KMU Past Paper Practice
Occupational and Environmental Health: Workplace Hazards, Prevention and Snakebite
4th Year MBBS • 20 A-type Single Best Answer MCQs
MCQ 1
Question:
A 32-year-old data-entry worker develops neck pain and shoulder fatigue after several months at a workstation where the monitor is below eye level and frequently used files require repeated reaching. Which intervention best applies the principle of ergonomics?
Options:
- Arrange annual chest radiography for the worker
- Redesign the workstation to match the worker’s posture and reach
- Provide prophylactic medication before each work shift
- Introduce periodic testing for occupational lead exposure
- Increase shift duration while providing one longer break
MCQ 2
Question:
A metal-press operator with eight years of exposure to intense workplace noise reports tinnitus and difficulty hearing conversation. Audiometry demonstrates high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. Which preventive action should receive highest priority for other workers in the same area?
Options:
- Provide topical ear medication after every shift
- Depend on annual audiometry as the main intervention
- Transfer every exposed employee to administrative work
- Enclose the noisy machinery and reduce noise at its source
- Use simple cotton plugs as the only protective measure
MCQ 3
Question:
Several newly employed furnace workers develop dizziness, weakness and excessive sweating during their first week in a very hot working environment. Which preventive program would most effectively reduce heat-related illness in this group?
Options:
- Gradual acclimatization with hydration and appropriate work-rest periods
- Routine chest radiography before entering the furnace area
- Continuous use of heavy impermeable protective clothing
- Reducing workplace illumination during the afternoon shift
- Administering preventive medication before heat exposure
MCQ 4
Question:
A road worker who operates a pneumatic drill develops episodic blanching and numbness of his fingers, particularly in cold weather. Which workplace modification is most appropriate for preventing progression of this problem?
Options:
- Provide a lead apron during drilling operations
- Introduce continuous use of hearing protectors
- Provide respiratory protection against mineral dust alone
- Increase general illumination around the drilling site
- Use low-vibration equipment and limit duration of exposure
MCQ 5
Question:
A commercial diver makes a rapid ascent after working at considerable depth. Soon afterward he develops severe joint pain, dizziness and shortness of breath. What is the principal mechanism responsible for his illness?
Options:
- Progressive carbon dioxide accumulation within tissues
- Direct oxygen toxicity from ordinary surface air
- Formation of nitrogen bubbles during rapid decompression
- Sudden tissue compression during the upward movement
- Generalized hypothermia caused by underwater exposure
MCQ 6
Question:
A hospital employee regularly works in an area where occupational exposure to ionizing radiation may occur. The occupational health team wants to monitor the worker’s accumulated personal exposure. Which method is most appropriate?
Options:
- Workplace temperature monitoring during each shift
- A personal radiation dosimeter such as a TLD badge
- Periodic spirometry to detect respiratory impairment
- Serial audiometry to detect high-frequency hearing loss
- Routine urinalysis at the end of every work week
MCQ 7
Question:
A stone-cutting worker with prolonged dust exposure develops progressive breathlessness, and chest imaging shows changes compatible with pneumoconiosis. The same workplace produces large amounts of respirable silica-containing dust. Which intervention would best provide primary prevention for his coworkers?
Options:
- Provide bronchodilator treatment before every work shift
- Depend on ordinary cloth masks during stone cutting
- Give prophylactic antibiotics to all exposed workers
- Introduce wet cutting methods and effective local exhaust ventilation
- Reduce dietary salt intake among the exposed workforce
MCQ 8
Question:
A textile worker repeatedly experiences chest tightness and breathlessness that are most marked when he returns to work after the weekend. His symptoms improve away from the factory. Exposure to which workplace agent most strongly explains this pattern?
Options:
- Cotton dust
- Silica dust
- Asbestos fibres
- Lead fumes
- Benzene vapour
MCQ 9
Question:
A battery-factory worker develops abdominal colic, pallor and weakness of wrist extension. Blood testing raises concern for significant occupational lead exposure. What is the most appropriate action by the occupational health service?
Options:
- Continue the same duties with gloves as the only change
- Increase working hours to reduce exposure per production unit
- Arrange audiometry before making any occupational decision
- Perform chest radiography as the principal surveillance test
- Remove him from further lead exposure and arrange appropriate evaluation
MCQ 10
Question:
Workers use a volatile solvent to clean manufactured parts in a poorly ventilated room. Several develop headache, dizziness and skin irritation. Which intervention best follows the hierarchy of occupational hazard control?
Options:
- Provide gloves while leaving the work process unchanged
- Perform annual examinations without modifying the exposure
- Substitute a safer chemical and improve local ventilation
- Shorten the lunch break to reduce time inside the room
- Enroll affected employees in a health-insurance scheme
MCQ 11
Question:
A worker sustains a severe hand injury when reaching near the moving components of a power press whose protective cover had been removed to increase production speed. Which preventive measure most directly addresses this mechanical hazard?
