Week 8 [Environmental and Occupational Health] Flashcards
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Affected by the quality of the environment
HEALTH
Quality of the environment includes:
- Air to breath
- Water to drink
- Food to eat
- Type of community to live
Study and management of environmental conditions that affect the health and well-being of humans
Environmental Health
Factors or conditions in the environment that increase the risk of human injury, disease, or death.
Environmental hazards
- is contamination of the air that interferes with the comfort, safety, and health of living organisms.
- is the contamination of the air by substances—gases, liquids, or solids—in amounts great enough to harm humans, the environment, or that alter climate
AIR POLLUTION
Outdoor Air Pollutants
Air pollutant emanating directly from transportation, power and industrial plants, and refineries
EXAMPLES:
* Carbon monoxide
* carbon dioxide
* sulfur dioxide
* nitrogen oxides
* hydrocarbons
* suspended particulates
Primary pollutant
Air pollutant formed when primary air pollutants react with sunlight and other atmospheric components to form new harmful compounds
EXAMPLES:
* nitrogen dioxide
* nitric acid
* nitrate salts
* sulfur trioxide
* sulfate salts
* sulfuric acid
* peroxyacyl nitrates
* ozone
Secondary pollutant
haze or fog formed when air pollutants interact with sunlight
Photochemical smog ‘brown smog’
haze or fog formed primarily by sulfur dioxide and suspended particles from the burning of coal, also known as gray smog
Industrial smog ‘gray smog’
EXAMPLES ARE:
* burning eyes
* shortness of breath
* increased incidences of colds, coughs, nose irritation
* other respiratory illness
Acute health effects
EXAMPLES ARE:
* chronic bronchitis
* emphysema
* increased incidence of bronchial asthma attacks
* increased risk of lung cancer
Chronic health effects
- an inorganic molecule considered to be a pollutant in the atmosphere because it harms human tissue, but considered beneficial in the stratosphere because it screens out UV radiation.
- represents the single most dangerous air pollutant
- Breathing ozone can result in variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, congestion, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, and reduced lung function
- Repeated exposure to ground-level ozone may permanently scar lung tissue
OZONE [O3]
a condition that occurs when warm air traps cooler air at the surface of the Earth
THERMAL INVERSION
- An act providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and for other purposes.
- Overall leading agency is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), together with other government agencies such as DOTC, DOST, DTI, DOE, PAGASA, PNRI, DEPED, and CHED
RA 8749 : Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
Sources of indoor air pollutants:
Five sources
- Building and insulation materials
- biogenic pollutants, combustion by-products
- home furnishings and cleaning agents
- radon gas
- tobacco smoke
- a naturally occurring mineral fiber identified as a Class A carcinogen by the EPA
- It is harmless if intact and left alone, but, when disturbed, inhaled airborne fibers can cause serious health problems
Asbestos
- are airborne materials of biological origin such as living and nonliving fungi and their toxins, bacteria, viruses, molds, pollens, insect parts, and animal dander
- These contaminants can trigger allergic reactions, including asthma; cause infectious illnesses, such as influenza and measles; or release disease-producing toxins.
Biogenic pollutants
WAYS TO REDUCE BIOGENIC POLLUTANTS:
Three ways
- Relative humidity level of 30% to 50% (recommended).
- Remove standing water and any wet or water-damaged material at home.
- Inspection of house regularly by someone knowledgeable about indoor air pollutions.
- include gases (e.g., CO, NO2, and SO2) and particulates (e.g., ash and soot)
- major sources of these items are fireplaces, wood stoves, kerosene heaters, candles, incense, secondhand tobacco smoke, and improperly maintained gas stoves and furnaces.
Combustion by-products
are compounds that exist as vapors over the normal range of air pressures and temperatures
EXAMPLE: Formaldehyde
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
any physical or chemical change in water that can harm living organisms or make the water unfit for other uses such as drinking, domestic use, recreation, fishing, industry, agriculture, or transportation
WATER POLLUTION
Refers to a single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into the water, such as a pipe, ditch, or culvert. Point sources of pollution are relatively easy to identify, control, and treat
Release of pollutants from a factory or sewage treatment plant.
Point source pollution
all pollution that occurs through the runoff, seepage, or falling of pollutants into the water where the source is difficult or impossible to identify
Nonpoint source pollution
Ex. Heat, inorganic chemicals such as lead, copper, and arsenic; organic chemicals; and radioactive contaminants.
Nonbiological pollutants
a disease in which at least two persons experience a similar illness after the ingestion of drinking water or after exposure to water used for recreational purposes and epidemiological evidence implicates water as the probable source of the illness
Waterborne disease outbreak (WBDO)
- aims to protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from land-based source (industries and commercial establishments, agriculture and community/household activities). It provides for a comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach involving all the
stakeholders. - DENR in coordination with National Water Resources Board (NWRB)
RA 9275 – The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
CDC defines FBDO as the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the Foodborne disease outbreaks ingestion of a common food
Foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDO)
Leading factors that contributed to FBDOs:
- inadequate cooking temperatures or improper holding temperatures for foods (especially for bacterial outbreaks)
- unsanitary conditions or practices at the point of service, such as failure to wash hands (norovirus outbreaks); or drinking raw (nonpasteurized) milk (bacterial outbreaks).
any organism—a multi-celled animal or plant, or a microbe—that has an adverse effect on human interests
Pest
synthetic chemical developed and manufactured for the purpose of killing pests
Pesticide