Environmental Toxicants - Answers -- chemical released into the environment that can
produce adverse health effects on living organisms
Acute toxicity - Answers -- refers to a single exposure to a chemical, and often (but not
necessarily) a large dose of the chemical; e.g. a chemical spill
- e.g. acute toxicity of Aflatoxin B (common food contaminant in southeast asia and
central africa) can result in liver necrosis, liver failure, or death
Chronic toxicity - Answers -- generally repeated exposure to small doses of a chemical
over a large period of time; e.g. contaminated food
- e.g. chronic toxicity of Aflatoxin B can cause liver cancer
Air pollution - Answers -- first air pollution law was established in 1273 by Edward I,
King of England (was illegal to burn coal while parliament was in session)
- first automobiles were manufactured in the 1900s
- "killer smog" in London caused approximately 4000 deaths in 1952; this lead to the
clean air act
- clean air act was introduced in 1956 to reduce pollution (included shifting home heat
sources to cleaner coals, electricity and gas, rather than fireplace smoke)
Categories of major air pollutants - Answers -- gaseous
- particulate matter
Gaseous air pollutants - Answers -- carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
- nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides
- hydrogen sulfide
- ozone
Particulate matter - Answers -- mixture of tiny particles composed of non-gaseous
pollutants (e.g. biological materials)
- can be solid or liquid droplets
natural sources of air pollution - Answers -- volcanoes
- forest and prairie fires
- dust storms
anthropogenic air pollution - Answers -- man-made
1) heating and power:
, - combustion of fossil fuels releases CO2, CO, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides
- coal is the largest contributor to human increases in carbon dioxide
2) automobile exhaust:
- smoke, lead particles, CO and nitrogen oxides
- in the late 20th century, government regulations were put into place for the use of low-
lead or unleaded gas
3) industrial processes:
- wide variety of pollutants; depends on manufacturing process
- includes sulfuric acid, acetic acid, solvents (ethanol), chlorine gas, ammonia gas, and
metals
human health and air pollutants - Answers -- chemical irritation of the respiratory tract
- more susceptible: children, elderly, and people with cardiorespiratory diseases such as
asthma
- health problems are usually due to the combined actions of particulates and sulfur
oxides
tobacco smoke - Answers -- environmental or second-hand smoke is the combination of
mainstream smoke (exhaled) and side stream smoke (from the end of a burning
cigarette)
- stated in 2002 that exposure causes lung cancer and the same health risks as directly
smoking
- numerous bylaws about smoking in public
pesticides - Answers -- used to intentionally kill organisms
1) insecticides
2) herbicides
insecticides - Answers -- kill insects or make insects unable to reproduce or develop
normally
1) organochlorine insecticides
2) organophsorphorous insecticides
organochlorine insecticides - Answers -- work by increasing the sensitivity of neurons,
resulting in increased CNS stimulation, which manifests as tremors and convulsions
- e.g. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) - Answers -- introduced in 1945 to control
malaria-containing mosquitos
- use stopped in the 1970s because:
- insects were developing resistance
- there was a decrease in bird and fish populations
- soil and water concentrations of DDT increased
- levels of DDT in food increased
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