Week 8 Tuesday highlights Flashcards
Environmental health is the responsibility of ____________.
government
True or false: Human activity has altered nearly every aspect of our physical environment
True
What are the 3 parts of the physical environment?
1) Unaltered
2) Altered
3) Built
1) What aspect of the population has caused a major impact on the physical envt?
2) Measuring the burden of disease is difficult.
Why?
1) Population boom
2) Effects may be subtle, may take a long time to affect the body
List 2 impacts of urban living and list solutions
1) Crowded conditions
2) Car dependence: public transportation, bike lanes, walking paths, bike-share programs
Define “smaller particle”
<10 microns in diameter, <2.5 microns pose highest risk
The Clean Air Act (1970) did what 3 things?
1) Strict air quality standards
-[req. EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 6 pollutants]
2) Set limits on several major pollutant
3) Mandated reduction of automobile and factory emissions
The Clean Air Act (1970) requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for what six principal pollutants?
CO, Lead, nitrogen oxides, O3, PM, SO2
The EPA has added what to the Clean Air Act over the years?
Asbestos, mercury, beryllium, benzene, coke-oven emissions (coal) and others
Half of all avoidable environment-related deaths are do to what?
Air pollution
______________ injuries and exposure to __________ substances = ~100,000 deaths yearly
Motor vehicle; toxic
Give at least 3 examples of burden of disease due to physical envt
1) MVAs + exposure to toxic substances
2) Occupational exposures and injuries
3) Toxic exposures can also alter ecosystems
True or false: Toxic exposures also alter ecosystems
Once chemicals, radiation, and biological products are released into the environment, the process cannot generally be easily reversed.
True
1) We are primarily exposed to the environment via what 4 things?
2) Each bodily surface that is directly exposed to the physical environment has developed what?
1) The skin, respiratory tract, digestive tract, and GU tract.
2) A form of barrier protection.
What 5 factors affect risk [of environmental impacts on the body]?
1) Route
2) Timing
3) Stage of life
4) Other diseases
5) Special sensitivities
What are the 3 most vulnerable populations based on age?
1) Very young
2) Very old
3) Pregnant
Occupational Exposures: what 2 organizations are involved?
OSHA + NIOSH
Public Health Assessment includes data on actual ____________ in a community.
exposure
Public Health Assessment addresses not just the risks in a specific location, but also the risks to large numbers of individuals and often what?
Risks to the population as a whole.
Give a (relatively) recent example of public health assessment
Flint Water Crisis 2014-2015 (largely affected black children)
What is the single most important environmental threat to the health of American children?
Lead
Even low levels of lead can do what?
Slow a child’s development and can cause learning and behavior problems
What happened regarding lead in 2007
Toy safety concerns
Congress passed the __________________ which imposed regulations and testing requirements for toys and children’s furniture on manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (2008)
Ecological risk assessment examines the impacts of contaminants on ___________ systems ranging from chemicals, to radiation, to genetically altered crops
ecological
Give 4 examples of things produced by fossil fuels
Mercury, PM, ozone, and sulfur dioxide production, CO2
