Indoor Pollutants: Environmental Hazards to Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noyes, Dorothy

1987-01-01

Alerts parents, teachers, and others to some of the leading indoor environmental hazards to young children which are caused by various types of indoor pollutants: cigarette smoke; heating/cooking equipment; asbestos; pesticides; art supplies; radon; and lead. Also suggests ways to reduce these health hazards. (BB)

Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnston, F. H.; Wheeler, A. J.; Williamson, G. J.; Campbell, S. L.; Jones, P. J.; Koolhof, I. S.; Lucani, C.; Cooling, N. B.; Bowman, D. M. J. S.

2018-04-01

Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings. Method: We describe AirRater, an integrated online platform that combines symptom surveillance, environmental monitoring, and notifications of changing environmental conditions via a free smartphone app. It was developed and launched in Tasmania, Australia (population 510 000), with the aim of reducing health impacts and improving quality of life in people with conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. We present environmental data, user uptake and results from three online evaluation surveys conducted during the first 22 months of operation, from October 2015 through August 2017. Results: There were 3,443 downloads of the app from all regions of Tasmania. Of the 1,959 individuals who registered, 79% reported having either asthma or allergic rhinitis. Downloads increased during adverse environmental conditions and following publicity. Symptom reports per active user were highest during spring (72%), lowest in autumn (37%) and spiked during periods of reduced air quality. In response to online surveys, most users reported that the app was useful and had improved their understanding of how environmental conditions affect their health, and in some cases had prompted action such as the timely use of medication. Conclusion: Active engagement and consistent positive feedback from users demonstrates the potential for considerable individual, clinical and wider public health benefits from integrated and personalised monitoring systems such as AirRater. The perceived health benefits require objective verification, and such systems need to address

Environmental health and hazardous waste issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border.

PubMed Central

Carter, D E; Peña, C; Varady, R; Suk, W A

1996-01-01

Environmental health and environmental quality issues along the U.S.-Mexico border have been of concern for several years. The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the presence of the maquiladoras (foreign-owned industries using imported raw materials) have intensified those concerns recently. Efforts to assess these issues are complicated by the fact that many of the issues affecting the border region are within federal jurisdiction, but the problems are regional and local in nature. Thus, state and local governments become involved with public concerns about real and potential problems. One major problem is that environmental health data from this region are lacking, particularly from Mexico. Some new agencies such as the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, and the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation have joined several existing agencies at the federal and state level to address environmental quality and health. Several studies have been initiated to determine air and water quality, but little is being done in the areas of hazardous waste and health assessment. Several problems are anticipated in the generation of such data, such as its format and accessibility. Data gaps and research needs are discussed. PMID:8793340

Parent's knowledge and perceptions of the health effects of environmental hazards in Sakarya, Turkey.

PubMed

Nursan, Cinar; Müge, Alvur Tuncay; Cemile, Dede; Pinar, Topsever; Sevin, Altinkaynak

2014-01-01

To assess the knowledge and perception of parents of high school students about the health effects of environmental hazards in Sakarya province of Turkey. The cross-section study was conducted in May 2009 in which randomly assigned 362 parents answered a questionnaire inquiring about the sociodemographics and a list of environmental hazards such as tobacco smoking, sunlight exposure and skin cancer, global climate change, air pollution, noise exposure, smoking during pregnancy and low birth-weight, exposure to radon and lung cancer, reducing radon, air pollution and cardiovascular diseases, base station and childhood leukaemia, extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields and brain tumour.The participants were also asked about water pollution, environmental tobacco smoke, air pollution, ozone depletion, exposure to radon gas, soil pollution, noise pollution, formaldehyde related with furniture, ground ozone and pesticides etc. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Among the participants 226 (62.4%) were females, and 284 (78.5%) were in the 31-45 age group. There were 246 (68%) high school or university graduates. Of the participants, 357 (98.6%) knew that smoking was a health risk, but exposure to radon gas was not that prevalent (n=194; 53.6%). The most intimidating risk was claimed as unsafe water (n=311; 85.9%), while noise exposure was the least source of worry among the environmental risks (n=134; 37.0%). There is a necessity to inform the public about less-known but significant environmental risks such as radon gas and noise exposure which may cause health problems.

