Deck 35: Wastewater Treatment, Water Purification, and Waterborne Microbial Diseases

Question 1

Most coliforms are members of which bacterial group?

A) the streptococcal group
B) the enterococcal group
C) the enteric group
D) the pseudomonad group

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Effluent water is wastewater

A) that is imported to the wastewater treatment facility for treatment.
B) discharged from the pharmaceutical, plastics, and petrochemical industries.
C) that has undergone anoxic secondary wastewater treatment.
D) discharged from the wastewater treatment facility.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The microorganism Cryptosporidium parvum is a

A) bacterium.
B) fungus.
C) protozoan.
D) virus.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which statement BEST describes sewage and wastewater?

A) Wastewater and sewage are virtually synonymous.
B) Sewage is a subset of wastewater.
C) Wastewater is a subset of sewage.
D) Wastewater and sewage are both subsets of all liquid effluents from domestic and industrial sources.

Question 5

The causative agent of typhoid fever is

A) Shigella flexneri.
B) Escherichia coli.
C) Salmonella typhi.
D) Salmonella typhimurium.

Question 6

Microbes are involved in which step(s) of wastewater treatment?

A) secondary and tertiary
B) primary only
C) secondary only
D) primary and secondary

Question 7

Microbes are sometimes used in pretreatment processes to

A) introduce competitive microbes into effluent that is filled with pathogenic organisms.
B) convert toxic substances to less toxic forms.
C) degrade larger objects that cannot be removed from the system.
D) do all of the above.

Question 8

While the wastewater is in the activated sludge tank, much of the organic matter is

A) oxidized, adsorbed to the floc, and incorporated into microbial cells.
B) oxidized.
C) incorporated into microbial cells.
D) adsorbed to the floc.

Question 9

The treatment regimen for people with normal immunity recovering from cryptosporidiosis includes

A) high- powered antibiotics.
B) careful monitoring of fluid levels.
C) both A and B.
D) neither A nor B.

Question 10

Which treatment method(s) are used in primary wastewater treatment?

A) biological
B) physical separation
C) chemical
D) all of the above

Question 11

With increased levels of oxidizable materials, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) will

A) remain the same.
B) increase.
C) decrease.
D) increase or decrease depending on the nature of the materials involved.

Question 12

What activity is used to distinguish Escherichia coli from other coliforms?

A) fi- lactamase
B) fi- glucuronidase
C) fi- galactosidase
D) lactate dehydrogenase

Question 13

Worldwide, a common pathogenic protozoan transmitted to humans primarily by contaminated water, and occasionally by contaminated food, is

A) Acanthamoeba sp.
B) Cryptosporidium parvum.
C) Entamoeba histolytica.
D) Giardia intestinalis.

Question 14

Legionella pneumophila has an unusually high requirement for

A) iron.
B) oxygen.
C) salt.
D) copper.

Question 15

Which statement explains the relationship between coagulation and flocculation?

A) Coagulation leads to flocculation.
B) Flocculation occurs after filtration.
C) Flocculation leads to coagulation.
D) Coagulation occurs after filtration.

Question 16

Coliforms in a water sample indicate contamination.

A) industrial or chemical
B) fecal
C) arthropod
D) all of the above

Question 17

In the United States, individuals become infected with Vibrio cholerae most commonly by

A) drinking contaminated water.
B) consuming contaminated shellfish.
C) eating contaminated vegetables.
D) person- to- person contact.

Question 18

The organism causing giardiasis is a

A) retrovirus.
B) type of yeast.
C) flagellated protozoan.
D) gram- negative spirochete.

Question 19

Aerobic secondary treatment is usually best for wastewater.

A) chemical
B) residential
C) industrial
D) agricultural

Question 20

The most important potential common source of infectious disease is

A) arthropod reservoirs found near surface water supplies.
B) human and animal wastes.
C) water.
D) industrial waste.

Question 21

Which U.S. government agency monitors water utility reports?

A) Environmental Protection Agency
B) Food and Drug Administration
C) Natural Resources Conservancy Commission
D) Water Safety Board

Question 22

The purpose of amending anionic polymers in sedimentation basins is to

A) aid in the formation of sediment, soil, sand, mineral particles, and other large particles.
B) catalyze reactions between chemical wastes and oxidizing microbes.
C) disperse digestive microbes throughout the basin.
D) do all of the above.

Question 23

An untreated Entamoeba histolytica infection can invade (the)

A) lungs.
B) liver.
C) brain.
D) all of the above.

Question 24

Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts are highly resistant to

A) chlorine.
B) desiccation.
C) filtration.
D) heat.

Question 25

Vibrio cholerae primarily infects the

A) large intestine.
B) stomach.
C) rectum.
D) small intestine.

Question 26

What is the medium used in the membrane filter (MF) procedure to differentiate fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli?

A) mannitol salt agar
B) blood agar
C) triple sugar iron agar
D) eosin- methylene blue agar

Question 27

During secondary aerobic wastewater treatment, some of the activated sludge goes while the rest goes .

A) back to the aerator / to the anoxic sludge digestor
B) to the anoxic digestor / back to the primary system
C) back to the primary system / to the aerator
D) back to the primary system / to the tertiary digestor

Question 28

Which product of anoxic sewage treatment can be used to heat and power an entire water treatment facility?

