FW190 Environmental Health

Chapter

15

Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.

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Ahead:

Environmental Health Defined

Population Growth and Control

Air Quality and Pollution

Water Quality and Pollution

Solid Waste Pollution

Chemical Pollution and Hazardous Waste

Radiation Pollution

Noise PollutionCopyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.


Environment: natural and human-made

surroundings in which we spend our lives

Environmental health: collective interactions

of humans with the environment, and the

short-term and long-term health consequences

of those interactions



World’s population is about 7.3 billion and

increasing at a rate of about 75 million per year

For first time in history, there are more older people

than young children

Rapid expansion of population is responsible

for most of the stress that humans put on the

environment



Primary factors that may

cap human population:

Food

Available land and water

Energy

Minimum acceptable

standard of living

© The Asahi Shimbun / Contributor/Getty ImagesCopyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.


Interconnecting factors fuel current population

explosion

High fertility rates

Lack of family planning resources

Lower death rates



Air Quality Index (AQI): measure of local air

quality and what it means for health

EPA uses AQI to indicate air pollution levels

Key pollutants:

Carbon monoxide (CO)

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Particulate matter (PM)

Ground-level ozone



Fossil fuels: buried deposits of decayed

animals and plants that are converted into

carbon-rich fuels by exposure to heat and

pressure over millions of years; oil, coal, and

natural gas are fossil fuels

Smog: hazy atmospheric conditions resulting

from increased concentrations of ground-level

ozone and other pollutants



Greenhouse gas:

gas (such as carbon dioxide)

or vapor that traps infrared

radiation instead of allowing

it to escape through the

atmosphere, resulting in a

warming of the earth

(the greenhouse effect)

© Ocean / Corbis RF



Greenhouse effect: warming of the earth

due to a buildup of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere

Global warming: increase in the earth’s

atmospheric temperature when averaged

across seasons and geographical regions;

also called climate change



Temperature of earth’s atmosphere depends

on a balance between energy the planet

absorbs from the sun and energy radiated back

into space as lower-energy infrared radiation

Key components of temperature regulation:

Carbon dioxide

Water vapor

Methane

Greenhouse gases



Reradiation causes buildup of heat that raises

the temperature of the lower atmosphere

(the greenhouse effect)

Possible consequences of climate change:

Increased rainfall and flooding

Increased mortality

A poleward shift of 50–350 miles

Drastic melting of the earth’s polar ice caps



GREENHOUSE GAS SOURCES

Carbon dioxide Fossil fuel and word burning, factory

emissions, car exhaust, deforestation

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Refrigeration and air conditioning, aerosols,

foam products, solvents

Methane Cattle, wetlands, rice paddies, landfills, gas

leaks, coal and gas industries

Nitrous oxide Fertilizers, soil cultivation, deforestation,

animal feedlots and wastes

Ozone and other trace gases Photochemical reactions, car exhaust,

power plant emissions, solvents



Air pollution is thinning the ozone layer

Ozone layer: layer of ozone molecules in the upper

atmosphere; screens out UV rays

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): chemicals used as

spray-can propellants, refrigerants, and industrial

solvents; implicated in the destruction of the ozone

layer

Without the ozone layer, life on Earth would be

impossible



Per capita, Americans are the world’s biggest

energy consumers

China is the top energy user among nations

Energy consumption at the root of many

environmental problems

Key strategies for controlling energy use are

conservation and development of nonpolluting,

renewable sources of energy



Alternative fuels

Ethanol

E85

Biodiesel

Hybrid and electric vehicles

Hybrid vehicles use

two distinct power

sources

All-electric vehicles

use battery packs

© Paul Kane / Stringer/Getty Images



Homes may harbor potentially dangerous

pollutants

Some compounds trigger allergic responses or are

linked to cancer

Common indoor pollutants:

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)

Carbon monoxide and combustion by-products

Formaldehyde gas

Biological pollutants

Indoor mold



Ideas for reducing air pollution:

Cut back on driving

Keep car tuned and well maintained

Buy energy-efficient appliances and use them

only when necessary

Replace incandescent bulbs with LED and

compact fluorescent bulbs

Make sure your home is well insulated

Plant and care for trees

(Continued)



Ideas for reducing air pollution (continued):

Check that local government removes refrigerants

from a refrigerator, air conditioner, or dehumidifier

prior to disposal

Keep your house ventilated and use houseplants

Keep paints and chemical products sealed

Don’t smoke

Clean and inspect chimneys, furnaces, and other

appliances regularly

Install carbon monoxide detectors



Water contamination and treatment

Many cities rely on wells that tap local groundwater

Water is subjected to physical and chemical

processes, including screening, filtration, and

disinfection before entering water supply system

Fluoridation: addition of fluoride to the water supply

to reduce tooth decay

CDC estimates 1 million Americans become ill and

900–1,000 die each year from microbial illnesses

from drinking water



World Health Organization (WHO):

663 million people lack

safe drinking water

▪ Groundwater pumping

and the diversion of water

from lakes and rivers for

irrigation is reducing the

amount of water available

to local communities

2.4 billion people lack access

to basic sanitation

© Loop Images Ltd / AlamyCopyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.