Environmentally Related Health Hazards in the Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, James B.; Neuroth, Richard

The quality of air inside the schoolhouses of America may have a profound effect on students' ability to concentrate on their lessons. The environmental hazards that influence the quality of the indoor air (IAQ) of our schools have not been well understood. Research evidence suggests that school age children and youth (especially those under the…

Migration and Environmental Hazards

PubMed Central

Hunter, Lori M.

2011-01-01

Losses due to natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes) and technological hazards (e.g., nuclear waste facilities, chemical spills) are both on the rise. One response to hazard-related losses is migration, with this paper offering a review of research examining the association between migration and environmental hazards. Using examples from both developed and developing regional contexts, the overview demonstrates that the association between migration and environmental hazards varies by setting, hazard types, and household characteristics. In many cases, however, results demonstrate that environmental factors play a role in shaping migration decisions, particularly among those most vulnerable. Research also suggests that risk perception acts as a mediating factor. Classic migration theory is reviewed to offer a foundation for examination of these associations. PMID:21886366

Environmental Health and Safety Hazards of Indigenous Small-Scale Gold Mining Using Cyanidation in the Philippines

PubMed Central

Leung, Ana Marie R.; Lu, Jinky Leilanie DP.

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES This cross-sectional study aimed at the environmental health hazards at work and cyanide exposure of small-scale gold miners engaged in gold extraction from ores in a mining area in the Philippines. METHODS Methods consisted of structured questionnaire-guided interviews, work process observation tools, physical health assessment by medical doctors, and laboratory examination and blood cyanide determination in the blood samples of 34 indigenous small-scale gold miners from Benguet, Philippines. RESULTS The small-scale gold miners worked for a mean of 10.3 years, had a mean age of 36 years, with mean lifetime mining work hours of 18,564. All were involved in tunneling work (100%) while a considerable number were involved in mixing cyanide with the ore (44%). A considerable number were injured (35%) during the mining activity, and an alarming number (35%) had elevated blood cyanide level. The most prevalent hazard was exposure to chemicals, particularly to cyanide and nitric acid, which were usually handled with bare hands. CONCLUSION The small-scale gold miners were exposed to occupational and environmental hazards at work. PMID:27547035

Environmental Health and Safety Hazards of Indigenous Small-Scale Gold Mining Using Cyanidation in the Philippines.

PubMed

Leung, Ana Marie R; Lu, Jinky Leilanie Dp

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study aimed at the environmental health hazards at work and cyanide exposure of small-scale gold miners engaged in gold extraction from ores in a mining area in the Philippines. Methods consisted of structured questionnaire-guided interviews, work process observation tools, physical health assessment by medical doctors, and laboratory examination and blood cyanide determination in the blood samples of 34 indigenous small-scale gold miners from Benguet, Philippines. The small-scale gold miners worked for a mean of 10.3 years, had a mean age of 36 years, with mean lifetime mining work hours of 18,564. All were involved in tunneling work (100%) while a considerable number were involved in mixing cyanide with the ore (44%). A considerable number were injured (35%) during the mining activity, and an alarming number (35%) had elevated blood cyanide level. The most prevalent hazard was exposure to chemicals, particularly to cyanide and nitric acid, which were usually handled with bare hands. The small-scale gold miners were exposed to occupational and environmental hazards at work.

Environmental health literacy in support of social action: an environmental justice perspective.

