Environmental Health: Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail:) Website

Environmental Health
Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com)

Website: http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com
Environmental Health – Definition
o Environmental health is the branch of

public health that is concerned with all
aspects of the natural and built
environment that may affect human
health.
o It also refers to the theory and practice of
assessing and controlling factors in the
environment that can potentially affect
health.
Author: Partha Das Sharma 2

(sharmapd1@gmail.com)
Environmental Media
o There are four types of environmental

media
o Air
o Water
o Soil
o Food

The Media of Environmental
Hazards
o Air, water and food are the major
environmental media or vectors through
which exposure to hazardous
environmental agents occur.
o Disease Vectors - mosquitoes, rats,
birds
o Additionally, fire in the form of
incineration has emerged as a major
and somewhat controversial issue in
environmental medicine.
The Media of Environmental
Hazards
o While soil is often overlooked as a

route of exposure, in some cases such
an oversight may result in a critical
underestimate of actual exposure.
o Home gardens may be an exposure
route dermal or through inhalation to
contaminants in soil, dust, or chemical
update in the plants.

How do chemicals enter the
environment?
o There are six ways in which hazardous
substances can enter the environment.
o Direct exposure (pesticides,
cigarettes, lead in paint)
o Direct discharge (toxic emissions
from transportation, smokestacks,
incinerators)
o Inadequate landfills (runoff or
leaching of contaminants into
drinking water and food chain)
How do chemicals enter the
environment?
o Illegal Dumping (dumping of oil in
backyards, or mass dumping of toxic
chemicals)
o Catastrophic events (accidental releases
of large quantities of extremely virulent
toxins)
o Ecological catastrophic events (events
that lead to human health consequences
such as volcanoes, floods, famine and
hurricanes)
Environmental hazards
o The major environmental hazards and

their relative importance in various
environmental settings.
o Chemical agents: pesticides,
VOC’S, and PCB’S
o Physical agents: ionizing and
nonionizing radiation, vibration,
temperature, and noise.
o Biological agents: infectious and
allergic disorders
Interaction between hazardous
exposures and humans
o Four characteristics critical to exposure

assessment:
o Route ( Inhalation, Ingestion,
Dermal)
o Magnitude (Concentration or Dose)
o Duration ( Minutes, Hours, Days,
Lifetime)
o Frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly,
Seasonally)
Interaction between hazardous
exposures and humans cont…
o All of the environmental media are possible
exposure routes, and should be considered in
a risk assessment.
o Humans have access to environmental
toxicants by contaminated food, drinking
contaminated water, and breathing
contaminated air.
o Hazardous pollutants may also enter the
human body through the skin or a
combination of these routes,rarely are
humans exposed to a single pollutant along a
single route.
Relationship of magnitude,
duration, and frequency
o The concept of “dose” in environmental
medicine is a function of the amount of
the toxicant absorbed and time factors.
o A toxicant may be present in very low,
perhaps minute concentrations,and
stimulate biological responses in the
host.
o Even a very small concentration of a
highly toxic substance can cause a
significant clinical response.
Recognition of Human
Hazardous Exposures
o The only way to accurately determine to
what extent persons come in contact with
a specific environmental hazardous
pollutant is to actually measure the
exposure.
o There are three ways to accomplish this:
o Use of micro-environmental
samplers
o Use of personal monitors
o Use of biologic measurements in
human tissue
Children's Environmental
Health
o Advocate
o Prevention is the key to
protection!
o Policy development at Local,
State, and Federal levels.

Children's Environmental
Health
o Children are more vulnerable than adults
to exposures.
o “A little kid goes from a single cell to a
laughing, sociable, intelligent, friendly
human being over a course of two years -
that’s dramatic growth!”
o They are in a dynamic state of growth,
with cells multiplying and organ systems
developing at a rapid rate.
o In the first four months of life an infant
more than doubles its weight.
Children's Environmental Health
o In its first environment, its mother's womb,

the fetus may be permanently damaged by
exposure to a wide variety of chemicals that
can cross into its bloodstream through the
placenta.
o These chemicals include:
o Lead
o Polychlorinated Biphenyls
o Methylmercury
o Ethanol and Nicotine from
environmental tobacco smoke
Environmental Justice
o All children are affected by

environmental hazards.
o Pollution and environmental
degradation recognize no county,
state, regional, or national border.
o Children living in poverty and children
in racial or ethnic communities are at
disproportionate risk for exposure to
environmental hazards.

