Chapter 16 - Environmental Health Flashcards
All about infectious diseases associated with contaminated water, food, waste, and other pollutants.
Environmental Health (what the field used to be)
Expanded to encompass pollutants from human and industrial activities and that cause chronic diseases and global environmental damage.
Environmental Health ( what the field is now)
What are the major issues in environmental health now?
- climate change
- depletion of resources ( especially energy resources)
- overpopulation
Since 1900, the world use of this has increased nearly 9-fold, and per person use has quadrupled. Withdrawal rates of this from the surface are projected to double in the next 20 years and exceed reliable sources in a growing number of areas.
Water
What will happen if we run out of water?
40 states will have a water shortage by 2025
What can cause the US to run out of water?
- droughts
- rising temp
- waste
Established many health standards for drinking water.
Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
Can be in water pipes and is a concern in older homes.
Lead
What became a significant public health event in Flint Michigan?
Lead
The presence of certain gases in the lower atmosphere helps regulate the earth’s temperature by trapping heat from the sun and preventing it from radiating back into space. If it weren’t for this, the earth would be much colder and not as good of a place to sustain life. So, this isn’t considered bad.
Greenhouse effect
Part of the upper atmosphere. An odorless, colorless gas composed of oxygen. It naturally forms in the upper atmosphere where it provides protection from the sun’s UV radiation. The shield prevents about 95% of the sun’s UV rays from reaching the earth’s surface. However, this in the lower atmosphere is hazardous to health. It is poisonous to most living organisms. Can cause respiratory irritation, aggravates respiratory and heart disease, and damages the lungs. About one in three people has an unusually susceptibility to this.
Ozone
Who is greater at risk for harm from lowering of ozone exposure?
- children with respiratory disorders (like asthma)
- adults with respiratory diseases (such as emphysema)
- older adults ( because respiratory function declines with age)
What does climate change effect?
- agriculture
- transportation
- infrastructure
With rising sea levels, increased amounts of what due to burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and farming practices have led to the highest levels of carbon dioxide in 4.5 million years?
greenhouse gases
Led to an average temperature increase of 1-1.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century. These changes are different from the term weather.
Global warming
Something we look at as changes in the atmosphere on a daily basis.
Weather
Changes in the atmosphere over time.
Climate change
Cause respiratory problems. Cause cancer, heart disease, and birth defects.
Air pollutants
The EPA measures air pollution with this. Provides the public with a daily report on air conditions and any occasional health warnings. They give recommendations for outdoor activity levels. The higher the number, the less healthy the air.
Air Quality Index (AQI)
What is considered good air quality?
0-99
What level from AQI is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups like for people with asthma?
100 or higher
What level from AQI is considered very unhealthy?
200
What level from AQI is considered hazardous?
300 or higher
Affect every aspect of the environment. Every degree of increased temperature leads to more soil drying, evaporation, and drier plants and trees. This increases the chance of obtaining more of this.
Wildfires
Are particles or droplets of dust, soot, oils, metals, or other compounds suspended in the air. It can irritate and damage parts of the lungs. It can also trigger an immune system response that may alter blood chemistry and blood pressure, contributing to heart disease and lung disease.
Particle matter
A mixture of pollutants in the lower atmosphere that makes the air hazy.
Smog
Is caused primarily by the burning of large amounts of coal and oil for heating, manufacturing, and the production of electrical power.
Industrial smog
The type of smog that sits as a thick haze over many cities in the summer. Exists in all modern cities, but it is more prevalent in sunny, warm, dry climates with high population density and high use of fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas).
Photochemical smog
What causes the thinning of the ozone layer?
Chlorofluorocarbons or CFC”s
Chemicals used as coolants in refrigeration and air-conditioning units, as propellants in aerosol sprays, as solvents in cleaning products and as foaming agents in some rigid foam products. When these chemicals are released or leak into the air, they slowly rise into the upper atmosphere, where chlorine atoms destroy ozone.
Chlorofluorocarbons or CFC’s
Without the protection of the ozone layer, what can humans be more at risk for?
- severe sunburns
- skin cancer
- cataracts
- suppression of immune system ( which increase risk of infectious diseases)
Because of ozone depletion, every spring and early summer, a massive hole appears in the ozone layer over where?
Antartica
Who are the biggest contributors to carbon pollution?
US and China
Many countries signed this agreement in 2015 to lower greenhouse gas emissions. US pulled out of the agreement in 2017 but rejoined in 2021.
Paris Agreement
How can we decrease greenhouse emissions?
- stop driving
- using electricity
- recycle
- eat less meat
Americans tend to spend 80-90% of their time indoors. Spending extensive time indoors magnifies health risk from this. Possibly to 50 times the health risk experienced outdoors. Exposure has been causing 6,000 cases of cancer every year in the US.