PubMed

White, Brandi M; Hall, Eric S; Johnson, Cheryl

2014-01-01

Different demographic groups in the U.S. experience unequal exposures to environmental hazards, i.e., 56% of the population in neighborhoods containing commercial waste facilities are people of color, with the associated poverty rates in those communities being 50% higher than in neighborhoods without commercial waste facilities. Developing programs to educate communities about environmental hazards affecting their health and quality of life is an essential component for a community to understand their true risk. The study described in this article examined the risk of environmental hazards as perceived by public housing residents and assessed the residents' preference for educational programs on environmental hazards. Residents perceived their risk factors in a broad context and they included environmental health risks caused by pollutants along with physical safety concerns from crime and law enforcement interactions. The most trusted sources of information on environmental health include community organizations, trusted individuals in the community, and television programs. Recommendations for developing community-specific environmental health education programs include using sources of environmental health information that community members trust.

Weather and environmental hazards at mass gatherings.

PubMed

Soomaroo, Lee; Murray, Virginia

2012-07-31

Introduction Reviews of mass gathering events have traditionally concentrated on crowd variables that affect the level and type of medical care needed. Weather and environmental hazards at mass gathering events have not been fully researched. This review examines these events and aims to provide future suggestions for event organisers, medical resource planners, and emergency services, including local hospital emergency departments. Methods A review was conducted using computerised data bases: MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, HMIC and EMBASE, with Google used to widen the search beyond peer-reviewed publications, to identify grey literature. All peer-review literature articles found containing information pertaining to lessons identified from mass gathering disasters due to weather or environmental hazards leading to participant death, injury or illness were analysed and reviewed. Disasters occurring due to crowd variables were not included. These articles were read, analysed, abstracted and summarised. Results 20 articles from literature search were found detailing mass gathering disasters relating directly to weather or environmental hazards from 1988 - 2011, with only 17 cases found within peer-review literature. Two events grey literature from 2011 are due to undergo further inquiry while one article reviews an event originally occurring in 1922. Analysis of cases were categorised in to heat and cold-related events, lightning and storms and disease outbreak. Conclusions Mass gathering events have an enormous potential to place a severe strain on the local health care system, Prior health resource and environmental planning for heat & cold-related illness, lightning & storms, and disease outbreak can advance emergency preparedness and response to potential disasters. Soomaroo L, Murray V. Weather and Environmental Hazards at Mass Gatherings. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 31 KEYWORDS: Mass Gatherings, Disasters, Sporting Events, Festivals, Concerts, Storm

Weather and Environmental Hazards at Mass Gatherings

PubMed Central

Soomaroo, Lee; Murray, Virginia

2012-01-01

Introduction Reviews of mass gathering events have traditionally concentrated on crowd variables that affect the level and type of medical care needed. Weather and environmental hazards at mass gathering events have not been fully researched. This review examines these events and aims to provide future suggestions for event organisers, medical resource planners, and emergency services, including local hospital emergency departments. Methods A review was conducted using computerised data bases: MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, HMIC and EMBASE, with Google used to widen the search beyond peer-reviewed publications, to identify grey literature. All peer-review literature articles found containing information pertaining to lessons identified from mass gathering disasters due to weather or environmental hazards leading to participant death, injury or illness were analysed and reviewed. Disasters occurring due to crowd variables were not included. These articles were read, analysed, abstracted and summarised. Results 20 articles from literature search were found detailing mass gathering disasters relating directly to weather or environmental hazards from 1988 – 2011, with only 17 cases found within peer-review literature. Two events grey literature from 2011 are due to undergo further inquiry while one article reviews an event originally occurring in 1922. Analysis of cases were categorised in to heat and cold-related events, lightning and storms and disease outbreak. Conclusions Mass gathering events have an enormous potential to place a severe strain on the local health care system, Prior health resource and environmental planning for heat & cold-related illness, lightning & storms, and disease outbreak can advance emergency preparedness and response to potential disasters. Citation: Soomaroo L, Murray V. Weather and Environmental Hazards at Mass Gatherings. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 31 Keywords: Mass Gatherings, Disasters, Sporting Events, Festivals, Concerts

Kennedy Space Center Environmental Health Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Creech, Joanne W.

