Environmental Health Science-Hazards and Risks

Environmental Health Science-Hazards and Risks

Environmental hazards pose threats to environmental health. The threat to environmental health poses a threat to human health. The threat to human health concerns the dwelling of humans in these environments. Further, humans contribute to environmental hazards through different activities contributing to environmental pollution by influencing air, soil, and water (Wright, 2014). These human activities include the release of particles in the form of soot in the air, chemical products while farming affects the soil, and the release of industrial wastes into water bodies. Subsequently, these and more human activities contribute to the presence of hazards in the environment that affect human health. In consequence, there is a need to control and limit environmental hazards to protect human health. Therefore, various types of environmental hazards and the risks they pose to human health are assessable to protect human and environmental health (Withgott & Laposata, 2015).

There are four types of environmental hazards. They include cultural hazards, chemical hazards, biological hazards, and physical hazards. Cultural hazards are hazards rooted in people’s behavioral decisions and modes of living (Withgott & Laposata, 2015). Moreover, people pose threats to their health based on the decisions they make in their lives for temporary pleasure. Some of the actions people may indulge in include using hard drugs such as heroin, unhealthy food consumption, type of employment, location of the home, and ranking in society. Furthermore, cultural hazards affect human health and can be fatal, such as the use of hard drugs, which in many cases is fatal. Moreover, based on these examples, it is evident that some cultural hazards are controllable such as behavioral preferences, since individuals can choose to change their behavioral preferences. However, other cultural hazards are not controllable such as ranking in society.

Another type of environmental hazard is chemical hazards. Chemical hazards are hazards produced industrially. These hazards are products made up of chemicals such as drugs or dyes produced industrially (Wright, 2014). The threats they pose to human and environmental health occur during the products’ utilization and their discarding. During their use, people may inhale chemical fumes that affect their health, and inappropriate disposal may affect environmental and human health. Moreover, limiting the use of a particular chemical in production protects the environment and humans; limited use and exposure to chemical products protect the environment and people’s health. People working in these industries are exposed to many chemicals, making them more susceptible to illnesses.

An excellent example of a chemical hazard is (BPA) bisphenol A, a chemical product used in pliant materials such as containers that threaten human health. This is because they can seep out of the containers and, thus, affect individuals in many ways, such as ingestion by individuals (Withgott & Laposata, 2015). Further, it leads to the loss of pregnancy among pregnant women in most cases. Consequently, some precautions are put in place to limit exposure to BPA, such as preventing its use in items used by kids. These precautions are referred to as precautionary principles, which is a set of measures to help in the decision-making on a product that poses a threat to the health of individuals and the environment (Kriebel et al., 2001).

Another type of hazard is biological hazards. Biological hazards are hazards originating from biological living things (Withgott & Laposata, 2015). Accordingly, they include pathogens that result in pandemics that threaten people’s health. Pathogens include living organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, which cause diseases that affect human health and have fatal consequences. An excellent example is the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a disease that developed from the coronavirus discovered in 2019 and consequently developed into a pandemic with the increase in worldwide cases, with some leading to the death of people infected. Accordingly, preventative measures can be put in place to treat or limit the spread of biological hazards such as prescription drugs.

The last type of hazard is physical hazard. Physical hazards are naturally occurring hazards that pose a threat to human health (Wright, 2014). Most physical hazards result in environmental calamities, such as torrents and infernos in the forests. These calamities follow environmental occurrences such as heavy rainfall resulting in torrents, which threaten human health since drowning can be fatal when a person is not rescued. Some physical hazards also affect people’s dwelling places, such as the effects of hurricanes and infernos, leaving people without shelter, which will affect their health due to exposure to other environmental conditions.

These hazards influence environmental health due to their ability to cause diseases among people. These diseases are fatal in many instances, leading to the death of ailing individuals. Furthermore, many people worldwide lose their lives from exposure to infectious diseases after non-communicable diseases. There are many infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and Tuberculosis, which are fatal in some cases, resulting in the death of people of every age group, from kids to adults. With this high fatality rate, some countries are more equipped to manage infectious diseases than others, as illustrated in Figure 1. The countries more equipped to manage infectious diseases are developed countries while developing countries and third-world countries are overrun by infectious diseases. Subsequently, their inability to manage infectious diseases is associated with high levels of poverty that limit their ability to provide better and equipped healthcare facilities to promote public and environmental health (Withgott & Laposata, 2015).

Figure 1: Worldwide Tuberculosis cases in 2010 (Wright, 2014).

