Environmental Flashcards
What is the evidence that obesity has become an epidemic?
1 in 2 people are now overweight or obese in OECD countries
an unhealthy excuse of adipose tissue
obesity
measure used to define normal weight, overweight, and obese categories
BMI
overweight BMI
25-29.9
obese BMI
over 30
total weight of fat divided by total weight
body fat eprcentge
what is the range over overweight for body fat percentage?
33%-39%
what is the range for obese for body fat percentage?
39%
considers the body fat mass and divides in by height
fat mass index
what are the limitations of BMI?
does not take into consideration what composes the masses of our bodies
What is an explanation for why higher body fat would increase risk to cancer?
fat tissues produce excess hormones, higher levels of IGF-1 which promote tumor development
What has changes in our eating habits that may be contributing to obesity?
people are eating out more, people are eating more fast food, sedentary life styles
What are some key bult enviornment constructs that impact obesity?
walkability indicies, food enviornment, recreational enviornment
which SES subgroup is more vulnerable to obesity due to built environment?
low SES
What are some key recommendations to curb childhood obesity?
discourage early food introductions, foster self feeding and responsive eating, discourage SSB consumption - no soda or juice
What are some of the underlying causes of childhood obesity?
childhood advertising, technology, physical activity
how do endocrine disrupters affect obesity
chemicals alter metabolic programming in early life and cause obesity/metabolic syndrome
What is an example of an endocrine disrupter than has been show to induce fat mass in rates?
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
why is studying occupational exposures so crucial to environmental health?
much of our knowledge about exposure assessment comes from occupational settings - workers are exposed to a greater number of dangerous chemicals, and we attempt to extrapolate to the public
what are some occupational exposures to silica?
sand blasting, constriction, mining
what are some potential health effects of silica and coal dust exposures?
silicosis, lung cancer, renal damage, autoimmune disorders, desert lung disease, podoconiosis
responsible for worker protection from chemical and physical hazards
occupational safety and Health Administration
two major US agencies that make decisions regarding various environmental exposures
FDA and EPA
commonly referred to as the Superfund, was enacted to tax the chemical and petroleum industries and provide federal authority to respond directly to releases of threatened releases of hazardous substances that endanger the enviornment
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
What are the 4 steps of risk assessment?
hazard identification, dose-responses assessment and exposure assessment, and risk characterixation
answers: what are the health effects caused by the chemical?
hazard identification
probability of a hazard resulting in an adverse health outcome
risk
the inherent potential for something to cause harm
hazard
the amount of time or level of exposure to a hazard
exposure
the US EPA’s maximum acceptable oral dose of a toxic substance - can be consumed every day for life without any adverse effectss
reference dose
a term from the EPA to identify the risk associated with a unit dose of carcinogen
cancer slope factor
what is NOAEL?
no observable adverse effect level
what is LOAEL?
lowest observable adverse effect level
what information is needed to calculate exposure?
concentration, how much exposure, how often, and BMI
What was the first hazard identification for Coeur d-Alen?
Outbreak of children with lead poison within the region, looked at environmental chemical composition to analyze for contaminants
How was the toxicity assessment done in the coeur d-Alene clean up?
evaluation was conducted of the scientific evidence from animal and human epidmiologic studies for cancer and non-cancer outcomes
How was exposure assessment done for the coeur d-Alene clean up?
estimates of intakes were estimated for soil, sediment, drinking water, etc
How was risk characterization done for the coeur d-Alene clean up?
each segment of the population had its exposures to 7 metals estimates, and a hazard index was calculated
the study of adverse effects of chemical agents on people and animals
toxicology
widely used for many applications, but caused skin conditions, fatigue, headache, and poor cognition in children
PCBs
What is the source of PCBs?
liquid insulators, transformers, capacitors, coolants
the process by which toxic substances accumulate in the tissues of living organisms
bioaccumulation
fat soluble chemicals are ___ likely to bioaccumulate
more
____ chemicals are not readily metabolized, so they are more likely to accumulate
chlorinated
the change in health effect with a change in dose of a substance
dose response
what is the challenge with low doses?
it’s possibly the biggest challenge in environmental toxicology - vast majority of human exposures are in this area, and extrapolation is required
what are the 4 dose response curve shapes?
sigmoidal, linear, supra linear, sublinear
Why do we chose to flourodiate water sources?
fluoride makes us less likely to develop cavities
what are P=450s?
enzymes that metabolize drugs, toxicants making them more water soluble and facilitating their eliminations
What is an example of a CYp450 inducer and inhibitor?
rifampin and ondansetron (herb rosemary, grapefruit juice)
Where was lead historically used in the US?
building materials, ceramics, pipes, decorative fixtures, paints
What was the early evidence that gasoline and leaded paint were a major source of exposure?
researchers could look at the cumulative effect, including with teeth, and were able to correlative high lead levels to lower cognitive ad social function
What is the current acceptable blood lead level in children?
5 micro grams/dl
What is the major mode of action of lead?
compromises the blood brain barrier?
What treatments reduce lead burden in individuals?
2,3 - dimercaptosuccinic acid
what are 5 examples of evidence that a consistent global warming is happening?
