.
Definition
environmental toxicology
Term
Allergies, headaches, and chronic fatigue due to poorly ventilated indoor spaces contaminated by toxins, such as formaldehyde released from carpeting, furniture, and other building materials can result in
Definition
sick building syndrome
Term
Solubility is important in determining how a substance travels and is absorbed. Which type(s) of chemicals travel through the environment most easily?
Definition
Water-soluble
Term
A metabolic poison that specifically attacks nerve cells is a
Definition
neurotoxin
Term
Which of the following statements correctly describes how factors related to the individual influence how she or he responds to toxins in the environment?
Definition
Immunological status affects susceptibility to toxins. A healthy individual may be insensitive to doses of toxins dangerous to someone who is ill. AND Age affects susceptibility to toxins, as chemicals that might be relatively harmless to adults may be dangerous to young children.
Term
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. This specifically makes alcohol a ______.
Definition
teratogen
Term
Bioaccumulation is _____.
Definition
the selective absorption and storage of a great variety of molecules inside cells at levels that are higher than the environment
Term
Which of the following are true about the effects of exposure to carcinogens?
Definition
Exposure to carcinogens can result in invasive, out-of-control cell growth that can cause malignant tumors. AND The U.S. EPA estimates that 200 million Americans live in areas where cancer risk from environmental carcinogens is ten times higher than normal.
Term
Biomagnification, in the case of a fish-eating osprey, refers to the fact that the ______.
Definition
osprey accumulates compounds stored by all prey lower in the food chain
Term
Water-soluble types
Definition
These substances move widely in the environment and also have ready access to body cells as their solvent is ubiquitous.
Term
Oil-soluble types
Definition
These substances need a carrier molecule to move through the environment, but once they are inside cells they likely accumulate and persist.
Term
Which of these sentences properly describes the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification?
Definition
Biomagnification occurs because of bioaccumulation.
Term
Which of the following groups of people is most likely to have an increased exposure to toxic chemicals because of their job responsibilities?
Definition
Industrial workers
Term
The selective absorption and storage of a great variety of molecules inside cells and tissues at levels that are higher than in the environment is called ______.
Definition
bioaccumulation
Term
Persistence of chemicals can be a concern for health because such ______.
Definition
stable chemicals are resistant to degradation and can cause problems long after application and far from the sites where they were originally used
Term
When the toxic burden of organisms at a lower trophic level is accumulated and concentrated by a predator in a higher trophic level it is called _____.
Definition
biomagnification
Term
What persistent pollutant formerly was used in paint and gasoline and is linked to numerous health concerns such as cancer, reproductive problems, mental issues, behavior problems, and deformities?
Definition
lead
Term
DDT is a well-known case of biomagnification in the environment. Rank the stages in biomagnification of DDT, putting the earliest stage on top.
Definition
DDT -> zoo -> small -> large -> ospreys
Term
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a concern because being ______.
Definition
stable, they do not degrade easily and have become extremely widespread in the environment
Term
As shown in the figure, every organism in the Lake Michigan food chain has some DDT in their body tissues at concentrations higher than in the environment due to _____, whereas the reason that gulls, who are tertiary consumers, have about 240 times the concentration of compounds as compared to the small insects sharing the same environment is due to _____.
Definition
bioaccumulation; biomagnification
Term
In environmental toxicity studies, when an interaction between two substances results in one of them exacerbating the effects of another by 20-fold it is called a(n) ______ interaction.
Definition
synergistic
Term
A metal such as lead that is stable, resistant to degradation, and can impair children's health long after exposure and far from where it might have first been used is of concern because of its _______.
Definition
persistence
Term
True or false: Our bodies often reduce the effects of toxic substances by eliminating them through our breath, sweat, and urine.
Definition
T
Term
Lead was banned from gasoline and paint in the 1970s and health problems associated with its exposure have dropped significantly since then. However, a huge health scare in Flint, Michigan, occurred in 2016 when children were exposed to lead through ______.
