BHS Environmental Health 2

Question 1

Radon gas exposure is primarily associated with increased risk of which disease?

Accepted Answer

Lung cancer

Answer

Radon-222, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States after cigarette smoking.

Question 2

Minamata disease, first identified in Japan in the 1950s, was caused by environmental contamination with which substance?

Accepted Answer

Methylmercury

Answer

Minamata disease was caused by methylmercury discharged into Minamata Bay by a chemical factory, which bioaccumulated in fish and caused severe neurological damage in people who consumed them.

Question 3

'Sick building syndrome' (SBS) is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Acute nonspecific health effects in building occupants that improve upon leaving the building, with no specific illness identified

Answer

Sick building syndrome refers to acute health effects (headaches, eye irritation, fatigue) linked to time spent in a building, with no specific illness identified, often associated with poor indoor air quality.

Question 4

Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight is most strongly associated with which environmental health outcome?

Accepted Answer

Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers

Answer

UV radiation, particularly UVB and UVA, causes DNA damage in skin cells leading to melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, making them the most preventable environmentally-caused cancers.

Question 5

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are primarily associated with which health effects?

Accepted Answer

Reproductive toxicity, developmental effects, and carcinogenicity

Answer

PCBs are classified as probable human carcinogens and are associated with endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, developmental neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity due to their persistence and bioaccumulation.

BHS - Bachelor of Health Science Practice Test

BHS - Bachelor of Health Science Practice Test

BHS Environmental Health 2