ECU EHST 2110 EXAM 3 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Where in a home are radon concentrations likely to be highest? - Answer- Confined
spaces/ basements
What is the most significant indoor source of particulate pollution? - Answer-
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
What is the most frequent cause of sick building syndrome? - Answer- Poor ventilation
What is the largest source of air pollution in industrialized countries? - Answer-
Automobile emissions
What does NAAQS stand for? - Answer- National Ambient Air Quality Standards
The __________ _________ _______ _____________________ of 1970 was a
landmark piece of legislation that provided the first comprehensive program for
attacking air pollution - Answer- Clean Air Act Amendment
How do automobile inspection and maintenance programs help protect air quality? -
Answer- Detect vehicle emission control
List 4 HAPs - Answer- Asbestos, Arsenic, Mercury, and Radon
List 3 examples of Natural Sources of air pollution - Answer- Fire, dust, storm, volcanic
eruptions
An ecosystems vulnerability to acid rain is determined primarily by the composition of
the soil and bedrock, an attribute referred to as the _____________ ___________ -
Answer- Buffering capacity
Toxic - Answer- a chemical that provokes an adverse systemic effect on living
organisms
Toxicants - Answer- can harm organs or biochemical processes away from place on
body where exposure occurred
Poison - Answer- chemical that can cause illness or death at a very low dose of
exposure
,How much poison exposure is lethal for an adult? child? - Answer- 3/4 of a tablespoon
for adults, 1/8 of a tablespoon for toddlers
Toxicology - Answer- the study of toxic substances
Dose-time relationship - Answer- amount of chemical and duration of exposure
Acute toxicity - Answer- one time exposure can cause harm; ex: kids eating rat poison
Chronic toxicity - Answer- repeated low-dose exposures to chemicals; ex:lead toxicity
Routes of exposure - Answer- oral, dermal, respiratory
Are different species affected differently by toxins? - Answer- yes, rats react differently
than humans
LD - Answer- the amount of a chemical required to kill 50% of a population of test
animals within 14 days
What is the Action Level for Radon Gas? - Answer- 4 pCi/L (point at which homeowners
are advised to take remedial action)
How is LD expressed? - Answer- as the number of milligrams of a chemical per
kilogram of body weight
Smaller LD50 numbers mean what? - Answer- more acutely toxic
Subchronic - Answer- Animals divided into three groups plus a control group. Each
group has same number, with equal number of males/females. Each group fed specified
level of toxicant. (One group fed sublethal dose, one group fed no-effect dose, one
group fed intermediate dose, one control group)
Subchronic tests - Answer- Tests normally run for 90 days, testing what level of
exposure has no effects, which organs are affected/damaged, and the dead animals are
autopsied
Chronic testing - Answer- Tests usually last the average lifespan of test animals
The greater the dose of the toxicant... - Answer- the greater the effect
Margin of safety - Answer- buffer zone between the highest level of exposure assumed
safe for humans
What is the arbitrary margin in the US? - Answer- 100 fold
, Humans are __________ more susceptible to toxic effects than lab animals - Answer-
10 times
Children are _________ more susceptible to toxic effects than humans - Answer- 10
times
Risk assessment - Answer- process of determining whether something is an actual
threat to human health, 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
NOELs - Answer- No Observed Effect Levels. relationship between levels of exposure
and observed human health effects
US EPA and OSHA - Answer- established in 1970s, began writing rules and regulating
environmental health and safety issues
What are some things that the EPA and OSHA control? - Answer- drinking water, food
additives, pesticide residue, air pollution
What does a health risk assessment include? - Answer- 1. Hazard Identification
2. Dose-response assessment
3. Exposure assessment
4. Risk Characterization
Hazard Identification - Answer- Does a particular substance or agent have an adverse
effect on human health? (animal testing to determine)
Dose-Response assessment - Answer- Lowest observable effect level (LOELs) and
NOAEL (adverse effect) and NOEL
Exposure assessment - Answer- determining the numbers and types of people (age,
sex, health) who might be exposed to the substance, duration, magnitude, and
geographic extent of exposure
Risk Characterization - Answer- combining information from 1-3 and production of a
comprehensive picture of types of adverse health effects likely to occur (frequency,
duration)
Acceptable daily intakes - Answer- allowable amounts that typically do not cause
adverse effects
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - Answer- Synthetic organic chemicals used in
industrial settings, found in animal tissues throughout the world.
