ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTITIONER
JEH QUIZ
From Air Quality to Public Safety: Rethinking Crime Dynamics and Social Costs of Pollution in the United States FEATURED ARTICLE QUIZ #2
A vailable to those with an active National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) membership, the JEH Quiz is offered six times per calendar year and is an easily accessible way to earn continuing education (CE) contact hours toward maintaining a NEHA credential. Each quiz is worth 1.0 CE credit. Completing quizzes is now based on the honor system and should be self-reported by the credential holder. Quizzes published only during your current credential cycle are eligible for CE credit. Please keep a copy of each completed quiz for your records. CE credit will post to your account within 3 business days. Paper or electronic quiz submissions will no longer be collected by NEHA staff. INSTRUCTIONS TO SELF-REPORT A JEH QUIZ FOR CE CREDIT 1. Read the featured article and select the correct answer to each JEH Quiz question. 2. Log in to your MyNEHA account at https://neha.users.membersuite.com/ home. 3. Click on Credentials located at the top of the page. 4. Select Report CEs from the drop-down menu. 5. Enter the date you finished the quiz in the Date Attended field. 6. Enter 1.0 in the Length of Course in Hours field. 7. In the Description field, enter the activity as “ JEH Quiz #, Month Year” (e.g., JEH Quiz 2, October 2026). 8. Click the Create button.
Quiz effective date: October 1, 2026 | Quiz deadline: January 1, 2027
1. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) can
7. Historical trends from 2000–2022 showed that a. both PM 2.5 concentrations and crime rates generally declined. b. PM 2.5 concentrations declined while crime rates generally increased. c. crime rates declined while PM 2.5 concentrations generally increased. d. both PM 2.5 concentrations and crime rates generally increased. 8. After controlling for state-specific heteroge- neity and common time shocks, a 1 µg/m³ increase in annual mean PM 2.5 was associ- ated with approximately a. 1 additional crime per 100,000 population. b. 3 additional crimes per 100,000 population. c. 5 additional crimes per 100,000 population. d. 10 additional crimes per 100,000 population. 9. In the state-and-year fixed effects model, unemployment rates showed a. no measurable association with crime. b. a positive and statistically significant association with crime. c. a positive but statistically insignificant association with crime. d. a negative and statistically significant association with crime. 10. Accounting for persistent state character- istics and common time trends can affect conclusions about the relationship between PM 2.5 and crime. a. True b. False 11. Why should the observed association between PM 2.5 and crime be interpreted cautiously? a. PM 2.5 concentrations were not measured during the study period. b. Crime rates were estimated rather than obtained from existing data sources. c. The observational study can identify associations but cannot establish causality. d. The analysis did not account for differences among states. 12. Improvements in air quality could have benefits that extend beyond traditional environmental and health domains. a. True b. False
a. penetrate deep into the respiratory system. b. enter systemic circulation. c. affect multiple organ systems, including the brain. d. all of the above. e. none of the above.
2. This study was conducted to
a. determine if increases in PM 2.5 are associated with higher crime levels. b. determine whether crime rates affect annual PM 2.5 concentrations. c. determine whether air pollution regulations have reduced crime nationally. d. consider how socioeconomic condi- tions might influence the relationship between PM 2.5 and crime. e. both a and d. 3. The study used a state–year panel design primarily to a. examine both cross-sectional and temporal variation while accounting for state-level dynamics. b. compare a single year of pollution data among all 50 states. c. eliminate the need to consider socioeconomic conditions. d. establish a causal relationship between PM 2.5 and crime. 4. The final analytical sample included a. 10 states observed for 10 years. b. 23 states observed for 10 years. c. 10 states observed annually from 2000–2022. d. all U.S. states observed annually from 2000–2022. 5. Which variables were included as controls for socioeconomic conditions that could confound the relationship between PM 2.5 and crime? a. Population density and income b. Education and housing c. Age and population growth d. Poverty and unemployment rates 6. In the pooled regression model, the association between PM 2.5 concentrations and crime rates was a. negative and statistically significant. b. positive but statistically insignificant. c. negative but statistically insignificant. d. positive and statistically significant.
JEH Quiz #6 Answers May 2026
1. e 2. c 3. b
4. c 5. a 6. b
7. c 8. b 9. b
10. a 11. c 12. a
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October 2026 • Journal of Environmental Health
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