A) H2
B) CH4
C) O2
D) CO2

Question 29

The most common route of transmission of Salmonella typhi worldwide is through

A) insect vectors.
B) contaminated food.
C) direct contact.
D) contaminated water.

Question 30

To reduce further the possibility of biological contamination, most treatment plants treat the effluent with

A) fluorine.
B) ozone.
C) extreme heat.
D) chlorine.

Question 31

Chlorine in water is extremely volatile, so is commonly added to chlorine- containing water to form a nonvolatile compound that serves as a primary disinfectant.

A) calcium carbonate
B) nitric acid
C) fluorine
D) ammonia

Question 32

The mechanical process by which debris is removed from industrial wastewater is called
.

Question 33

In the developed countries of the world, most intestinal infections are transmitted via
.

Question 34

Complete wastewater treatment involves , , and treatments to remove or neutralize contaminants.

Question 35

Tertiary treatment of wastewater is a _ process.

A) biophysical
B) physical
C) biochemical
D) physicochemical

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of a coliform?

A) facultatively aerobic
B) ferment glucose with the formation of gas
C) gram negative
D) rod shaped

Question 37

Treatment of water by chlorination serves two functions: (1) and (2) _ .

Question 38

Giardia cysts are able to withstand

A) clarification.
B) chemical disinfection.
C) filtration.
D) all of the above.

Question 39

Water leaving an efficient wastewater treatment facility ideally has a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) between units.

A) 0 and 5
B) 50 and 100
C) 25 and 50
D) 5 and 25

Question 40

Which of the following bacterial pathogens is found in both aquatic environments and is commonly present in air conditioning systems?

A) Legionella pneumophila
B) Enterobacter aerogenes
C) Klebsiella pneumoniae
D) Vibrio cholerae

Question 41

Gray water results from _ , , and .

Question 42

The goal of tertiary wastewater treatment is to sharply reduce the levels of from the final effluent.

Question 43

Severe diarrhea with "rice water" stools is characteristic of the pathogenic bacterium
.

Question 44

The signs and symptoms of cholera are caused by _ .

Question 45

Two common methods used in the diagnosis of giardiasis are demonstration of Giardia
and demonstration of Giardia .

Question 46

The presence of specific signals that a given water source might be contaminated with pathogens.

Question 47

The pathogenic protist Naegleria fowleri can cause extensive hemorrhaging and brain damage, a disease termed .

Question 48

We are technically in the midst of a cholera pandemic.

Question 49

Microbial contamination of materials shared by a large number of individuals can lead to
diseases.

Question 50

When discussing treated water, the term used to describe the storage tanks and supply lines is .

Question 51

Drinking water standards in the United States are specified under the _ Act.

Question 52

A major factor in the reduction in the number of cases of typhoid fever was the introduction of and _ into water purification systems.

Question 53

The exact number of pathogens necessary to cause disease is a function of both the
of the pathogen and the general ability of the host to .

Question 54

Naegleria fowleri is a free- living found in .

Question 55

Legionellosis is normally transmitted in .

Question 56

The term coliform is a(n) rather than taxonomic term, because the coliforms include .

Question 57

The relative amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms to completely oxidize all organic and inorganic matter in a water sample is known as the .

Question 58

Chlorine is consumed when it reacts with organic materials.

Question 59

Before about 1905, water purification was limited to .

Question 60

The single most important measure available for ensuring public health is .

Question 61

Most wastewater treatment facilities employ methods designed to detect each pathogenic organism that may be present in a given sample.

Question 62

Wastewater that has undergone tertiary treatment is recycled and used extensively for promoting microbial monocultures.

Question 63

Secondary treatment may be aerobic or anoxic.

Question 64

In water, most taste- and odor- producing compounds are inorganic in nature.

Question 65

Legionellosis, caused by the bacterial respiratory pathogen Legionella pneumophila, has decreased in recent years due to advances in wastewater treatment procedures.

Question 66

Infection with Legionella pneumophila is usually treated with intravenous erythromycin.

Question 67

Potable water is not safe for human consumption.

Question 68

Both physical and chemical methods are used to treat and purify water.

Question 69

For water to be considered safe to drink, it must be treated with four distinct methods.

Question 70

Typhoid fever has been virtually (although not completely) eliminated from developed countries.

Question 71

Protists that produce spore are especially difficult to kill, because they contain cell membranes that are resistant to common disinfecting chemicals.

Question 72

Coliforms can be present in 5% of drinking water samples tested within a month and still be considered safe according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Question 73

The US EPA regulates the concentration of Escherichia coli in public recreational waters as well as private swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs to minimize waterborne disease outbreaks.

Question 74

Giardia cysts are found in most surface water sources in the United States.

Question 75

Local and state authorities can set standards for recreational water that are above or below the guidelines set by the United States government.

Question 76

It is estimated that upward of 30 billion gallons of water are treated on a daily basis in the United States.

Question 77

Wastewater plants are usually constructed to handle both domestic and industrial wastes.

Question 78

Water is considered to be the third most important common source of infectious diseases.

Question 79

Cholera can be transmitted by water or food.

Question 80

Not all coliforms are pathogenic.