Environmental Health and Toxicology Flashcards
Environmental Health
The study of how environmental contaminants impact human health is known as environmental health
Environmental Health can be broken down by
exposures, or the way you are exposed to a specific hazard
Physical hazards
car accidents, tornadoes, sunburn
Chemical hazards
rat poison, alcohol, bleach
Biological hazards
fleas, ticks, STDs, tapeworms
Cultural hazards
alcohol and sex
The major focus of environmental health is
disease
Disease can be broken down into two categories
Chronic Disease and Infectious Disease
Chronic Disease
your body develops on its own
Infectious Disease
something gave it to you ex: Malaria
Infectious diseases account for ____% of the world’s deaths
26
Epidemiological transition
where disease travels
Third World countries tend to die of infectious diseases but as you become a more developed country, they start dying of
chronic diseases
Toxicology is the study of
poisons (toxins) and how they impact the health of living organisms
The dose makes
the poison
What percentage of US streams and rivers have at least trace amounts of synthetic toxins?
80%
Carcinogens
Toxins that cause cancer
The largest source of cancer worldwide comes from synthetic chemicals like
benzene, ethylene oxide, aflatoxin, asbestos
Mutagens
Toxins that cause mutations in the DNA of organisms. Can lead to cancer, but mostly cause abnormalities in offspring
Examples of mutagens are
sunlight, alkaloid plants
angiogenesis
the regrowth or growth of blood vessels
Teratogens
Chemicals that cause harm to an unborn
What percentage of birth defects are unknown?
65%
Allergens
Allergy causing agents that over stimulate the immune system to incite a response that is not necessary
Neurotoxins
Chemicals that attack the central nervous system. Mostly heavy metals, pesticides, and weaponry
Endocrine disruptors
Chemicals that interfere or mimic the endocrine (hormonal) system
example of Endocrine disruptors
Lake Apopka alligators, Taiwanese boys, and Tyrone Hays
What are the different ways that disease can travel?
routes of exposure
What are the modes of transmission?
inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption, and blood infection
Any thing that carries a disease from one organism to another is called a
vector
Epidemiology
The study of disease occurrence. The idea is to link areas with high disease outbreak to particular outcomes
Toxicology studies
Usually contain animal testing through dose-response relationship
LD50
Lethal Dose - 50%
IC50
Inhibitory Concentration - 50%
Threshold values
doesn’t affect the organism yet
Acute Exposure
Short period exposures
Chronic Exposure
Long Term exposures
Additive exposures
one bad chemical + another bad chemical = two bad effects
Synergistic effects
one bad chemical + another bad chemical = really bad effects (ex: aspirin and alcohol)
Subtractive effects
one bad chemical + another bad chemical = cancel each other out
Risk Assessment
A tool used by toxicologists to take into consideration the individual difference of people to help calculate risk