Options:
- Provide hearing protectors near the machinery
- Introduce respirators for employees operating the press
- Arrange immunization before assignment to the machine
- Install effective fixed or interlocking machine guards
- Provide routine eye medication after each work shift
MCQ 12
Question:
A laboratory technician regularly handles potentially infectious human specimens. The occupational health officer reviews measures intended to reduce biological hazards in the laboratory. Which approach is most appropriate?
Options:
- Give preventive antibiotics routinely to laboratory personnel
- Use appropriate containment, standard precautions and indicated immunization
- Rotate workers through night shifts to shorten exposure duration
- Enclose noisy equipment located outside the specimen area
- Require a radiation-protective apron during specimen processing
MCQ 13
Question:
Employees in a service centre report increasing headaches, sleep disturbance, anxiety and absenteeism after workloads rise and shifts become unpredictable. No significant chemical or physical exposure is identified. Which intervention best addresses the occupational problem?
Options:
- Distribute respiratory masks to all employees
- Arrange routine radiography for symptomatic workers
- Introduce hearing protection throughout the workplace
- Provide symptomatic medication without altering work practices
- Improve workload, scheduling, rest periods and supervisory support
MCQ 14
Question:
A farmer is bitten on the lower leg by a snake while working in a field. He is conscious and breathing normally, and a health facility is accessible by road. Which immediate first-aid approach is most appropriate?
Options:
- Keep him calm, immobilize the limb and arrange rapid transport
- Apply a tight arterial tourniquet above the bite immediately
- Cut the bite site and attempt to suck out the venom
- Apply ice directly over the bite for prolonged periods
- Induce vomiting before transporting him to the hospital
MCQ 15
Question:
A young man presents several hours after a snakebite with progressive ptosis, difficulty swallowing and shallow breathing. Which management principle is most important in this situation?
Options:
- Begin broad-spectrum antibiotics as the definitive therapy
- Massage the bitten limb to increase systemic circulation
- Provide airway and ventilatory support with antivenom when indicated
- Administer a diuretic as the primary treatment for paralysis
- Discharge him if there is no marked swelling at the bite site
MCQ 16
Question:
During a review of severe snakebite cases in a rural district, many patients are found to have reached hospital several hours after envenomation because traditional remedies were tried first. Which factor is most directly contributing to poor outcomes?
Options:
- Early immobilization of the bitten extremity
- Delayed referral to an appropriate health facility
- Rapid transport after the snakebite occurs
- Early recognition of systemic envenomation
- Community education about safe first aid
MCQ 17
Question:
Workers in a metal-processing unit continue to complain of respiratory irritation from fumes despite being supplied with masks. An occupational-health inspection shows that fumes accumulate directly above the process. Which additional measure would provide the strongest engineering control?
Options:
- Provide routine vitamin supplementation to all workers
- Perform chest radiographs twice each year
- Rotate employees while leaving the process unchanged
- Provide health-insurance coverage for respiratory illness
- Install local exhaust ventilation at the source of fumes
MCQ 18
Question:
A man with a history of chronic respiratory disease applies for work in a mine where significant dust exposure is expected. Which occupational-health measure should be undertaken before assigning him to the job?
Options:
- Arrange periodic hearing tests after employment begins
- Install machine guards around all rotating equipment
- Register him for compensation after an illness develops
- Conduct a pre-placement examination to assess fitness and baseline status
- Depend solely on local exhaust ventilation after placement
MCQ 19
Question:
Repeated industrial injuries occur in a factory where management has ignored required safety standards. Following an inspection, the employer is ordered to comply with mandatory workplace-safety requirements. Which type of occupational preventive measure is being applied?
Options:
- Enforcement of occupational safety legislation
- Provision of personal protective equipment
- Performance of pre-placement medical examinations
- Installation of local exhaust ventilation systems
- Delivery of individual health-education sessions
MCQ 20
Question:
A factory employee is enrolled in a scheme that helps pay medical expenses when he becomes ill. A separate worker-protection scheme may also provide cash benefits when sickness or injury prevents him from earning wages. Which statement best describes these two forms of protection?
Options:
- Both schemes primarily function as engineering controls of hazards
- Both schemes are mainly methods of workplace medical surveillance
- Health insurance protects against medical costs, while social security may provide broader benefits including income protection
- Health insurance replaces hazard control, while social security replaces occupational legislation
- Health insurance prevents exposure, while social security prevents occupational disease
Curriculum scope follows the supplied Topic 2 objectives for occupational health, workplace hazards, snakebite prevention and worker protection. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}