1997-01-01

Topic considered include: environmental health services; health physics; ionizing radiation; pollution control; contamination investigations; natural resources; surface water; health hazard evaluations; combustion gas; launch support; asbestos; hazardous noise; and ventilation.

Occupational and environmental reproductive hazards education and resources for communities of color.

PubMed Central

Dula, A; Kurtz, S; Samper, M L

1993-01-01

Little research has been published on the occupational and environmental hazards affecting people of color. Even less is known about the hazards that affect women of color. Although women of color have always been aggressive participants in the work force, their labor activity has increased dramatically over the last decade. Current job placement patterns suggest that women of color are concentrated in the lowest-paying and most hazardous jobs. In this paper, we specifically focus on occupational and environmental reproductive health concerns. We write with the understanding that reproductive hazards can affect pregnant women, nonpregnant women, and men, as well as the health and development of young children. Emphasis is placed primarily on African American women, because information on Hispanic, Native American, and Asian women is very limited. We discuss the participation of women of color in the labor force, using the U.S. Department of Labor categories. We review specific occupational hazards associated with each category of work and briefly discuss environmental hazards, noting that communities of color are at a disproportionate risk of exposure. Finally, we present the consensus report of the Community Education Working Group from the Woods Hole Conference on Occupational and Environmental Reproductive Hazards. PMID:8243389

Environmental and health hazard ranking and assessment of plastic polymers based on chemical composition.

PubMed

Lithner, Delilah; Larsson, Ake; Dave, Göran

2011-08-15

Plastics constitute a large material group with a global annual production that has doubled in 15 years (245 million tonnes in 2008). Plastics are present everywhere in society and the environment, especially the marine environment, where large amounts of plastic waste accumulate. The knowledge of human and environmental hazards and risks from chemicals associated with the diversity of plastic products is very limited. Most chemicals used for producing plastic polymers are derived from non-renewable crude oil, and several are hazardous. These may be released during the production, use and disposal of the plastic product. In this study the environmental and health hazards of chemicals used in 55 thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers were identified and compiled. A hazard ranking model was developed for the hazard classes and categories in the EU classification and labelling (CLP) regulation which is based on the UN Globally Harmonized System. The polymers were ranked based on monomer hazard classifications, and initial assessments were made. The polymers that ranked as most hazardous are made of monomers classified as mutagenic and/or carcinogenic (category 1A or 1B). These belong to the polymer families of polyurethanes, polyacrylonitriles, polyvinyl chloride, epoxy resins, and styrenic copolymers. All have a large global annual production (1-37 million tonnes). A considerable number of polymers (31 out of 55) are made of monomers that belong to the two worst of the ranking model's five hazard levels, i.e. levels IV-V. The polymers that are made of level IV monomers and have a large global annual production (1-5 million tonnes) are phenol formaldehyde resins, unsaturated polyesters, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, and urea-formaldehyde resins. This study has identified hazardous substances used in polymer production for which the risks should be evaluated for decisions on the need for risk reduction measures, substitution, or even phase out. Copyright �

Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Quarterly report, July--September 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

This report describes activities and reports on progress for the first quarter (July--September) of the fourth year of the grant to support the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) at the Medical University of South Carolina. It reports progress against the grant objectives and the Program Implementation Plan published at the end of the first year of the grant. The objectives of EHAP stated in the proposal to DOE are to: (1) develop a holistic, national basis for risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication that recognizes the direct impact of environmental hazards on the health and well-being of all; (2)more » develop a pool of talented scientists and experts in cleanup activities, especially in human health aspects; and (3) identify needs and develop programs addressing the critical shortage of well-educated, highly-skilled technical and scientific personnel to address the health-oriented aspects of environmental restoration and waste management.« less

