ENVSE 450 Exam 1

Sometimes referred to as the "mother of industrial hygiene"

Alice Hamilton

The principle determinants of health world wide (often referred to as "The Three P's") are:

Pollution, Population, and Poverty

The US fertility rate is at or below the level required to maintain the current population(T/F)

True

Epidemiology is primarily an observational science that takes advantage of naturally occurring situations in order to study the occurrence of disease (T/F)

True

This category of epidemiological studies focuses on the occurrence of disease in populations according to classification by person (demographic traits), place, and time variables

Descriptive

Which of the following is not one of the typical limitations of epidemiological studies ?

Biological gradient

Toxicology is also known as the basic science of poisons (T/F)

True

How would the eye irritation that typically results from exposure to ammonia during window cleaning be best characterized ?

Acute and reversible

The "distance" between the effective dose (ED) curve and the toxic dose (TD) curve for a substance can best be characterized by which of the following metrics?

Margin of Safety

What law provides "cradle to grave" regulation of hazardous waste ?

RCRA

Which of the following best demonstrates application of the polluter pays principle ?

CERCLA

Which of the following agencies was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHAct)?

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

All of the following are examples of risk management approaches except:

Dose-Response Assessment

What regulation gives the EPA authority to license and regulate pesticides?

FIFRA

In low-dose extrapolation for carcinogens, what is the relevant quantity of interest, or metric, on the y-axis?

Acceptable level of risk

Who is credited with the following: "All substances are poisons; there is none that is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy."?

Paracelsus

Randomized controlled trials are the most powerful type of design for establishing cause-effect relationships (T/F)

True

A comprehensive, nationwide health promotion and disease prevention agenda - designed to serve as a roadmap for improving the health of all people in the United States

Healthy People 2000

The shift in pattern of morbidity and mortality from causes related primarily to infectious and communicable diseases to causes associated with chronic diseases is known as?

Epidemiological Transition

Environmental health problems are a relatively recent phenomenon, first appearing not long after the industrial revolution in the late 1800's. (T/F)

False

"Carrying capacity" is ?

The population that an area will support without undergoing environmental deterioration

A randomized controlled trial is a form of observational study (T/F)

False

Which of the following types of epidemiological study design would be best suited for a rare illness?

Case control

What does it mean when it is stated that smoking and exposure to asbestos have a synergistic effect?

The combination of the two exposures is greater than the sum of their individual effects

Central nervous system (CNS) depression that results from ingestion of ethanol is a local effect (T/F)

False

Which of the following principles is defined by the idea that a strong, just, and wealthy society can be consistent with a clean environment, healthy ecosystems, and a beautiful planet

Environmental Sustainability

Which of the following effects is not typically associated with rapid population growth

Sustainability

Which of the following would be considered a "vulnerable sup-group"? (choices: Pregnant women, Children, Elderly, Persons with disabilities, All of the above)

All of the above

This category of epidemiological study examines casual hypotheses regarding the association between exposures and health conditions

Analytic

Which important historical figure is known for his work in identifying the source of a cholera outbreak in London in the mid 1800's?

John Snow

Which of the following principles is defined by the idea that preventive, anticipatory measures should be taken when an activity raises a threat of harm to the environment, wildlife, or human health, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established

Precautionary Principle

This law was intended to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment.

NEPA

Which of the following is not one of the typical limitations of epidemiological studies ? (Choices are: Low incidence and prevalence, Temporality, Long latency periods, Difficulty in exposure assessment)

Temporality

Which of the following is not a measure of frequency ? (Choices: Prevalence, Incidence, Case fatality rate, Relative risk)

Relative risk