To see whether you qualify as an expert on water and trace metals, try taking our quiz!
You can find answers to all the questions by following one of the links from the title page. Or you can go to the Answers Page.
1. The amount of money spent by government, business, and individuals to clean up water pollution in 1992 was:
(A) About 8 billion dollars.
(B) About 18 billion dollars.
(C) About 38 billion dollars.
2. The level of lead in freshwater over the last 30 years has been:
(A) Increasing.
(B) Decreasing.
(C) Nobody knows for sure, because there were no accurate measurements before
10 years ago.
3. A recent cluster of lead poisoning cases occurred in:
(A) Idaho.
(B) Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
(C) San Francisco, California.
4. Which of the following pollutants is not a trace metal?
(A) Zinc.
(B) Cryptosporidium.
(C) Nickel.
5. Which of the following trace metals is not a health hazard for normal adults?
(A) Lead.
(B) Nickel.
(C) Copper.
6. If you wanted to test a water sample for the level of trace metals, which would be the best container to keep it in?
(A) A glass test tube.
(B) A plastic cup.
(C) A tin can.
7. According to Russ Flegal, $6 billion has been spent on cleaning up San Francisco Bay - much of it focused on metals. What's the situation now?
(A) Except for localized problems at certain times of the year, the levels
of trace metals meet Federal safety regulations.
(B) The levels of trace metals exceed Federal safety regulations.
(C) No one knows because accurate measurements have not been made.
8. What happened when Russ Flegal's students tested their own tap water for lead?
(A) They all found safe levels of lead.
(B) Some of them found unsafe levels of lead.
(C) All of them found safe levels of lead except for one whose roommate
had placed a lead weight in his sample when he wasn't looking.
9. How have the U.S. Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency reacted to the "trace-metal clean" techniques advocated by Flegal?
(A) They have incorporated them into their new procedures.
(B) They have not taken any action, because the techniques need further
study.
(C) They do not use the new techniques, because Flegal "pissed them
off."