Trials and Tribulations of Protecting Children from Environmental Hazards

PubMed Central

Lanphear, Bruce P.; Paulson, Jerome; Beirne, Sandra

2006-01-01

Society is increasingly aware of the profound impact that the environment has on children’s health. Not surprisingly, there is increasing public scrutiny about children’s exposures to environmental hazards, especially for disadvantaged children. These trends underscore the ethical imperative to develop a framework to protect children from environmental hazards. Such a framework must include regulations to test new chemicals and other potential hazards before they are marketed, a strategy to conduct research necessary to protect children from persistent hazards that are widely dispersed in their environment, stronger regulatory mechanisms to eliminate human exposures to recognized or suspected toxicants, and guidelines about the ethical conduct of research and the role of experimental trials that test the efficacy and safety of interventions to prevent or ameliorate children’s exposure to persistent toxicants or hazards that are widely dispersed in their environment. PMID:17035151

Valuing Quiet: An Economic Assessment of U.S. Environmental Noise as a Cardiovascular Health Hazard.

PubMed

Swinburn, Tracy K; Hammer, Monica S; Neitzel, Richard L

2015-09-01

Environmental noise pollution increases the risk for hearing loss, stress, sleep disruption, annoyance, and cardiovascular disease and has other adverse health impacts. Recent (2013) estimates suggest that more than 100 million Americans are exposed to unhealthy levels of noise. Given the pervasive nature and significant health effects of environmental noise pollution, the corresponding economic impacts may be substantial. This 2014 economic assessment developed a new approach to estimate the impact of environmental noise on the prevalence and cost of key components of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the U.S. By placing environmental noise in context with comparable environmental pollutants, this approach can inform public health law, planning, and policy. The effects of hypothetical national-scale changes in environmental noise levels on the prevalence and corresponding costs of hypertension and coronary heart disease were estimated, with the caveat that the national-level U.S. noise data our exposure estimates were derived from are >30 years old. The analyses suggested that a 5-dB noise reduction scenario would reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 1.4% and coronary heart disease by 1.8%. The annual economic benefit was estimated at $3.9 billion. These findings suggest significant economic impacts from environmental noise-related cardiovascular disease. Given these initial findings, noise may deserve increased priority and research as an environmental health hazard. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring Environmental Health Perception among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratnapradipa, Dhitinut; Brown, Stephen L.; Middleton, Wendi K.; Wodika, Alicia B.

2011-01-01

One's knowledge, perception, and attitude are fundamental in determining how one behaves regarding environmental hazards. While science has made great strides in promoting environmental health, threats still exist, largely due to individual actions in response to potential health hazards. Undergraduate students (n = 395) enrolled in an…

Environmental Hazards Education for Childbirth Educators

PubMed Central

Ondeck, Michele; Focareta, Judith

2009-01-01

The purpose of this article is to educate childbirth educators about environmental hazards and provide resources. Hazardous chemicals have been found in cord blood, placenta, meconium, and breastmilk samples. These chemicals include commonly known hazards such as lead, mercury, and environmental tobacco smoke, as well as some pesticides, solvents, products containing chlorine, and other chemicals referred to as “persistent organic pollutants.” The fetus is particularly vulnerable to environmental chemicals that can disrupt the developmental process at critical times during gestation. Childbirth educators are encouraged to inform themselves in order to inform childbearing families to take preventive action and explore alternative behaviors to reduce exposure to environmental hazards. PMID:20808430

Expanding horizons. Integrating environmental health in occupational health nursing.

PubMed

Rogers, B; Cox, A R

1998-01-01

1. Environmental hazards are ubiquitous. Many exist in the workplace or occur as a result of work process exposures. 2. Environmental health is a natural component of the expanding practice of occupational health nursing. 3. AAOHN's vision for occupational and environmental health will continue to set the standard and provide leadership in the specialty.

