Hazardous Materials and Toxicology Flashcards

What health effects are associated with chronic exposure to lead, particularly in children?

Answer: Neurodevelopmental impairment, reduced IQ, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities

Chronic lead exposure in children causes irreversible neurodevelopmental damage including reduced IQ, impaired cognitive function, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities, with no safe level of exposure identified.

What is the primary health concern from exposure to asbestos?

Answer: Mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis from inhalation of fibers

Inhalation of asbestos fibers causes mesothelioma (cancer of the pleural lining), lung cancer, and asbestosis (progressive lung scarring), often with a latency period of decades between exposure and disease.

What is meant by the term 'permissible exposure limit (PEL)' in occupational health?

Answer: The maximum airborne concentration of a hazardous substance to which workers may be exposed over an 8-hour workday

OSHA's PELs are legally enforceable limits on the airborne concentration of hazardous substances in the workplace, typically expressed as time-weighted averages over an 8-hour workday or 40-hour workweek.

What is 'biomagnification' as distinguished from bioaccumulation?

Answer: The progressive increase in toxin concentration at successively higher levels of a food chain

Biomagnification describes the progressive increase in concentration of a persistent substance at each successive trophic level of a food chain, so top predators accumulate the highest concentrations.

What hazard communication information must be present on Safety Data Sheets (SDS) under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard?

Answer: 16 standardized sections including chemical identity, health hazards, physical hazards, exposure limits, and emergency response information

OSHA's updated Hazard Communication Standard (GHS-aligned) requires 16 standardized SDS sections covering chemical identification, hazard identification, composition, first aid, fire fighting, handling, exposure controls, health effects, and regulatory information.

What is the primary health effect of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning?

Answer: Oxygen deprivation (tissue hypoxia) caused by CO binding to hemoglobin with greater affinity than oxygen

Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin approximately 250 times more strongly than oxygen, forming carboxyhemoglobin that cannot carry oxygen, causing tissue hypoxia, which can result in neurological damage or death.