Most widespread chemical contaminant
AND ANSWERS
Where in a home are radon concentrations likely to be highest? - Answer- Confined
spaces/ basements
What is the most significant indoor source of particulate pollution? - Answer-
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
What is the most frequent cause of sick building syndrome? - Answer- Poor ventilation
What is the largest source of air pollution in industrialized countries? - Answer-
Automobile emissions
What does NAAQS stand for? - Answer- National Ambient Air Quality Standards
The __________ _________ _______ _____________________ of 1970 was a
landmark piece of legislation that provided the first comprehensive program for
attacking air pollution - Answer- Clean Air Act Amendment
How do automobile inspection and maintenance programs help protect air quality? -
Answer- Detect vehicle emission control
List 4 HAPs - Answer- Asbestos, Arsenic, Mercury, and Radon
List 3 examples of Natural Sources of air pollution - Answer- Fire, dust, storm, volcanic
eruptions
An ecosystems vulnerability to acid rain is determined primarily by the composition of
the soil and bedrock, an attribute referred to as the _____________ ___________ -
Answer- Buffering capacity
Toxic - Answer- a chemical that provokes an adverse systemic effect on living
organisms
Toxicants - Answer- can harm organs or biochemical processes away from place on
body where exposure occurred
Poison - Answer- chemical that can cause illness or death at a very low dose of
exposure
,How much poison exposure is lethal for an adult? child? - Answer- 3/4 of a tablespoon
for adults, 1/8 of a tablespoon for toddlers
Toxicology - Answer- the study of toxic substances
Dose-time relationship - Answer- amount of chemical and duration of exposure
Acute toxicity - Answer- one time exposure can cause harm; ex: kids eating rat poison
Chronic toxicity - Answer- repeated low-dose exposures to chemicals; ex:lead toxicity
Routes of exposure - Answer- oral, dermal, respiratory
Are different species affected differently by toxins? - Answer- yes, rats react differently
than humans
LD - Answer- the amount of a chemical required to kill 50% of a population of test
animals within 14 days
What is the Action Level for Radon Gas? - Answer- 4 pCi/L (point at which homeowners
are advised to take remedial action)
How is LD expressed? - Answer- as the number of milligrams of a chemical per
kilogram of body weight
Smaller LD50 numbers mean what? - Answer- more acutely toxic
Subchronic - Answer- Animals divided into three groups plus a control group. Each
group has same number, with equal number of males/females. Each group fed specified
level of toxicant. (One group fed sublethal dose, one group fed no-effect dose, one
group fed intermediate dose, one control group)
Subchronic tests - Answer- Tests normally run for 90 days, testing what level of
exposure has no effects, which organs are affected/damaged, and the dead animals are
autopsied
Chronic testing - Answer- Tests usually last the average lifespan of test animals
The greater the dose of the toxicant... - Answer- the greater the effect
Margin of safety - Answer- buffer zone between the highest level of exposure assumed
safe for humans
What is the arbitrary margin in the US? - Answer- 100 fold
, Humans are __________ more susceptible to toxic effects than lab animals - Answer-
10 times
Children are _________ more susceptible to toxic effects than humans - Answer- 10
times
Risk assessment - Answer- process of determining whether something is an actual
threat to human health, 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
NOELs - Answer- No Observed Effect Levels. relationship between levels of exposure
and observed human health effects
US EPA and OSHA - Answer- established in 1970s, began writing rules and regulating
environmental health and safety issues
What are some things that the EPA and OSHA control? - Answer- drinking water, food
additives, pesticide residue, air pollution
What does a health risk assessment include? - Answer- 1. Hazard Identification
2. Dose-response assessment
3. Exposure assessment
4. Risk Characterization
Hazard Identification - Answer- Does a particular substance or agent have an adverse
effect on human health? (animal testing to determine)
Dose-Response assessment - Answer- Lowest observable effect level (LOELs) and
NOAEL (adverse effect) and NOEL
Exposure assessment - Answer- determining the numbers and types of people (age,
sex, health) who might be exposed to the substance, duration, magnitude, and
geographic extent of exposure
Risk Characterization - Answer- combining information from 1-3 and production of a
comprehensive picture of types of adverse health effects likely to occur (frequency,
duration)
Acceptable daily intakes - Answer- allowable amounts that typically do not cause
adverse effects
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - Answer- Synthetic organic chemicals used in
industrial settings, found in animal tissues throughout the world.
Most widespread chemical contaminant
