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Section 1: Multiple-Choice Questions

Choose the best answer for questions 1–11.

Question 1

1. More people die from infectious diseases than from noninfectious diseases.

2. More people die from accidents than from any other cause.

3. More people die from chemical risks than from physical or biological risks.

4. More people die from cancer than from any other cause.

5. More people die from heart disease than from any other cause.

Question 2

1. A major risk in high-income countries is a lack of food.

2. A major risk in high-income countries is poor sanitation.

3. A major risk in low-income countries is obesity.

4. A major risk in low-income countries is a lack of food.

5. The major risks in high-and low-income countries are similar.

Question 3

1. Plague is a disease that is carried by fleas attached to rodents.

2. Malaria is a disease that is carried by rodents.

3. Tuberculosis is a disease that is transmitted through the air.

4. The pathogen that causes tuberculosis can become drug-resistant.

5. Historically important infectious diseases still pose a health risk.

Question 4

1. HIV is a virus that most likely came from chimps.

2. Ebola hemorrhagic fever causes a high rate of death.

3. Mad cow disease is spread when cows are fed grain in large feedlots.

4. Bird flu is a virus that jumps from birds to people.

5. West Nile virus is a virus that comes from birds.

Question 5

1. AIDS

2. Pneumonia

3. Tetanus

4. Malaria

5. Leukemia

Question 6

1. Neurotoxins impair the nervous system.

2. Carcinogens cause birth defects.

3. Teratogens cause cancer.

4. Allergens mimic naturally occurring hormones.

5. Endocrine disruptors cause allergic reactions.

Question 7

1. Dose-response studies test chemicals across a range of concentrations.

2. Dose-response studies only test for lethal effects.

3. Dose-response studies can last for days or months.

4. LD50 values are divided by 10 to determine safe concentrations for wildlife.

5. LD50 values are divided by 1,000 to determine safe concentrations for humans.

Question 8

1. Retrospective studies are not conducted on humans.

2. Prospective studies are only conducted on wild animals.

3. Retrospective studies monitor health effects from future chemical exposures.

4. Prospective studies monitor health effects from future chemical exposures.

5. Prospective studies monitor health effects from past chemical exposures.

Question 9

1. the persistence of the chemical.

2. the solubility of the chemical.

3. the ability of the chemical to bioaccumulate.

4. the ability of the chemical to biomagnify.

5. the LD50 value of the chemical.

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Question 10

1. Risk assessment quantifies the potential harm that a chemical poses.

2. Risk assessment does not include social, political, and economic considerations.

3. Risk acceptance determines the amount of tolerated risk.

4. Risk management includes social, political, and economic considerations.

5. Risk management does not consider the potential harm that a chemical poses.

Question 11

1. The innocent-until-proven-guilty principle assumes chemicals are safe unless harm can be demonstrated.

2. The precautionary principle is used in the United States.

3. The precautionary principle assumes chemicals are harmful unless safety can be demonstrated.

4. The innocent-until-proven-guilty principle allows rapid approval of chemicals by regulatory agencies but increases the risk that harmful chemicals will be approved.

5. The innocent-until-proven-guilty principle allows rapid approval of chemicals by regulatory agencies but increases the risk that harmful chemicals will be approved.

6. The precautionary principle can cause delays in the use of beneficial chemicals but reduces the risk of harmful chemicals being approved.
   

Question 1

1. How might you determine the proper concentration needed to kill mosquitoes? (2 points)

2. How might you determine whether the concentration used to kill mosquitoes might also kill other species of insects? (2 points)

3. If you knew the LD50 value of the insecticide for humans, what concentration would be considered the safe upper limit for humans? (2 points)

4. Given the information you have accumulated as part of your risk assessment, describe the factors that might be important in the risk management of spraying insecticides to kill the mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus. (4 points)

Question 2

1. What strategies might you use to reduce the health risks of low-income countries? (3 points)

2. What strategies might you use to reduce the health risks of high-income countries? (3 points)

3. Suppose a low-income country discovers oil and is projected to become a high-income country within a decade. What changes in the country’s health care system might you suggest? (4 points)