Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

1. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright Environmental Hazards and Human Health PPT by Clark E. Adams

2. Environmental Hazards and Human Health Links between human health and the environment Pathways of risk Risk assessment

3. Some Definitions Environment: combination of physical, chemical, and biological factors Hazard: anything that can cause injury, death, disease, damage to personal/public property, or deterioration or destruction of environmental components Risk: probability of suffering a loss as a result of exposure to a hazard

4. Links between Human Health and the Environment The picture of health Environmental hazards

5. The Picture of Health: Some Terms Morbidity: incidence of disease in a population Mortality: incidence of death in a population Epidemiology: study of presence, distribution, and control of disease in a population

6. Causes of Human Mortality

7. Environmental Hazards Cultural Biological Physical Chemical

8. Cultural Hazards Consequence of choice Risky behavior To what cultural hazards do college students commonly subject themselves?

9. Deaths from Various Cultural Hazards

10. Biological Hazards Pathogenic bacteria Fungi Viruses Protozoans Worms

12. Global Map of Tuberculosis, 2001

13. Infectious Diseases More prevalent in, but not exclusive to, developing countries Contamination of food and water Lack of resources for sanitation Lack of education Ideal climates for transmission of vector-borne diseases like malaria

14. Malarial Parasite Life Cycle

15. Physical Hazards Natural disasters, e.g., tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires Avoidance of risk important in prevention, e.g., building homes in floodplains, and living on the coast Climate change: consequences of elevated greenhouse gases

16. Chemical Hazards Result of industrialization Exposure through ingestion, inhalation, absorption through skin May be direct use or accidental Many chemicals are toxic at low levels

17. Chemical Hazards 74 chemicals are known to be carcinogenic (Table 15-2) Environmental carcinogens initiate mutations in DNA; several mutations lead to a malignancy

18. Pathways of Risk The risk of being poor The cultural risk of tobacco use Risk and infectious diseases Toxic risk pathways

19. The Risk of Being Poor One major pathway for hazards is poverty No money for health insurance Higher probability of exposure to environmental hazards

20. The 10 Leading Global Risk Factors

21. Environmental Health Factors contributing to the environmental health of a nation include: Education Nutrition Commitment from government More equitable distribution of wealth

22. The Cultural Risk of Tobacco Use

23. Regulation of Smoking Warning labels Smoke-free zones in public places FDA regulations Lawsuits against the tobacco industry

24. Risk and Infectious Diseases One major pathway of risk is contamination of food and water Inadequate hygiene Inferior sewage treatment

25. Control of Infectious Disease Genome sequencing of the Anopheles mosquito Bed nets Change in land use practices: wetland development New effective antimalarial drugs

26. Worldwide Distribution of Malaria

27. Toxic Risk Pathways Categories of impact of airborne pollutants Chronic: effect takes place over a period of years Acute: life-threatening reaction within a period of hours or days Carcinogenic: pollutants initiate cellular change leading to cancer

28. Indoor Air Pollution: Developed Countries Hazardous fumes from home products Well-insulated buildings Long exposure to indoor air

29. Indoor Air Pollution: Developing Countries Results from burning biofuels (wood, dung) inside homes Acute respiratory infections in children Chronic lung diseases Lung cancer Birth-related problems

30. Risk Assessment Environmental risk assessment by the EPA Public-health risk assessment Risk management Risk perception

31. Definition of Risk Assessment The process of evaluating the risks associated with a particular hazard before taking some action in which the particular hazard is present

32. Loss of Life Expectancy from Various Risks: Top Five (see Fig. 15-16) Alcoholic Poverty Smoking � male Poor social connections Heart disease

33. Loss of Life Expectancy from Various Risks

35. Environmental Risk Assessment by the EPA Hazard assessment (What chemicals cause cancer?) Dose-response assessment (How much?) Exposure assessment (How long?) Risk characterization (How many will die?)

36. Public-Health Risk Assessment Potential global impact High likelihood of causality Modifiability Availability of data (see Table 15-4)

37. Risk Management Usually involves: Cost�benefit analysis Risk�benefit analysis Public preferences

38. Risk Perception: Hazard vs. Outrage Hazard: expresses primarily a concern for fatalities only

39. Risk Perception: Hazard vs. Outrage Outrage includes: Lack of familiarity with technology Extent to which the risk is voluntary Public impressions of hazards Overselling safety Morality Control Fairness

40. Risk Assessment/Management Some suggest we use distributive justice in making decisions about risk Ethical process of making certain that everyone receives proper consideration Should reduce environmental racism/injustice

41. Risk Assessment/Management Not a perfect system Precautionary principle Lack of certainty should not be used as a reason for preventing environmental degradation/hazards

42. End of Chapter 15