Environmental Science Chapter 14 Quiz

Environmental Science - Chapter 14 Summary

• Hurricane Harvey highlighted vulnerabilities of areas handling hazardous materials, demonstrating the dangers of residual pollutants leaching into the environment via stormwater.

Environmental Health

• Environmental health analyzes physical, social, cultural, and technological factors influencing health.
• Key terms:
  • Morbidity: Illness
  • Mortality: Death
  • Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs): Measures disease burden

Global Disease Burden Shifts

• Chronic diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease) are major global concerns.
• Infectious diseases (e.g., malaria, diarrhea) remain significant in developing nations.

Environmental Health Perspective

• Transmission pathways include waterborne, airborne, foodborne, and vector-borne diseases.
• Risk factors include poor sanitation, climate change, pollution, urbanization.
• Prevention methods include improved hygiene, clean water, vaccination, and vector control.

Toxicology

• Toxicology studies the harmful effects of chemicals, radiation, and diet on organisms.
• Harmful agents include:
  • Neurotoxins: Damage nerve cells
  • Mutagens: Alter DNA
  • Teratogens: Affect embryonic development
  • Carcinogens: Cause cancer
  • Endocrine disruptors: Interfere with hormonal functions, affecting reproduction and development
• Key concepts:
  • Bioaccumulation: Toxins build up in an organism
  • Biomagnification: Toxins concentrate up the food chain
  • Persistence: Some chemicals (e.g., heavy metals) remain in ecosystems for decades
• Solubility:
  • Water-soluble toxins spread quickly
  • Fat-soluble toxins require carriers but persist longer
• Exposure routes: Air, water, food, and skin contact
• Factors affecting toxicity: Chemical stability, dose, exposure duration, and organismal factors (age, health, genetic predisposition)

Risk Assessment and Perception

• Principle: "The dose makes the poison"
• Testing: Toxic effects often tested on laboratory animals
• Key metrics: LD50 (lethal dose to 50% of a test population)
• Challenges: Public perceptions of risk can be irrational; policy decisions need to balance scientific data with socioeconomic factors.

True or False Concepts

• Environmental health encompasses biological, chemical, and physical factors affecting human health.
• Communicable diseases are caused by pathogens.
• Antibiotic resistance evolves through natural selection.
• Zoonotic diseases like Ebola can link to deforestation and environmental disruptions.
• Toxins accumulate in organisms (bioaccumulation) and increase in concentration up the food chain (biomagnification).

Matching Key Terms

• Pathogen: Disease-causing agent
• Bioaccumulation: Toxins accumulating in an organism
• Biomagnification: Toxin concentration increasing up the food chain
• Neurotoxin: Nervous system damage (e.g., mercury)
• Teratogen: Developmental defects (e.g., alcohol)
• Carcinogen: Cancer-causing substance (e.g., tobacco smoke)
• Endocrine Disruptor: Interferes with hormonal systems (e.g., BPA)
• DALY: Disability-Adjusted Life Year
• Chronic Effect: Long-term impact
• Synergism: Harmful effects amplified

Multiple Choice Focus Areas

• Communicable diseases spread through vectors or contaminated resources
• Urbanization and poor sanitation promote diseases spread
• Clean drinking water reduces waterborne diseases (e.g., cholera)

Toxins

• Persistence: Long-lasting toxins (e.g., POPs)
• Fat-Soluble Toxins: Stored in fatty tissues; bioaccumulate
• Examples:
  • Neurotoxin: Mercury
  • Carcinogen: Tobacco smoke
  • Endocrine disruptor: Mimics hormones (e.g., BPA)

Ecosystem Effects

• Biomagnification: Most significant in aquatic ecosystems
• Teratogens: Primarily affect embryos
• Environmental Risks:
  • Sick building syndrome: Indoor pollutants (e.g., formaldehyde)
  • Antibiotic resistance: Mutations and overuse
  • Synergistic interactions: Chemicals increase toxicity

Fill in the Blanks

• Persistence examples: Toxins like POPs
• Bioaccumulation: Storage of toxins within an organism
• Biomagnification: Increasing toxin concentration up the food chain
• Endocrine disruptors: Affect hormonal systems (reproduction/development)
• Neurotoxins: Damage the nervous system
• Pathogens: Microorganisms causing diseases
• Carcinogens: Substances causing cancer (e.g., asbestos, tobacco smoke)

Chronic Exposure

• Long-term effects of prolonged toxin contact
• Synergism: Interaction amplifying toxin effects
• DALY: Metric for disease burden

Key Takeaways

• Understanding disease links to environmental factors
• Recognizing harmful agents and their impacts
• Learning how toxins move and persist
• Evaluating how risk perception affects health policies