Unit NIDB: Suggested Answers to Revision Questions

Element IB1: Principles of Chemical Control, toxicology and

Epidemiology
Question 1
ILO Convention C170 identifies that workers, the general public and the environment should be protected from
the harmful effects of chemicals (but not organisms). Workers are also identified as having a need and right to have
information about the chemicals which they are exposed to in the workplace. The convention seeks to reduce work related
injury and ill-health by:
Ensuring that chemicals are evaluated to determine their hazards.
Enabling employers to obtain information about chemicals from suppliers and manufacturers.
Providing workers with information about the chemicals and the control measures in place to reduce risk.
Ensuring that chemicals are used safely at work.

Question 2
Inhaled air passes through the nose or mouth, down the trachea, bronchi and bronchioles, into the alveoli. Here the very
thin lining of alveoli and blood vessels allows oxygen to diffuse into the bloodstream where it then diffuses into red blood
cells and is bound to haemoglobin. Carbon dioxide is excreted by the same process.

Question 3
To deliver oxygen to all parts of the body and remove impurities and waste products.

Question 4
The heart (the pump); the blood vessels (pipes for carrying the fluid) and the valves within the heart (valves for regulating
the fluid flow).

Question 5
When light strikes the retina, electrical impulses are generated and transmitted via the optic nerve to the brain.

Question 6
(a) Solid, liquid and gas
(b) Solid - massive form, dust, fibre or fume.
Liquid - massive form or mist.
Gas gas and vapour.

Question 7
The inhalable (or total inhalable) dust fraction is the fraction of airborne dust that enters the nose and mouth during
breathing, and is therefore available for deposition in the respiratory tract.
The respirable dust fraction is the fraction of airborne dust that penetrates to the gas exchange region of the lung.
Typically this is dust particles of less than 7 m diameter.

Question 8
The bodys main defences are nasal hair, mucus, sneeze reflex, ciliary escalator, and in the lungs themselves, phagocytosis.
The inflammatory response is also a defence mechanism, as is acquired immunity.

Question 9
The Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is a non-legally-binding international
agreement on the labelling and classification of chemicals, with the aim that each chemical will have the same label
worldwide.

RRC Training Suggested Answers to Revision Questions | 1

v2.1
 Unit NIDB: Suggested Answers to Revision Questions

Question 10
Local effects occur at the site where the body contacts the chemical for example, irritation of the respiratory tract when a
sensitiser is inhaled, or burns to the hand when a corrosive material is touched.
Systemic effects occur elsewhere in the body, at a site remote from the initial area of contact. For example, lead fume
inhaled will affect the central nervous system, ingested alcohol will affect the liver.

Question11
(a) Asbestos is a widely-used natural mineral that, although now banned, is still evident in many workplaces.
Typically used as an insulation and fire-resistant material, it is also a common friction lining in machinery (brakes,
clutch plates, etc.). Asbestos is associated with the development of asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
(b) Asbestosis is a collagenous pneumoconiosis caused when asbestos fibres are inhaled into the lung alveoli
and then migrate into the surrounding tissues. Inelastic scar tissue develops and thickening of the pleural
membranes. This causes breathlessness, coughing and pain between the shoulder blades and breastbone. Later,
lung function is reduced, resulting in heart strain and possibly death.
Mesothelioma is cancer of the pleural membranes surrounding the lungs. It appears that asbestos fibres are able
to migrate through lung tissue following inhalation and can have a toxic effect on adjacent tissues.

Question 12
The target organs associated with lead intoxication are the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, blood and
blood-forming organs, exterior (straightening) muscles of the wrist or foot and the gums.

Question 13
Produces serious, acute or chronic ill-health or death at very small or small doses.

Question 14
Acute toxicity (oral, dermal, inhalation, dermal irritancy/corrosion, eye irritancy/corrosion).
Repeated dose (28 days) toxicity.
Sub-chronic repeated dose (90 days) toxicity.
Chronic toxicity.
Skin sensitisation.
Mutagenicity.
Carcinogenicity.
Reproductive toxicity.

Question 15
This measures the response (usually percentage killed) of a given animal species to known doses of a toxic substance.

Suggested Answers to Revision Questions | 2 RRC Training

v2.1
 Unit NIDB: Suggested Answers to Revision Questions

Question 16
The curve should be S-shaped as shown in the following figure:

Mortality rate (%)

Dose (in mg chemical per kg body-weight)

Dose/Response Curve

The LD50 and LD90 of a given substance are the doses that kill 50% and 90% respectively of the animal population tested.

Question 17
Acute toxicity tests measure the effects which occur within a short period after dosing. The dose of the substance is
successively increased and the effects are measured.
For the fixed dose acute toxicity test, the test substance is administered orally to test animals at one of four dose levels 5,
50, 300 and 2000mg/kg. The animals are observed for 14 days and any deaths or serious ill-health are observed.
The results are then compared with regulatory criteria in order to classify the chemical toxicity.

Question 18
The most well known test used to detect genetic mutation is the Ames test. This involves exposing the mutagen to a
specific strain of bacteria with a defective histidine gene. These bacteria will not normally grow in a histidine-deficient
growth medium, but mutagens will cause a mutation in the bacteria allowing them to grow in a histidine-free medium.

Question 19
In a case-control study the risk factors of people with a disease are compared with those without the disease. It is a
retrospective study, which examines past exposure history. Members of the two cohorts are chosen on the basis that they
either have the disease in question (case) or are disease-free (control).
A prospective cohort study follows two groups (cohorts) over a period of time (usually years). One cohort is known to be
exposed to the agent in question; the other cohort (control) has no exposure to this agent. Both groups undergo medical
surveillance to look for diseases that might be linked to the agent in question.

Question 20
A good occupational example would be asbestos exposure and lung diseases.
Two populations are identified which differ only by the fact that one group has been exposed to asbestos in the past and
the other has not. Evidence of exposure is collected from health records. Medical surveillance is then carried out to gather
data about the prevalence of lung disease in these two groups. This is reinforced with other health data. Statistical analysis is
then carried out to see if a link between lung disease and history of asbestos exposure can be proven to exist.

RRC Training Suggested Answers to Revision Questions | 3

v2.1