Environmental & Occupational Influences on Health Flashcards
What is a hazard?
Something with the potential to cause harm
What is risk?
The likelihood of harm occurring
What is risk factor?
Something that increases risk
What is a protective factor?
Something that decreases risk
What is susceptibility?
Influences the likelihood that something with cause harm
What are the different types of hazards?
Physical, chemical, mechanical, biological and psychosocial
What are the different routes of exposure?
Skin, blood/sexual, inhalation and ingestion
What are the factors that influence the degree of risk?
How much a person is exposed
How the person is exposed
Conditions of exposure
What does the term probability encompass?
The probability that a particular outcome will occur and the severity of the the harm involved
What are the 3 principles that govern the perception of risk?
Feeling in control, size of possible harm and familiarity with the risk
How does the perception of risk compare between involuntary and voluntary risks?
Involuntary risks are perceived as having a greater risk (plane trip vs car trip)
Describe the differences with sizes of possible harm.
Risks that involve greater POSSIBLE harm are perceived as greater.
Even if less harmful events are more likely
Compare less familiar and more familiar risks.
Less familiar risks are perceived as being greater e.g. nuclear plant accident vs. food poisoning
What are the individual variables in risk perception?
Previous experience, attitudes towards risk, values, beliefs, socio-economic factors, personality and demographic factors
How can environmental hazards be classified?
Direct or indirect
What are the direct pathological effects?
Physical - ionising/non-ionising radiation, noise and vibration
Chemical - pesticides and volatile organic compounds (VOC)
Biological - infectious agents and allergic substances
What are the indirect pathological effects?
Housing e.g. overcrowding
Transport
Town planning e.g. access to amenities, social networks
Income/welfare/wealth distribution
Give examples of hazardous exposure.
Diet - fat, salt, bacteria, pesticides, acrylamide, phthalates
Inhalation - environmental tobacco smoke, smog, asbestos, legionella, pesticides
Dermal - UVA/UVB, bacteria, cosmetics, pesticides
Describe the Seveso Disaster.
July 10th 1976
Highest known exposure to TCDD leading to reversible peripheral neuropathy, excess mortality from respiratory and CVD diseases, increase in lymphatic and haematopoetic tissue neoplasms (incidence of breast cancer).
Describe the Bhopal disaster.
December 3rd 1984
Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant released 40 tonnes of MIC gas.
2500-5000 people killed.
What are the figures for occupational disease in UK?
144 fatal injuries - majority in construction.
550,000 non-fatal injuries
12,000 deaths pa from harmful working conditions
8,000 occupation cancer deaths (4,000 due to asbestos)
4,000 COPD deaths due to chemical and dust exposure
1.2m cases of ill health caused or made worse by work