Therefore, affluence is an essential influencer of cases of death from infectious diseases. As illustrated in Figure 1, developed countries have fewer cases of infectious diseases and, thus, fewer cases of death from infectious diseases. These developed countries have affluence that allows them to manage infectious diseases by providing the best and most equipped healthcare facilities that meet the needs of their citizens. In addition, affluence enables these countries to afford to maintain environmental health, in terms of proper waste disposal, in addition to public health. Therefore, affluence influences the natural environment due to cleanliness, ensuring the environment is protected from pollutants such as pliant containers and other waste. In contrast, developing countries and third-world countries have high levels of poverty, restricting their actions to protect the natural environment from waste interfering with public and environmental health.

The presence of pollutants in the environment contributes to the increase of substances that are toxic in the environment. Various tests are conducted, such as the dose-response analysis to test toxicology. In this test, toxicity is measured by providing a specific dose of the substance and noting the responses it evokes in several animals, and data is collected. Subsequently, LD 50 is the lethal dose that kills up to 50% of the population used in testing, illustrating that low LD 50 indicates high toxicity while high LD 50 indicates low toxicity of the substance (Dimmitt et al., 2017). In contrast, ED 50 is the effective dose that results in the accomplishment of 50% of expected impacts: high ED 50 is accompanied by the development of adverse effects illustrating toxicity of substances (Dimmitt et al., 2017). Therefore, high LD 50 illustrates a substance with low toxicity levels, while high ED 50 illustrates a high toxicity level.

The extraction of materials from the earth also contributes to environmental hazards physical hazards. Over time, changes occur in the earth, causing changes influencing the types of rocks between; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. The rock cycle involves the following: igneous rocks form from cooled magma and lava, which are melted metamorphic rocks. When igneous and metamorphic rocks break from natural conditions, they form sediments that collect together to form sedimentary rocks. When sedimentary and igneous rocks heat up, they form metamorphic rocks. When metamorphic rocks continue heating up, they form magma and lava from melting, which forms igneous rocks when they cool, and the cycle is continuous. The earth is made up of layers and plates of the earth’s lithosphere, constantly moving over each other, creating boundaries, including convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. These movements are responsible for changes in the earth, such as the formation of rifts and escarpments.

The earth is also composed of minerals, which are obtained through mining. An example of a mineral from the earth is silver, which is used for various purposes. Therefore, minerals are important because of their application and use today, such as metal in construction and diamonds in jewelry pieces. However, minerals are not renewable, and therefore, recycling them is advantageous. However, the number of people providing items for recycling is limited due to unawareness of recycling procedures and the compositions of most items. Spreading awareness on compositions of different items will influence people to recycle hence preserving other minerals.

The risks substances pose to the environment can be established through a risk assessment conducted by scientists. Risk is assessed as a probability influenced by various factors; hence, “Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability” (Wright, 2014). Illustrating that risk is estimated through the consideration of a hazard and its effect, hence fragility. In conclusion, environmental health is important in maintaining public health; however, various hazards pose threats to environmental and public health. Additionally, risk assessment can be conducted to test the risk a substance poses to the health of the public and the environment.

References

Dimmitt, S., Stampfer, H., & Martin, J. (2017). When less is more – efficacy with less toxicity at the ED50. British Journal Of Clinical Pharmacology, 83(7), 1365-1368. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.13281

Kriebel, D., Tickner, J., Epstein, P., Lemons, J., Levins, R., & Loechler, E. et al. (2001). The precautionary principle in environmental science. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(9), 871-876. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.01109871

Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2015). Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories (5th ed.).

Wright, R., 2014. Environmental systems, issues, and sustainability. 12th ed. Pearson Education International Ltd

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This week, we learned toxicology, plate tectonics, environmental hazards, the rock cycle, and contagious diseases. For your Unit 3 Complete assignment, write a narrative essay (minimum 1000 words) in which you address and discuss the questions and statements listed below. Use at least three scholarly sources, and remember to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the READ and ATTEND sections in your essay. Cite your sources in APA format.

Environmental Health Science-Hazards and Risks

Discuss the four major types of environmental health hazards. Where does BPA fit in these categories, and how can you get exposed to it? Discuss the precautionary principle.
Many people across the world die from exposure to infectious diseases. Why are the numbers so much higher in developing countries than they are in developed countries?
In what ways does affluence affect the natural environment compared to how poverty affects the natural environment?
Differentiate between an LD50 and an ED50 response to toxicity.
Thoroughly describe the rock cycle and tectonic plate movement.
Why are minerals so important? Why is there such an issue getting consumers to recycle them?
Explain how scientists identify and assess risk.