The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies pollution and which other type of hazards?

Introduction / Context:
The Environmental Protection Agency, commonly referred to as EPA, is a key agency in the United States focused on protecting human health and the environment. It conducts research, sets standards and enforces regulations related to pollution and environmental risks. This question asks you to identify what kind of hazards, in addition to pollution, are the focus of EPA studies.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The agency mentioned is EPA.
• We know that EPA studies pollution.
• Options propose several possible hazard types: population hazards, environmental health hazards, traffic hazards, all of the above and only industrial accident hazards.
• We assume that EPA's mission connects environmental conditions to human health.

Concept / Approach:
EPA's role is to study and regulate environmental factors that can affect human health, such as air pollution, water contamination, toxic substances and waste. These are collectively described as environmental health hazards. While traffic and population issues may influence the environment, they are not described in EPA's mandate in the same direct way. The approach is to link EPA's core work to the protection of environmental quality and health rather than to general traffic or demographic issues.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Interpret the phrase studies pollution as covering air, water and land pollution and their impacts on living beings. Step 2: Recognise that EPA is tasked with protecting human health and the environment, which naturally means it focuses on environmental health hazards. Step 3: Population hazards as a phrase is vague and not commonly used in EPA's mandate. Step 4: Traffic hazards are mainly related to road safety and are usually handled by transportation and traffic safety agencies, not by EPA, although EPA may study vehicle emissions as a source of pollution. Step 5: Industrial accident hazards are often handled under occupational safety and specific chemical safety laws, again with overlapping roles but not the central phrase describing EPA's focus. Step 6: Therefore, the most accurate description is that EPA studies pollution and environmental health hazards.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this by recalling EPA's formal mission statement, which emphasises protecting human health and the environment. This clearly frames its work as dealing with environmental health risks. EPA's research programmes and regulatory actions target hazards like toxic air pollutants, contaminated drinking water, hazardous waste and pesticides, all of which are environmental health hazards.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, population hazards, is wrong because it is not a precise term and does not reflect how EPA defines its area of responsibility.

Option C, traffic hazards, is wrong since road accidents and traffic management are mainly handled by transport safety authorities. EPA deals with vehicle emissions as pollution, not with traffic crashes themselves.

Option D, all of the above, is wrong because EPA does not treat all those listed items equally as core hazards under its mandate.

Option E, only industrial accident hazards, is wrong because EPA's work is much broader and includes everyday environmental exposures, not only accidents.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may be tempted by all of the above, believing that a large agency must cover every kind of hazard. Others may misinterpret traffic related pollution as meaning that EPA controls traffic hazards. To avoid such confusion, focus on the phrase environmental health hazards, which neatly captures EPA's role in linking pollution and environmental risks to human well being.

Final Answer:
The Environmental Protection Agency studies pollution and environmental health hazards.