Indoor pollutants
Examples of indoor pollutants :
(allergens)
- mold
- dust mites and animal dander
- chemicals
How can we help control indoor pollutants?
- clean house
- keep pets clean
- wash bedding weekly
- maintain humidity level
What are the most dangerous indoor air pollutants?
- tobacco
- formaldehyde (used in construction of furniture, drapes, and fiberboard)
- radon (naturally occurring gas in some soils, rocks, and building materials)
- carbon monoxide (produced by incomplete burning of fuels containing carbon like gas stoves, space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, and cigarette smoke)
- mold
- polybrominated diphenyl ethers (flame retardant chemicals used in plastic and foam products like furniture cushions and carpet pads, hard casings for TV’s, telephones, computers, and other electronic equipment and insulation for cables and wires)
The US leads the world in what generating about 1,600 pounds per person per year?
garbage production
Carefully selected sites where waste is buried, sometimes in plastic-lined containers or pits. They are designed to prevent leaking into water supplies.
Sanitary landfills
Temperatures inside what exceed 1800 degrees to prevent air pollution?
city incinerators
EPA estimated that how many tons of hazardous materials are produced each year in the US?
12 trillion
Should not be poured down the drain, onto the ground, or into storm drains, nor should they be disposed of in the trash.
Hazardous materials
Household hazardous waste include:
- batteries
- paint
- cleaning supplies
- oil
- pesticides
These are pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, antibacterial soap, shampoo, shaving lotion, skin cream, dishwashing liquids, plastic, flame retardants, and many other chemical compounds. Alone, they are in such small quantities that they could not possibly do any damage if consumed, but together, they form a “cocktail” of chemicals with unknown results. Medical waste precautions are strongly adhered to, and public exposure to medical waste is very rare.
Emergent contaminants
TV’s, computer monitors, microwaves, and cell phones all emit this. Research has not been able to establish any health effects.
low-level radiation
Many communities have established these to help address the problem of excessive waste. Today, the US has the highest recycling rate of any industrialized country. Americans recycle 28% of their waste.
recycling programs
It is an interconnected community of organisms living together in a physical environment as a balanced, mutually supportive system.
Ecosystem
It is the variety of different animal and plant species on earth, numbering in the millions and the genetic variation in their gene pools.
Biodiversity
An ecological and biologically diverse planet offers innumerable benefits to humans:
- medications can be derived from plants and animals
- fuel, food, and lumber are enhanced by variety of life forms
- nature provides a place for retreat and refreshment
How humans have disrupted ecosystems and caused a decline in biodiversity:
- Deforestation
- Desertification
- City wastes engulfing water of wildlife
- creating buildings and taking land
- diversion of water for agricultural irrigation
The removal of trees from a forested area without adequate replanting. About 90% of forest loss is occurring in tropical forests. Even though they only make up 6% of the world’s land, they are home to between 50-90% of all terrestrial species. At present rates, 50% of tropical species could be extinct by 2042.
Deforestation
The conversion of once fruitful land into infertile wasteland or desert. Every day, on average, 40 square miles of land are turned into desert by droughts in combination with human activities such as livestock grazing, poor irrigation techniques, and overplanting of crops.
Desertification
What in North America are threatened by industrial, agricultural, and city wastes, as well as, disruption of water flow by dams, channelization, and diversion of water for agricultural irrigation?
Rivers
What is threatened by acid precipitation and pollution which kills plants and animal life?
Lakes
Provide breeding areas and habitats for wildlife, store enormous amounts of water, keep the water table high during droughts, and help prevent flooding. Often viewed as wasteland and considered fair game for draining, building, and agriculture.
Wetlands
Environmentalists believe in this. They believe we should focus on reducing ecological effects of current energy practices; diminishing energy waste; shifting toward renewable, nonpolluting energy sources such as water, wind, geothermal, and solar power.
energy concervation
Has increased the severity of environmental problems. A billion people were added between 1960 and 1975. Another billion were added between 1975 and 1987. By 2000, the world population was 6.1 billion and 7.9 billion by 2021. The United Nations predicts that the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050 and stabilize at about 10 billion in 2200. Much of the population growth will take place in less developed countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Overpopulation
The number of people the earth can support at subsistence levels. This includes food, water, land, and energy to survive.
Global carrying capacity
The number the earth can support at optimum standard of living. Optimum standard of living includes the luxuries that are part of life in the developed world, such as plentiful food, indoor plumbing, cars, and air conditioning.
Cultural carrying capacity
Analysts estimate that the global carrying capacity of the earth is what?
50 billion
If luxuries are minimized, the cultural carrying capacity could be well above what projected by 2050? What about if luxuries are maximized?
9 billion, lower than current 7 billion
Helps give you an idea of how much of the earth’s resources you are using. American consume more resources, generate more pollution, and discard more waste than any other people on the planet.
Ecological footprint