How credible are the study results? Evaluating and applying internal validity tools to literature-based assessments of environmental health hazards

PubMed Central

Rooney, Andrew A.; Cooper, Glinda S.; Jahnke, Gloria D.; Lam, Juleen; Morgan, Rebecca L.; Boyles, Abee L.; Ratcliffe, Jennifer M.; Kraft, Andrew D.; Schünemann, Holger J.; Schwingl, Pamela; Walker, Teneille D.; Thayer, Kristina A.; Lunn, Ruth M.

2016-01-01

Environmental health hazard assessments are routinely relied upon for public health decision-making. The evidence base used in these assessments is typically developed from a collection of diverse sources of information of varying quality. It is critical that literature-based evaluations consider the credibility of individual studies used to reach conclusions through consistent, transparent and accepted methods. Systematic review procedures address study credibility by assessing internal validity or “risk of bias” — the assessment of whether the design and conduct of a study compromised the credibility of the link between exposure/intervention and outcome. This paper describes the commonalities and differences in risk-of-bias methods developed or used by five groups that conduct or provide methodological input for performing environmental health hazard assessments: the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group, the Navigation Guide, the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) and Office of the Report on Carcinogens (ORoC), and the Integrated Risk Information System of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-IRIS). Each of these groups have been developing and applying rigorous assessment methods for integrating across a heterogeneous collection of human and animal studies to inform conclusions on potential environmental health hazards. There is substantial consistency across the groups in the consideration of risk-of-bias issues or “domains” for assessing observational human studies. There is a similar overlap in terms of domains addressed for animal studies; however, the groups differ in the relative emphasis placed on different aspects of risk of bias. Future directions for the continued harmonization and improvement of these methods are also discussed. PMID:26857180

How credible are the study results? Evaluating and applying internal validity tools to literature-based assessments of environmental health hazards.

PubMed

Rooney, Andrew A; Cooper, Glinda S; Jahnke, Gloria D; Lam, Juleen; Morgan, Rebecca L; Boyles, Abee L; Ratcliffe, Jennifer M; Kraft, Andrew D; Schünemann, Holger J; Schwingl, Pamela; Walker, Teneille D; Thayer, Kristina A; Lunn, Ruth M

2016-01-01

Environmental health hazard assessments are routinely relied upon for public health decision-making. The evidence base used in these assessments is typically developed from a collection of diverse sources of information of varying quality. It is critical that literature-based evaluations consider the credibility of individual studies used to reach conclusions through consistent, transparent and accepted methods. Systematic review procedures address study credibility by assessing internal validity or "risk of bias" - the assessment of whether the design and conduct of a study compromised the credibility of the link between exposure/intervention and outcome. This paper describes the commonalities and differences in risk-of-bias methods developed or used by five groups that conduct or provide methodological input for performing environmental health hazard assessments: the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group, the Navigation Guide, the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) and Office of the Report on Carcinogens (ORoC), and the Integrated Risk Information System of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-IRIS). Each of these groups have been developing and applying rigorous assessment methods for integrating across a heterogeneous collection of human and animal studies to inform conclusions on potential environmental health hazards. There is substantial consistency across the groups in the consideration of risk-of-bias issues or "domains" for assessing observational human studies. There is a similar overlap in terms of domains addressed for animal studies; however, the groups differ in the relative emphasis placed on different aspects of risk of bias. Future directions for the continued harmonization and improvement of these methods are also discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Recognizing Job Health Hazards. Module SH-08. Safety and Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

This student module on recognizing job health hazards is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module presents the four general categories of environmental conditions or stresses: chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic. Following the introduction, 14 objectives (each keyed to a page in the text) the student is…

Healthful School Living: Environmental Health in the School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Daryl E.

1987-01-01

Environmental health, as it relates to schools, is defined. Site, chemical, biological, and physical health hazards are identified. Recommendations and precautions to help achieve optimal health, safety, and comfort are presented. Resources are noted. (Author/MT)

Occupational and environmental health hazards in the plastics industry.

