Question 1

When the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA)several additional laws were passed to fix problems that arose as a result of enforcing CERCLA.Which of the following statements is correct?

Accepted Answer

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) introduced reforms to help innocent landowners and encourage the cleanup and reuse of brownfields. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (SBLRBRA) further provided liability protections and funding for brownfields revitalization, making all the statements correct.

Question 2

Which of the following common human activities results in the release of a hazardous waste into the environment?

Accepted Answer

Using a spray can of oil-based paint and then improperly disposing of it can release hazardous waste into the environment. The chemicals in oil-based paints can be harmful if not disposed of correctly, as indicated by disposal instructions on the can.

Question 3

All of the following are criteria used by the U.S.Department of Transportation to determine if it is a hazardous material EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

The U.S. Department of Transportation does not classify all liquid materials as hazardous by default. The classification depends on specific properties such as flammability, toxicity, corrosiveness, etc., rather than the state of matter (solid, liquid, gas).

Question 4

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Accepted Answer

RCRA primarily requires industries to report the amount of hazardous waste they produce. It does not directly require industries to clean up existing hazardous waste sites (that's more under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, also known as Superfund). Additionally, RCRA does not cover all kinds of hazardous waste, as certain wastes are excluded from its regulations.

Question 5

Activities to limit the production of hazardous waste involve all of the activities EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Activities aimed at limiting the production of hazardous waste focus on reducing, reusing, recycling, or treating waste in a manner that minimizes its environmental impact. Selling waste oil for reuse (A), educating employees on proper handling (B), and using biological treatment methods (D) all contribute to this goal. In contrast, paying a company to haul waste to a landfill (C) does not limit the production of hazardous waste; it merely relocates the waste, potentially contributing to environmental harm.

Question 6

The two most common methods to dispose of hazardous waste are

Accepted Answer

The two most common methods to dispose of hazardous waste are burning in an incinerator and pumping them into deep wells. These methods are widely used for their effectiveness in reducing the volume of hazardous waste and isolating it from the environment.

Question 7

Which of the following federal laws deals with the clean-up of hazardous waste sites?

Accepted Answer

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, is specifically designed to address the clean-up of hazardous waste sites.

Question 8

Which of the following is involved in protecting the public from dangerous substances?

Accepted Answer

All of these activities are involved in protecting the public from dangerous substances. Determining the acute and chronic toxicity of substances, identifying toxic and hazardous substances, and setting exposure limits are all crucial steps in assessing risks and implementing safety measures to protect public health.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a persistent pollutant?

Accepted Answer

DDT is an example of a persistent pollutant because it remains in the environment for many years after its use and can accumulate in the food chain, despite eventually being destroyed by soil bacteria.

Question 10

All of the following are objectives of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA)EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

CERCLA, also known as Superfund, primarily focuses on the cleanup of existing hazardous waste sites and does not directly regulate the documentation of the production, transport, and disposal of hazardous waste. This aspect is more directly addressed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Question 11

When a company needs to reduce its production of hazardous waste,the pollution-prevention hierarchy strategy would encourage which of the following to be done FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The pollution-prevention hierarchy prioritizes reducing the amount of waste produced at the source (manufacturing site) before considering other waste management strategies. This approach aims to minimize the generation of hazardous waste, thereby reducing the need for its treatment, reuse, or disposal.

Question 12

Acute toxicity differs from chronic toxicity in which of the following ways?

Accepted Answer

Acute toxicity refers to the adverse effects that occur following a single exposure or multiple exposures in a short period of time, typically less than 24 hours. Chronic toxicity, on the other hand, results from repeated or continuous exposure over a longer period, often leading to long-term health effects. This distinction highlights the difference in exposure duration required to cause adverse effects.

Question 13

The Basel Convention is an international agreement that

Accepted Answer

The Basel Convention is an international treaty designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. It includes provisions that cover all the statements given: prohibiting exports of hazardous waste to Antarctica, requiring consent from a country before exporting hazardous waste to it, and addressing the issue of electronic waste exports without consent.

Question 14

The Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA)is also known as

Accepted Answer

CERCLA is commonly referred to as "superfund legislation" because it established a fund to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment.

Question 15

Which of the following terms describes the tendency of a substance to explode?

Accepted Answer

Reactivity is the correct term because it describes how a substance can undergo a chemical change that may result in explosions.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about hazardous materials and toxic materials is correct?

Accepted Answer

Toxic materials are a subset of hazardous materials, meaning all toxic materials are considered hazardous due to their potential to cause harm to health. However, not all hazardous materials are toxic, as the category of hazardous materials also includes materials that are flammable, corrosive, reactive, or explosive, which may not necessarily be toxic.

Question 17

We deal with toxic substances every day.All of the following are methods used to limit risk from exposure to toxic substances EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Prohibiting the use of toxic substances by the public is not a method used to limit risk from exposure; instead, regulations typically involve controlling exposure levels, testing for effects, and establishing safe thresholds, rather than outright bans for all public use.

Question 18

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Accepted Answer

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) encompasses all these aspects: it regulates the production, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste, including setting limits on the amount of hazardous waste a company can produce, requiring documentation for hazardous waste shipments, and has significantly reduced the amount of hazardous waste produced.

Question 19

The Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA)was enacted in 1980.All of the following actions are a result of the implementation of the (CERCLA)EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

CERCLA, also known as Superfund, indeed led to the creation of a National Priorities List (A), resulted in significant legal expenses due to lawsuits (B), and established the principle of joint and several liability, where any one party could be held responsible for the entire cleanup cost if other responsible parties could not pay (C). However, by 2016, not nearly all sites on the National Priorities List had been cleaned up (D), as the cleanup process is lengthy and complex, and many sites remain in various stages of assessment, cleanup, and monitoring.

Question 20

Which industry releases the most toxic substances into the environment?

Accepted Answer

Metal mining is known for releasing the most toxic substances into the environment due to the processes involved in extracting metals from ores, which often require the use of toxic chemicals and result in the release of heavy metals and other pollutants.

Quiz 19: Environmental Regulations: Hazardous Substances and Wastes

When the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA) several additional laws were passed to fix problems that arose as a result of enforcing CERCLA.Which of the following statements is correct?

Which of the following common human activities results in the release of a hazardous waste into the environment?

All of the following are criteria used by the U.S.Department of Transportation to determine if it is a hazardous material EXCEPT

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Activities to limit the production of hazardous waste involve all of the activities EXCEPT:

The two most common methods to dispose of hazardous waste are

Which of the following federal laws deals with the clean-up of hazardous waste sites?

Which of the following is involved in protecting the public from dangerous substances?

Which of the following is an example of a persistent pollutant?

All of the following are objectives of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA) EXCEPT

When a company needs to reduce its production of hazardous waste,the pollution-prevention hierarchy strategy would encourage which of the following to be done FIRST?

Acute toxicity differs from chronic toxicity in which of the following ways?

The Basel Convention is an international agreement that

The Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA) is also known as

Which of the following terms describes the tendency of a substance to explode?

Which of the following statements about hazardous materials and toxic materials is correct?

We deal with toxic substances every day.All of the following are methods used to limit risk from exposure to toxic substances EXCEPT

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

The Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted in 1980.All of the following actions are a result of the implementation of the (CERCLA) EXCEPT

Which industry releases the most toxic substances into the environment?