Environmental Justice
o Poverty can compound the adverse

effects of exposure to toxicants such as:
o Inadequate Housing
o Poor Nutrition
o Limited access to health care

Known Hazards for Children
Radiation n Nitrates
Solvents n Molds/Mildew
Asbestos n Bacteria
Mercury n Parasites
Arsenic n Ozone
Sulfur Dioxide n Petroleum
PM2.5 by-products

Known Hazards for Children
o The following are three selected

environmental hazards known to
seriously impact children's health.
o Lead
o Air Pollution
o Pesticides

Lead
o Exposure to lead has been associated with
an array of neurodevelopmental effects
including:
o Attention Deficits
o Decreased IQ scores
o Hyperactivity and Juvenile
Delinquency
o Lead-based paint in older homes is still the
most common source of high-dose lead
exposure for preschool-aged children.
Lead
o Childhood lead exposures can occur
through:
o Ingestion of paint chips
o Dust from deteriorating surfaces
o Chewing on painted cribs, or
through inhalation of lead paint
dust.

Air Pollution
o Air pollution affects children more than
adults because of their narrow airways,
rapid rate of respiration and the fact that
they inhale more pollutants per pound of
body weight.
o Common indoor air pollutants include:
o Carbon Monoxide
o Radon
o Environmental Tobacco Smoke
o Asbestos
o Formaldehyde and Mercury
Pesticides
o Children are often exposed to toxicants

through the agricultural and home use of
pesticides or the ingestion of pesticide
residues on food or in water.
o Pesticides used today generally fit into five
main categories:
o Insecticides
o Herbicides
o Fungicides
o Nematocides
o Rodenticides
What is Environmental
Medicine?
o Environmental Medicine focuses on
the person and the environment.
o Emphasizes:
o Identification
o Diagnosis
o Treatment
o Prevention

The Discipline of Environmental Medicine
o A broad discipline involving:

o Understanding the impact of the
environment on human health
o Eliciting appropriate exposure history
o Recognizing exposure-related
diseases
o Identifying and Accessing resources
o Discuss environmental risks to
patients
o Treating Patients
Environmental Medicine and
Human Health
o Environmental medicine plays two
major roles in human health.
o Provides the diagnosis and
treatment of health complaints
attributable to the environment.
o Contributes to a much broader
understanding of the unity of
human health and
environmental quality.
Future Concerns
o Research that identifies patterns of
environmental diseases in children.
o The developmental process, including the
critical periods of vulnerability during which
environmental exposures can cause adverse
health effects.
o The health effects of low level exposures to
environmental toxicants such as dioxins,
endocrine disruptors and lead.
o The health effects of cumulative and multiple
exposures to environmental hazards.
Policies to be Implicated
o THE KEY TO PROTECTION IS

PREVENTION.
o There has been a dramatic shift in the
recognition of children's
environmental health issues
everywhere.

Conclusion
o Environmental medicine is the clinical arm
of environmental health.
o Involves diagnosis and prevention of illness
caused or influenced by external agents in
a persons environment.
o Once an environmental disease has
occurred, it’s treatment is often within the
domain of internal medicine, but it’s
recognition and prevention is the essence
of the environmental health practice.
o Once a hazard has been recognized,
control, and reduction of exposure should
follow swiftly.
Conclusion cont..
o Environmental medicine will play an

even greater role in the lives of
everyone as we continue to educate the
public as well as public policy makers on
environmental related issues.


Environmental Health: Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail:) Website

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Environmental Health: Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail:) Website

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Environmental Health

Author: Partha Das Sharma, (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com)

o Environmental health is the branch of

Author: Partha Das Sharma 2

o There are four types of environmental

Author: Partha Das Sharma 3

o While soil is often overlooked as a

Author: Partha Das Sharma 5

o The major environmental hazards and

o Four characteristics critical to exposure

Author: Partha Das Sharma 13

o In its first environment, its mother's womb,

o All children are affected by

Author: Partha Das Sharma 16

o Poverty can compound the adverse

Author: Partha Das Sharma 17

Author: Partha Das Sharma 18

o The following are three selected

Author: Partha Das Sharma 19

Author: Partha Das Sharma 21

o Children are often exposed to toxicants

Author: Partha Das Sharma 24

o A broad discipline involving:

o THE KEY TO PROTECTION IS

Author: Partha Das Sharma 28

o Environmental medicine will play an

Author: Partha Das Sharma 30

Potrebbero piacerti anche