Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies MCQs With Answer

Introduction: Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies MCQs With Answer for M.Pharm students provides an integrative approach to understanding how environmental science intersects with pharmaceutical research, manufacturing, safety, and regulatory practice. This collection emphasizes core concepts such as environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, waste management, risk assessment, sustainability, and legal frameworks that directly impact drug development and pharmaceutical operations. Designed for postgraduate students, the quiz fosters critical thinking about pollution control, life-cycle impacts of medicines, occupational hazards, and emergency preparedness. These MCQs will help reinforce theoretical knowledge while promoting practical problem-solving relevant to hazards and safety management in the pharmaceutical sector.

Q1. Which principle best describes the interdisciplinary approach of environmental studies in pharmaceutical sciences?

• Focusing solely on drug efficacy and purity
• Integrating ecology, chemistry, toxicology, and policy to assess impacts
• Emphasizing only industrial economics
• Studying clinical trials independent of environmental effects

Correct Answer: Integrating ecology, chemistry, toxicology, and policy to assess impacts

Q2. Bioaccumulation of a pharmaceutical compound primarily refers to:

• Rapid chemical degradation in sunlight
• Gradual increase of concentration in an individual organism over time
• Immediate dilution in a water body
• Transformation into harmless metabolites

Correct Answer: Gradual increase of concentration in an individual organism over time

Q3. Which environmental parameter is most critical for assessing effluent quality from a pharmaceutical wastewater stream?

• Ambient noise level around the plant
• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients
• Number of employees at the facility
• Color of packaging material

Correct Answer: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients

Q4. In environmental risk assessment of a new drug, which step comes first?

• Risk characterization
• Exposure assessment
• Hazard identification
• Risk management

Correct Answer: Hazard identification

Q5. Which legislation primarily addresses transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, relevant to pharmaceutical waste exports?

• Montreal Protocol
• Basel Convention
• Kyoto Protocol
• Stockholm Convention

Correct Answer: Basel Convention

Q6. What is the primary environmental concern with antibiotic residues entering aquatic ecosystems?

• Increased dissolved oxygen
• Promotion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and disruption of microbial communities
• Immediate precipitation of heavy metals
• Enhancement of plant growth

Correct Answer: Promotion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and disruption of microbial communities

Q7. Green chemistry in pharmaceutical manufacturing aims to:

• Maximize hazardous solvent use for efficiency
• Minimize waste, use safer reagents, and improve atom economy
• Extend patent duration
• Increase energy consumption to speed reactions

Correct Answer: Minimize waste, use safer reagents, and improve atom economy

Q8. Which monitoring technique is most appropriate for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from a drug manufacturing unit?

• Atomic absorption spectroscopy of wastewater
• Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of air samples
• UV spectrophotometry of soil extracts
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) test

Correct Answer: Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of air samples

Q9. Eutrophication in receiving waters near pharmaceutical plants is most often exacerbated by:

• High levels of suspended solids only
• Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from process water and utilities
• Low pH due to acidic emissions alone
• Presence of inert packaging materials

Correct Answer: Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from process water and utilities

Q10. Which professional discipline contributes most directly to human health impact evaluation in environmental studies?

• Literary studies
• Clinical toxicology and epidemiology
• Architectural design
• Pure mathematics

Correct Answer: Clinical toxicology and epidemiology

Q11. Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances are of concern because they:

• Degrade rapidly and are non-toxic
• Accumulate in food chains and persist in the environment causing long-term effects
• Only affect plant systems and not animals
• Are always water-soluble and easily removed

Correct Answer: Accumulate in food chains and persist in the environment causing long-term effects

Q12. Life cycle assessment (LCA) in pharmaceuticals evaluates:

• Only the clinical efficacy of a drug
• Environmental impacts across raw material sourcing, production, use, and disposal
• Only the cost of raw materials
• Marketing strategies for a new drug

Correct Answer: Environmental impacts across raw material sourcing, production, use, and disposal

Q13. Which waste treatment method is most suitable for destruction of non-halogenated organic hazardous pharmaceutical waste?

• Open-air incineration without controls
• High-temperature controlled incineration with scrubbers
• Landfilling in unsecured pits
• Direct discharge to municipal sewer

Correct Answer: High-temperature controlled incineration with scrubbers

Q14. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a new manufacturing facility must typically include:

• Only an economic profit forecast
• Baseline environmental studies, impact prediction, mitigation measures, and stakeholder consultation
• Only a list of equipment to be purchased
• Marketing analysis of competitors

Correct Answer: Baseline environmental studies, impact prediction, mitigation measures, and stakeholder consultation

Q15. Which process is central to reducing solvent emissions in pharma plants as part of pollution prevention?

• Installing additional flare stacks
• Solvent recovery and recycling systems
• Dumping solvents into deep wells
• Upgrading packaging design only

Correct Answer: Solvent recovery and recycling systems

Q16. Occupational exposure limits (OELs) in the workplace are used to:

• Set safe environmental discharge concentrations for rivers
• Define airborne concentrations of chemicals to protect worker health
• Determine market price of raw materials
• Calculate tax liabilities for a company

Correct Answer: Define airborne concentrations of chemicals to protect worker health

Q17. Which analytical parameter indicates nutrient load contributing to eutrophication?

• Lead concentration
• Total phosphorus and nitrate concentration
Sound pressure level
• Thermal conductivity

Correct Answer: Total phosphorus and nitrate concentration

Q18. Pharmacovigilance intersects with environmental studies primarily through:

• Monitoring adverse drug reactions in the environment and assessing ecological risks of pharmaceuticals
• Designing patient adherence programs
• Creating marketing materials for physicians
• Calculating drug manufacturing margins

Correct Answer: Monitoring adverse drug reactions in the environment and assessing ecological risks of pharmaceuticals

Q19. Which technology is most effective for removing low-concentration micropollutants (e.g., hormones, APIs) from wastewater?

• Primary sedimentation only
• Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and activated carbon adsorption
• Simple chlorination without contact time
• Gravity filtration through coarse sand only

Correct Answer: Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and activated carbon adsorption

Q20. Environmental sustainability in pharmaceutical supply chains is best advanced by:

• Prioritizing single-source suppliers regardless of environmental practices
• Implementing supplier audits, greener procurement, and circular economy principles
• Ignoring packaging waste during product design
• Outsourcing all environmental compliance to third parties without oversight

Correct Answer: Implementing supplier audits, greener procurement, and circular economy principles

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