Environmental Health

1. Environmental Health PA Environmental & Ecology Standard: 4.3.12.A,B,C

2. Pollutants are everywhere • Atmosphere- car exhaust, cigarette smoke smokestacks • Hydrosphere- sediment, toxic wastes, animal wastes • Lithosphere- radioactive leaks, pesticides • Biosphere- includes everything

3. Environmental awareness • Public awareness, laws, and other legislation have helped reduce or prevent pollution over the past few decades

4. Water pollution • Two most common: • Sediment • Nutrients Wash in through farmland, construction, other areas where the ground is disturbed

5. Effluent • The wastewater from factories and refineries that is released directly into urban water supplies

6. Effluent often contains harmful by-products • Heated wastewater- raises temperature of the waterway killing aquatic life • Sewage: polluted water that contains human waste, garbage, and other household wastewater

7. Sewage • In most countries, it is treated with screens, filters, and chlorine • In the US, about 80% of sewage goes through treatment plants • About 10% passes through septic tanks • Remaining 10% is untreated and passes directly into the Earth’s water systems

9. Product of sewage: sediment • Commonly referred to as sludge • Most is dried or composted, tested, and used as fertilizers for forests and crops • The chemicals that can be found in the sludge determine where it can be spread

10. Water pollutants • Most can be dangerous to health • Examples: lead- causes brain damage iron & manganese- large amounts hydrogen sulfide- rotten egg smell radioactive- cancers

11. Microbes: • Very tiny pathogens, or organisms that cause disease • Can be protists, bacteria, or viruses • Common water-related illnesses: cholera, dysentery, malaria,cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis

12. Cholera • Intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae • Symptoms • Watery diarrhea & vomiting • Dehydration & even death if not treated • Preventive measures • Washing/peeling fruits and vegetables • Thoroughly cooking foods • Prevent cross-contamination of raw foods

13. Cholera • Treated with rehydration fluids and antibiotics • World Health Organization (WHO) reports a pandemic in progress, mainly in developing countries • Pandemic: an outbreak of a disease that affects an exceptionally high portion of a population and occurs over a very large geographical area

14. Dysentery • Caused several types of bacteria • Symptoms: • Bloody diarrhea & abdominal cramps, fever • In severe cases can cause seizures and kidney failure • Spreads through person-to-person contact, eating and drinking contaminated foods • Resistant to antibiotics is high but can be treated

15. Malaria • Parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes that breed in still water • Parasite infects the liver and red blood cells • Symptoms: flu-like, headache, fever, and vomiting

16. Malaria • Mainly occurs in tropical regions • Causes at least one million deaths a year

17. Cholera, dysentery, & malaria • Common diseases in developing countries • Very rare in developed countries like the US

18. Cryptosporidiosis • Cryptosporidium cysts enter the human body and excyst, or “hatch” • The opening of the cysts allows millions of protozoa to complete their life cycles within the hosts intestines

19. Symptoms of Cryptosporidiosis • Appear 1 week after ingestion • Persistent diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, weight loss, dehydration • Lasts 10-14 days to 2-4 months • Fatal to weakened immune systems

20. Transmission of Cryptosporidiosis • Inadequately or improperly treated drinking water • Eating contaminated food or fecal-oral transmission • Often found in surface water, so it must be treated with chemicals, filters, and disinfectants • Also, a rapid boil for minute will destroy the cysts

21. Giardiasis • Similar to Cryptosporidiosis in its infection, transmission, symptoms, and treatment • Common on PA streams • Can be killed with chlorine treatment, and treated with medication

22. Waterborne disease outbreaks in PA at an all time low

23. Air Pollution • Results from: • Natural events • Forest fires • Dust storms • Human activities • Burning of fossil fuels • Major source of pollution

24. Pollutants caused from Industrial processes & motor vehicles • Ozone • Carbon monoxide • Sulfur dioxide • Nitrogen dioxide • Particulate matter

25. Ozone: O3 • A form of oxygen high in the atmosphere that protects the Earth’s inhabitants from harmful solar radiation • Close to the surface, it can cause respiratory problems, eye irritations, nausea

26. Carbon monoxide: CO • Colorless, odorless gas that forms from the incomplete burning of fuels • Source: motor vehicles, industrial furnaces, cigarette smoke • Headache, fatigue, flulike symptoms. In high concentrations, CO can cause death.

27. Sulfur dioxide: SO2 • Forms when coal containing pyrite is burned • Sulfur from pyrite combines with O2 and moisture from air and creates sulfuric acid or acid precipitation. • Causes difficulty in breathing, decreased lung function

28. Nitrogen dioxide: NO2 • Forms when fuel is burned. Industrial areas and high traffic areas • Can lead to smog (smoke and fog) and acid precipitation. • Eye irritation, stuffy nose, sore throat • Issue warnings about smog

29. Particulate matter • Solid particles in the air • Dust, tiny pieces of rubber from tires, asbestos from brake linings • Irritations of respiratory system

30. Toxic substances • Nearly 200 various metals and compounds • Lead- cancer • Mercury- brain damage, developing fetuses

31. Allergies & Asthma • Respiratory diseases caused by indoor and outdoor pollutants

32. Allergy • A reaction by the body to a foreign substance that is harmless to most other people • Molds, bacteria, pollen, cigarette smoke, dust, foods, dyes

33. Asthma • A disorder of the lungs in which airways tend to constrict, resulting in episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing • Dust, mites, dander, pollen, air pollutants, bacteria • Asthma tends to be more serious than allergies

34. PA Air Quality • Although vehicle number has increased, pollution has not due to maintenance and inspections

35. Soil Pollutants • Mainly agriculture-sediments, pesticides, fertilizers, animal wastes • Landfills- can leak harmful substances • Industrial processes- heavy metals • Mining- AMD • Radioactive waste- nuclear power plants

36. Radioactive wastes: 2 Types • High-level wastes(HLW)- highly radioactive, can pose health risks for thousands of years • Used nuclear fuel • Govt. responsibility • Low-level wastes(LLW)-materials contaminated with radioactive and emit small amounts of radiation • Individual state’s responsibility

37. Indoor Air pollution • Paints, cleaning products, oils, pesticides can become household hazard waste(HHW) • Follow instruction on label for use and disposal • Use required amount, not more

38. Manufacturing of household products • When created these products can cause a great deal of pollution • Ex: bleach: chlorine gas causes upper respiratory problems • Ammonia: nitrogen can pollute the air and form nitrogen dioxide.