Midterm pt 4 Flashcards
Year of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act?
1961
what did Water Pollution Control Act do
SEN
established standards, added enforcement, no control in interstate waters
what did the Water Quality Improvement Act do
aimed at oil spills, oil companies pay for clean-up, regulated drilling, thermal pollution and discharges from boats
Clean Water Act – goals
fishable/swimmable, allowed citizen suits, funding for infrastructure
1987 – Clean Water Act revisions
wetlands, phosphates/nitrates, sludge management, storm water control
Describe three causes for the shape of the graph of a pyramid
Infant mortality and a lot of young people dying due to lack of clean drinking water, low vaccination rates, lack of vector control, lack of waste water treatment, and lack of education
List three environmental health programs that can be introduced to modify the shape of the graph
Vector control (e.g. mosquito nets, spraying for mosquitoes), waste water treatment, drinking water chlorination
Why is Cryptosporidium an issue and what do you feel will be the outcome of the debate?
results in watery diarrhea and can be accompanied by abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting and fever. It is caused by a tiny spore that can pass through lager filtration systems sized for giardia spore. It is also resistant to chlorine so difficult to treat. There is no inexpensive, accurate and quick test for cryptosporidium in the water supply
under reported in the population with no laboratory surveillance testing and symptoms primarily attributed to the flu in the majority of cases. Need to reduce filter size and filter out, have a population clinical surveillance program and water treatment plant periodic testing – also consider alternate water disinfection methods – e.g. UV, ozone and reverse osmosis.
Ozone is environmentally beneficial in the upper atmosphere. Ground-level ozone is associated with unhealthy air. What are the contributing factors for each situation
Ozone in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere) protects earth from UV radiation a risk for melanoma. Ozone is formed by the reaction of O2 and UV light to form O,
- O and O2 react with other molecules (M) to form O3 and M and heat. Chlorofluorocarbons getting to the upper atmosphere is thought to be depleting the O3 due to reaction of the chlorine (as a catalyst) to form NO2 using up an O2 that would have been used to make O3. Also could be naturally occurring change dynamics or change in the natural chemistry of the stratosphere e.g.NOX.
b. Ozone in the lower atmosphere is caused by sunlight reacting with the products of combustion (primarily car exhaust) to form O3.
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are a cornerstone of the Federal Air Program. Please identify three of these criteria pollutants. Explain the difference between primary and secondary air standards.
a. CO, NOX, O3, Pb, SO2, PM2.5
b. Primary standards are designed to protect human health, with an adequate margin of safety, including sensitive populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals suffering from respiratory diseases. Secondary standards are designed to protect public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects of a pollutant
c. If a primary standard is exceeded health risks exist If a secondary standard is exceeded crops, trees and buildings may be damaged
How are health impacts of air pollution assessed, and what are the limitations of these determinations.
Identify two confounding variables that should be addressed in the health assessment
two complicating air sampling factors.
a. Health effects are assessed by doing studies on exposures to air pollutants and determining health outcomes. For example the impact of long term air pollution on the incidence of cardiovascular events in women. Or the impact of traffic on childhood asthma during the Atlanta Olympic games. Limitations on determining exposures and tying them to outcomes.
b. Confounding that need to be considered are other than air pollution exposures e.g. hobbies, occupational, and exposure in the home – no indoor pollution standards in the home. (second hand smoke, Radon, Pb in solder, diesel fumes at work …)
c. Air sampling devices need a power source so often can’t be placed at the point of exposure. In addition, the local exposure may vary considerable due to geographical features or weather patterns.
Describe the population in the U. S. at greatest risk for getting lead poisoning
Children under the age of six with those 2 and younger at the highest risk, children living within a city, black race, living in housing built before 1950, increased population density, increased poverty rates.
Second highest are people with occupational exposure.
Describe a lead poison prevention program that could be used to reach this population and reduce lead poisoning.
Use census data to identify communities with children at risk. Identify housing built before 1950 in those areas. Provide grant money and work with certified lead remediation contractors to assess and remediate highest risk houses. Assess opportunities for like tenant swaps to put families with children in lower risk housing. Consider rotating tenancies for families with young children.
List 5 identifiers / sources of information that can be used to define a high risk target area to identify lead in poisoned children.
Census data, WIC, lead screening test registry, hospital admissions, well child conferences
Which one of the 5 that you have listed would you select to use in a screening program to give the highest percentage yield of lead poisoned children if you could use only one and why?
Census data – data contains the data for risk factors for Pb poisoning – ages, SES, age of housing, education levels …