Definition
contaminated drinking water
Term
POPs, or _____, are dangerous because they don't degrade quickly and cells readily take them up.
Definition
persistent

organic

pollutants
Term
Nearly all substances are toxic depending on the amount, delivery rate, and method. This idea is summarized in the statement "the _____ makes the poison."
Definition
dose
Term
The dose-response curve showing LD50, as provided here, describes which of the following ideas?
Definition
Members of a population vary in sensitivity to a toxin. AND LD50 is the dose of the toxin that is lethal to half the population. AND Most organisms tolerate some exposure to a toxin but ultimately the dose gets large enough to kill them.
Term
True or false: All species have approximately the same reaction to a specific compound.
Definition
F
Term
Match the mechanism of eliminating toxins to the body part that is responsible for the action.
Definition
Detoxification (liver); Exhaling excess carbon dioxide (lungs); Excreting water-soluble salts and other substances (kidneys)
Term
Which of the following statements about chronic and acute exposure and effects are correct?
Definition
Chronic exposure involves continuous or repeated contact with a toxic substance over a long period of time (months or years). AND Acute exposure involves a single contact with a toxic chemical. It may last a few seconds or a few hours.
Term
What does the saying "the dose makes the poison" mean?
Definition
Most substances are toxic at some level of exposure depending on the substance and the nature of the exposure.
Term
Interpret this graph by matching each label to the correct line in the graph.
Definition
Dose (amount of exposure) -- x;
Response -- Y;
Response curve representing a constant rate of response with increasing doses -- b;
Response curve representing no response for low doses -- c.
Term
The term LD50 refers to the ______.
Definition
lethal dose of a chemical for half of the population
Term
Differences in physiology, metabolism, and body size result in species reacting ______ to a specific compound, which makes human risk difficult to estimate.
Definition
very differently
Term
Risk is defined as the ______.
Definition
possibility of suffering harm or loss resulting from a given action
Term
Match the examples to chronic or acute effects and exposures.
Definition
Exposure to radiation during an x-ray for a broken foot matches Acute exposure;
Developing radiation sickness after exposure to radiation matches Acute effect;
Exposure to background radiation, like from radon gas matches Chronic exposure;
Developing lung cancer after exposure to radiation matches Chronic effect.
Term
In 1973, the FDA required that cancer-causing compounds must not be present in meat at concentrations that would cause a cancer risk greater than 1 in a million lifetimes. This decision of the FDA was based on ______.
Definition
risk assessment
Term
In the graph shown, match each dose-response curve with what it represents about the possible response at low doses of exposure to a toxin.
Definition
a -- Some of the population responds, even at zero dose of the toxin, suggesting that some other factor in the environment also causes this response; b -- Shows a linear relationship from zero exposure to the highest dose suggesting that exposure to such toxic agents, no matter how small, carries some risks; c -- Dose must be above a threshold level before anyone in the population shows a response which suggests the presence of some defense mechanism against the harmful effects of the toxin.
Term
The odds of being involved in a car accident are about 1 in 100 while the odds of being involved in an airplane accident are about 1 in 5,000. Which of the following statements explains why, despite these probability calculations, people perceive driving as less risky and are more accepting of the associated risks?
Definition
People tolerate familiar risks, despite the high probability of harm, because they often downplay the risk associated with familiar activities. AND People tolerate high risks in activities of their choosing, as they often have an exaggerated view of their abilities to control fate.
Term
Adopting the precautionary principle in regulating environmental toxins _____.
Definition
requires manufacturers to show that a substance is not dangerous before it is introduced into the marketplace AND suggests a "better safe than sorry" approach of social responsibility to protect the public from harm in the face of scientific uncertainty
Term
The possibility of suffering harm or loss resulting from a given action is referred to as ____.
Definition
risk
Term
Risk assessment is the ______.
Definition
process of estimating the threat a particular hazard poses to human health
Term
Contrary to the risk probabilities, we are often willing to accept far greater risk than the general threshold ______.
Definition
for activities we enjoy or find profitable AND when risks are known and we feel in control of the outcome
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