Q 01/05

Pollution coming from one concentrated site, like a factory, is called what?

A) Point source

B) Nonpoint source

C) Legacy

D) Diffuse

Answer · why

A) Point source

Agricultural runoff and microplastics are the classic nonpoint sources.

Q 02/05

About how many deaths worldwide did pollution cause in 2019?

A) About 90,000

B) About 900,000

C) About 9 million

D) About 90 million

Answer · why

C) About 9 million

About 9 million, roughly one death in six, and rising deaths from outdoor air and chemicals offset gains against dirty water and indoor smoke.

Q 03/05

Which conditions cause the most deaths linked to outdoor air pollution?

A) Heart disease and stroke

B) Lung cancer and emphysema

C) Asthma and bronchitis

D) Pneumonia and flu

Answer · why

A) Heart disease and stroke

Heart disease and stroke lead the toll, since the finest particles can pass from the lungs into the bloodstream.

Q 04/05

Before the 1860s, what did the word 'pollution' usually refer to?

A) Soot from burning coal fires

B) Filth in city river water

C) Food that had spoiled in storage

D) Desecration of something sacred

Answer · why

D) Desecration of something sacred

Desecration of something sacred fits the word's Latin root polluere, 'to soil or defile', long before it meant dirtying the environment.

Q 05/05

PFAS compounds are informally known by what nickname?

A) Forever chemicals

B) Ghost gases

C) Dead metals

D) Zombie plastics

Answer · why

A) Forever chemicals

Forever chemicals barely break down in nature, so PFAS now turn up in the blood of people and animals all over the world.