1.1C rise is US avg temp over the last 50 years, 8 inch sea level rise, oceans are 30% more acidic, increases in heavy downpours, atlantic seas surface temp is 2 degrees celsius above average, destructive atlantic tropical storms have increased
some of the infrared radiation passes through the atmosphere, but most is absorbed and reemitted in all directions by been house gas molecules and clouds, which warms the early temperatures are the lower atmosphere
greenhouse effect
name the 6 green house gases of concern?
carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, methane, water vapor, halocarbons
what are 3 human causes of global warming?
increased beef and methane, little change before industrial era, global mean temps are rising faster with time
what are some examples of environmental changes that were predicted and came true
norfolk VA sea level rise, NYC sea level rise, rising floods in bangladesh
what health effects will be exacerbated by climate change?
allergies, extreme storms, heat stress, food and waterborne diseases, infectious disease, air pollution and asthma
linking models for global and regional climate, land use and cover, and air quality to examine the potential public c health impacts of heat and air pollution under alternative scenarios of climate change and regional land use in the future in the NYC metropolitan region
The New Yrok Climate and Health Project
interventions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
mitigation
initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of natural systems against expected effects of climate change
adaptation
What are some example son mitigation options?
GHG laws and regulation, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, biological carbon sequestration, waste management, decarbonization
What are some key elements to global warming preparedness?
identifying vulnerabilities, tracking, climate smart design, public education
What makes DDT such a big problem, compared to modern pesticides?
chlorinated, so it doesn’t degrade in the environment, and has a very long half-life
What mechanism makes organophosphate insecticides a neurotoxicant?
inhibits acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine, leading to too much acetylcholine and a hyper stimulation of the nerve cell
What country in New york has the highest pesticide use?
manhattan, because of rats
what is the effect of chlorpyrifos on children?
mental and motor delays, attentions problems, ADHD, pervasive developmental disorder
why are children at greater risk with respect to exposure of neurotoxins and pesticides?
breathe more, eat more, hand to mouth activity, and closer to the ground
what is some evidence that mercury is a toxicant?
minimal, and other contamination disasters showed neuropsychological outcomes
what disease does prenatal methyl mercury exposure result in?
MInimata disease (malformations and/or mental retardation)
What is the evidence that the environment plays a role in idiopathicparkinson’s disease?
MPTP causes similar effects as parkinson because it causes cell death
how does manganeseaffect the nervous system differently then MDTP?
mdtp causes cell death, manganese does not cause death but rather inhibits dopamine
what is the current population, and where is it headed?
7 billion, headed up with more than 85% of all population growth in the last 200 years
What are the growth drivers of population change?
local agriculture, global agriculture, public health, improved health care and sanitation
What are the decline drivers of population change?
fertility control, wars, diseases, hunger
What is total fertility rate?
average number of children per woman per lifetime
why is the ideal TFR set at 2.1?
to have 100 girl babies the earlier generation has to produce 2016 babies, but some will die before reproducing, so they must bear 210 babies to replace themselves
How has contraception affected growth of the population, and what unmet need is there?
slowed population increase in developed countries, but there is little birth control in developing countries
What happens to TFR when women are educated?
start having children later, have fewer children, and enhance the survival of the children they have
What are some of the current drivers for population increase trends?
infant mortality rates are declining, life expectancy is increasing
What does the myth of overpopulation argue?
we could fit everyone in the land size of texas
How is overpopulation harming the environment?
at the limit carrying capacity, have just enough land to sustain where we are, but arable land is decreasing due to overarming
What is the overpopulation impact on fish?
overfishing - some species are becoming endangered
How much land is used for livestock?
30%
How is co2 affectiong out oceans?
making it more acidic, killing off some species like coral reefs
What is happening to our fish water supplied?
decreasing
What are the 2 suggestions for controlling future population growth?
contraception and maternal health services, feed the most vulnerable, education
what happened with the donors for?
main industry was to produce zinc, but thermal inversion trapped a pocket of cool air, toxic gasses began to build up, many died or became sick
what happened in the great london smog?
thermal inversion happened and 4,000 people died from respiratory tract infections
what is the clean air act?
required the EPA to set and enforce limits for six criteria pollutants
what are the 6 criteria pollutants
sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, participates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, lead
harmful substance that is emitted directly into the atmosphere
primary air pollutant
harmful substance formed in the atmosphere when a primary air pollutant reacts with substances normally found in the atmosphere
secondary air pollutant
warm air near the surface traps cool air, and an pollution released into this pocket of trapped cool air
thermal inversion
is sulfur dioxide primary or secondary
primary
is smog a primary or secondary pollutant
secondary - formed when sunlight reacts with air pollution
why is carbon dioxide so dangerous
directly interferes with ability of blood cells to transport oxygens
how does particulate size affect human health?
the smaller they ae the more likely they are to be inhaled nd loved in the bronchial tissue
is ozone a primary or secondary pollutant
secondary
chemicals that react with nitrous oxide in the presence of sunlight, converting o2 to ozone
volatile organic compounds
what are some sources of VOCs?
paints, paint strippers, and car exhausts
how does the clean air act affect businesses?
encourages the use of market based principles to push the use of cleaner fuels and promotes energy conservation
what is the best epidemiological approach to investigate air pollution health effects?
cohort studies - ecological level
what are some commonly used biomass fuels?
agricultural waste, wood, etc
what are some health effects attributable to indoor biomass burning?
stroke, heart ceases, cold, lung cancer
why is biomass a low efficiency energy system?
incomplete combustion, which is hazardous to health
what populations are most affected by biomass combustion?
children, women, and poor
what strategies are the ghana randomized air pollution health study using?
biotite stoves, LPG stoves
