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Answer to Question #1:

Physical definition: malleable, ductile, with metallic lustre.
Chemical definition: ability to lose one or more electrons to form cations in reactions. "Metalloids" (e.g. arsenic, antimony) have features of metals and non-metals.

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Answer to Question #2:

Coalmining. The emphysema is a component of coal-workers’ pneumoconiosis

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Answer to Question #3:

Medical screening for removal must be based on a thorough understanding of the value of the screening test, the role of co-factors and the prognosis of the disease if exposure continues. Legal,ethical and industrial relations standards need to defined and adhered to.

Questions you would thus need to answer are:

How sensitive and specific is the combination of screening tests (skin prick and symptoms in this case) for platinum salt asthma?
Given that smoking enhances risk, should tobacco use be taken into account?
What is the likelihood that the disease will improve, stabilize or get worse if exposure continues?

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Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) - Modules 3 – 5: Occupational Medicine & Toxicology by Prof Rodney Ehrlich & Prof Mohamed Jeebhay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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