Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home

Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e

William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Environmental Health and Toxicology

Essay Quiz


1		Explain the difference between chronic and acute effects.



2		Make a list of factors that lead people to underestimate risk and overestimate risk.



3		Describe some characteristics of each of the following that influence toxicity: (a) organisms, (b) exposure.



4		Explain how bioaccumulation and biomagnification relate to toxicity potential.



5		Malaria, caused by a protozoan transmitted to humans via mosquitoes, is reported to be a rapidly growing problem, due to the appearance of pesticide-resistant mosquito populations. Apply a concept you learned earlier to explain how these insects came to be resistant to chemicals that were formerly lethal.



6		Some years ago, the water supply of a community was discovered to be contaminated with pollutants from a defunct chemical company. Although the contamination was of concern to health officials, it was not an acute situation. Regardless, many residents deeply feared for their safety and began buying bottled water. A state health department epidemiologist tells of stopping by the home of one resident to attempt to calm her fears, showing up as the woman was grilling steaks for supper on an outdoor charcoal grill. a. What would you have said to the woman had you been the epidemiologist, knowing that the charcoaled steak she planned to eat that evening presented a much higher cancer risk than if she had drunk several liters of the contaminated city water every day for a year? b. The question of how to minimize the risk of death or disease from environmental causes is readily amenable to the critical thinking process. Do you think a public education program designed around factual material would change how people perceive risk, or are our predispositions too deeply rooted in human nature to be changed? Cite evidence supporting your position.



7		What is your response to the skeptic who says, “The government should get out of the business of limiting the risk to which people are exposed. People ought to be able to decide that for themselves.”



8		What is your response to a second person who says, “Given the serious risks that some chemicals pose for humans, no new chemical should be approved for release that could involve human exposure until its toxicity has been analyzed and safe levels established.”



9		How restrictive should we be in allowing chemicals to be added to food? How strict should we make our water quality criteria? Regardless of the issue, some people argue for the most stringent standard while others argue as vehemently for the opposite. What do you feel are the premises or conceptual frameworks from which each of these two sides comes?



10		Visit the Current Global Environmental Issues map on this Web site. Under Conservation, select the piece Drug resistant sleeping sickness appears in Ethiopia. The appearance of drug resistance reported here is a serious setback to efforts to control a serious pest. How did the trypanosome become drug resistant?

2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.