Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chapter Objectives
• Define the terms environmental health and environmental hazard.
• Explain the relationship between environmental sanitation, sanitary engineers, and the prevention of waterbourne disease outbreaks.
• Explain the meaning of waterbourne, foodbourne, and vectorbourne diseases and give examples of each.
• Define the term vector and give examples.
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chapter Objectives
• Define pest, pesticides, target organism, and persistent and nonpersistent pesticides.
• Identify the major chemical categories of pesticides.
• Define environmental tobacco smoke, mainstream smoke, sidestream smoke, and passive smoking.
• Describe the legislation in place to deal with environmental tobacco smoke.
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chapter Objectives
• Describe the sources of lead in the environment and how progress was made in reducing lead levels during the 1990s.
• Define ionizing radiation and give examples.
• Explain the dangers of radon gas.
• Explain how human activities have increased the risk or skin cancer by altering the environment.
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chapter Objectives
• Describe the state of population growth in the world.
• Interpret the relationship between population growth and human health.
• Outline some solutions to population growth.
• Define natural disaster and disaster agent.
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Introduction
• Environment– the external conditions, circumstances, and
influences surrounding and affecting the growth and development of an organism or community of organisms.
• Environmental Health– study and management of environmental conditions
that affect human health
• Environmental Hazards– factors or conditions in the environment that increase
the risk of human injury, disease, or death.
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Biological Hazards and Human Health
• Biological hazards
– living organisms, or their products, that increase the risk of disease of death in humans.
• Environmental sanitation
– the practice of establishing and maintaining health and hygienic conditions on the environment.
• Sanitary engineer
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Biological Hazards and Human Health• Water-borne diseases
– poliovirsus - amoebic dysentery– hepatitis A virus - Giardia – Shigella - Crytosporidium– Cholera
• Spread by Feces in Water– municipal water treatment facilities purify water
• Outbreaks still occur
• Fluoridation
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Biological
• Food-borne diseases– Salmonella– Clostridium botulinum
• Protection– Public Health
Inspection by Sanitarians
– Hand washing
• Outbreaks of food-borne diseases
Chemical17%
Bacterial75%
Parasites2%
Viruses6%
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Vectorbourne Diseases
• Standing water provide habitat for – pools– tires– open dumps
• Zoonoses– murine typhus– Lyme disease
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Vector-Borne Biological Hazards
HazardHazard AgentAgent Vector Vector DiseaseDisease
VirusVirus SLE virusSLE virus Mosquito Mosquito St. Louis St. Louis encephalitisencephalitis
LaCrosseLaCrosse Mosquito Mosquito LaCrosse LaCrosse encephalitisencephalitis
RickettsiaeRickettsiae R. typhiR. typhi FleaFlea Murine typhusMurine typhusR. rickettsiiR. rickettsii TickTick Rocky Mt. spotted Rocky Mt. spotted
feverfever
BacteriaBacteria Yersinia pestisYersinia pestis FleaFlea Bubonic Bubonic plaqueplaque
Borrelia burg.Borrelia burg. TickTick Lyme diseaseLyme disease
ProtozoaProtozoa Plasmodium sp. Plasmodium sp. Mosquito Mosquito MalariaMalaria
NematodesNematodes Wuchereria ban. Wuchereria ban. Mosquito Mosquito Filariasis(elephantiasis)Filariasis(elephantiasis)
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chemical Hazards and Human Health
• Pesticides– herbicides– insecticides
• Target organism
• Ideal– inexpensive– kill only target organism– break down rapidly– break down into harmless chemicals
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chemical Hazards and Human Health
• Environmental tobacco smoke– sidestream smoke– mainstream smoke
• Education
• Regulation
• Policy
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Chemical Hazards and Human Health• Lead
– health concerns: anemia, birth defects, bone damage, neurological damage, kidney damage
– children at greatest risk– sources: gasoline, water pipes & drinking
water tainted by lead leached from landfills
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Physical Hazards and Human Health• Radon Contamination
• Ultraviolet Radiation
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Psychological Hazards and Human Health• Difficult to define and measure
• Many mental states associated
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Sociological Hazards and Human Health• Often combined with other
environmental hazards
• Population growth demonstrates sociological hazards
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Population Growth
• Population growth attributed to– 1. Birth rate– 2. Death rate– 3. Migration
• Principles– lag phase– exponential phase– equilibrium phase
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Population Growth - S- Curve
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100years
mill
ion
s
Lag phaseEx
pone
ntia
l Pha
se
Equilibrium Phase?
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Population Growth
• Issues– global warming– acid rain– depletion of the ozone– increasing crime rates– epidemics
• Solutions– various methods of conception control– birth control methods– social policies
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Site & Location Hazards & Human Health
• Natural disasters– geophysical &
meteorological events– involves interaction of
disaster agents– magnitude of overall
loss– biological,
psychological, & sociological hazards increase
– Primary needs after a disaster– food– water– shelter– health care– clothing
• Federal Emergency Response Agency
Chap 16: Environmental Impact on Human Health
Natural Disasters
• Emergency Support Functions (Federal Agencies)– Transportation (DOT) - Health & medical
(DHHS & PHS)– Communications (NCS) - Resources support
(GSA)– Construction (DOD) - Urban search &
rescue (DOD)– Firefighting (DOA) - Hazardous
materials (EPA)– Damage information (FEMA) - Food (DOA)– Mass care (ARC) - Energy
(DOE))