Prior to the mid-19th century, many people

suffered from diseases caused by poor

sanitation

Septic system: self-contained sewage

disposal system, often used in rural areas, in

which waste material is decomposed by

bacteria



In urban environments, sewage treatment

centers separate heavy metals collected in the

sludge remaining after treatment

Heavy metal: metal with a high specific gravity,

such as lead, copper, or tin

Contamination from PCBs is a danger

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB): industrial

chemical used as an insulator in electrical

transformers and linked to certain human cancers;

banned worldwide since 1977



Reducing your water use

Take showers instead of baths

Install sink faucet aerators and water-efficient

showerheads

Purchase a water-saver toilet

Fix leaky faucets

Don’t pour toxic materials down the drain

Don’t flush old medicines down the toilet



What’s in our garbage?

In 2013, Americans generated 254 million tons of

trash and recycled 87 million tons of materials

Burning reduces the bulk of solid waste but releases

hazardous materials into the air

Manufacturing, mining, and other industries produce

large amounts of potentially dangerous materials that

cannot be dumped



Disposing of solid waste

Since 1960s, billions of tons of waste buried in

sanitary landfill disposal sites

Sanitary landfill: disposal site where solid wastes

are buried

Biodegradability

Biodegradable: ability of some materials to break

down naturally and disappear back into the

environment



Recycling: use of waste materials as raw

materials in the production of new products

Discarded technology: e-waste

Fastest growing portion of our waste stream

© E.D. Torial / Alamy



Buy products with less packaging

Buy recycled or recyclable products

Avoid foam or paper cups and plastic stirrers

Use reusable containers to store food

Recycle newspapers, glass, and cans

Do not throw away electronic items, batteries,

or fluorescent lights

Start a compost pile for your organic garbage



ITEM TIME REQUIRED TO BIODEGRADE

Banana peel 2-10 days

Paper 2-5 months

Rope 3-14 months

Orange peel 6 months

Wool sock 1-5 years

Cigarette butt 1-12 years

Plastic-coated milk carton 5 years

Aluminum can 80-100 years

Plastic six-pack holder

ring

450 years

Glass bottle 1 million years

Plastic bottle Forever



Asbestos

Asbestosis: lung condition caused by inhalation of

microscopic asbestos fibers, which inflame the lung

and can lead to lung cancer

Lead

Lead-based paints are

the chief culprit in lead

poisoning of children

© dbimages / Alamy RF



Pesticides

Pesticides: chemicals used to prevent the spread of

diseases transmitted by insects and to maximize

food production by killing insects that eat crops

Biomagnification: accumulation of a substance in

a food chain



Mercury

Mercury persists in the environment, and like

pesticides, it is bioaccumulative

Other chemical pollutants

Many cities provide guidelines for approved disposal

methods and have hazardous waste collection days

Endocrine disrupting chemicals: chemicals

that disrupt the hormone systems of organisms



Take steps to reduce

chemical pollution:

Read product labels and

buy the least toxic ones

Buy organic produce or

local produce

Store pesticides or toxic household products in a

locked place where children and pets can’t get to

them

© Tony Freeman / Photoedit



Radiation: energy transmitted in the form of

rays, waves, or particles

Radiation sickness: illness caused by excess

radiation exposure, marked by low white blood

cell counts and nausea; possibly fatal

Nuclear weapons and nuclear energy

Nuclear power: use of controlled nuclear reactions

to produce steam to produce electricity



Medical uses of radiation

Radiation used to diagnose injuries

Should be no such thing as a “routine” X-ray

Radiation in the home and workplace

Many household devices give off forms of radiation



Avoiding radiation

If physician orders an X-ray, ask if it is a necessity

Follow government recommendations for radon

testing

Find out if there are radioactive sites in your area



Decibel: expresses relative intensity

of sounds on a scale from 0 to 120

Wear ear protectors when working around noisy

machinery

Keep the volume on headsets below 6

Avoid loud music

Avoid exposure to painfully loud sounds

Avoid repeated exposure to sounds above

80 decibels



• World Population Growth by Year:

• Year 1 CE: 0.3 billion

• Year 1500: 0.5 billion

• Year 1804: 1 billion







• Year 2025: 8 billion (projected)



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Rising Temperatures

Environmental Effect Health Effect

Extreme Heat Heat-related illness and death, cardiovascular failure

Severe Weather Injuries, fatalities, mental health impacts

More Extreme Weather


Air Pollution Asthma, cardiovascular disease

Changes in Vector Ecology Malaria, dengue, encephalitis, hantavirus, Rift

Valley fever, Lyme disease, chikungunya, West

Nile virus



CONTINUED…

Rising Sea Levels


Increasing Allergens Respiratory allergies, asthma

Water Quality Impacts Cholera, cryptosporidiosis, campylobacter,

leptospirosis, harmful algal blooms

Increasing Carbon Dioxide Levels


Water and Food Supply Impacts Malnutrition, diarrheal disease

Environmental Degradation Forced migration, civil conflict, mental health impacts

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FW190 Environmental Health

Education

Transcript of FW190 Environmental Health