PubMed Central

Eckardt, R E

1976-01-01

A brief description of the potential occupational health hazards encountered in the manufacture of plastics (polymers) is given. In general, these hazards are due to the monomers used to make the various plastics, to unreacted monomer contained within the finished products, and to the fillers, stabilizers, pigments, inhibitors, and initiators used in fabricating the finished products. They run the gamut from angiosarcomas of the liver due to vinyl chloride, to dermatitis and asthma-like reactions due to the initiators used with epoxy resins. PMID:140799

Teaching Coastal Hazard, Risk, and Environmental Justice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orr, C. H.; Manduca, C. A.; Blockstein, D.; Davis, F.; McDaris, J. R.

2015-12-01

Geoscience literacy and expertise play a role in all societal issues that involve the Earth. Issues that range from environmental degradation and natural hazards to creating sustainable economic systems or livable cities. Human health and resilience also involves the Earth. Environmental hazard issues have dimensions and consequences that have connections to environmental justice and disproportionate impacts on people based on their ethnicity, gender, cultural and socioeconomic conditions. Often these dimensions are hidden or unexplored in common approaches to teaching about hazards. However, they can provide importance context and meaning to students who would not otherwise see themselves in STEM disciplines. Teaching geoscience in a framework of societal issues may be an important mechanism for building science and sustainability capacity in future graduates. In May 2015, the NSF STEP center InTeGrate held a workshop in New Orleans, LA on teaching about Coastal Hazards, Risk and Environmental Justice. This was an opportunity to bring together people who use these topics as a powerful topic for transdisciplinary learning that connects science to local communities. This workshop was tailored for faculty members from minority-serving institutions and other colleges and universities that serve populations that are under-represented in the geosciences and related fields. The workshop outcome was a set of strategies for accomplishing this work, including participants' experience teaching with local cases, making connections to communities, and building partnerships with employers to understand workforce needs related to interdisciplinary thinking, sustainability science and risk. The participants articulated both the great need and opportunity for educators to help learners to explore these dimensions with their students as well as the challenge of learning to teach across disciplines and using controversial topics.

Health and Environmental Effects Profile for Acrylonitrile

EPA Science Inventory

The Health and Environmental Effects Profile for acrylonitrile was prepared by the Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Cincinnati, OH for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response to support listings of hazardous con...

Uncovering the historic environmental hazards of urban brownfields.

PubMed

Litt, Jill S; Burke, Thomas A

2002-12-01

In Baltimore, over 1,000 vacant industrial sites persist across its urban landscape, yet little is known about the potential environmental health risks that may undermine future cleanup and redevelopment activities and the health of those in communities near these sites. This study examined the characteristics of urban brownfield properties in southeast Baltimore, Maryland, and screened sites for their potential environmental hazards. In addition, demographic and health data were evaluated to profile the social and health status of those in brownfield communities. The results show that brownfields in southeast Baltimore represent a range of historic operations, including metal smelting, oil refining, warehousing, and transportation, as well as paints, plastics, and metals manufacturing. The screening method identified a range of substances associated with these properties, including heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, all of which are suspected or recognized toxicants, and many of which are persistent in the environment. Spatially, these sites are concentrated in white, working class neighborhoods in which poverty levels exceed and educational attainment lags behind state and national averages. Moreover, these sites are concentrated in communities in which excess mortality rates due to respiratory disease, cancer, and heart disease exist when compared to the city, state, and national averages. This investigation demonstrated the usefulness of historic archives, real estate records, regulatory files, and national hazard-tracking systems based on standard industrial classification (SIC) to screen brownfield properties for their hazard potential. This analysis provides the foundation for further site monitoring and testing, cleanup and redevelopment priority setting, risk management strategies, and neighborhood planning, and it illustrates the need for increased health surveillance and disease prevention strategies in affected

[Environmental justice as an approach to tackle environmental health inequalities].

PubMed

Bolte, Gabriele; Bunge, Christiane; Hornberg, Claudia; Köckler, Heike

2018-06-01

Current international studies show that environment-related diseases disproportionately affect vulnerable people. This is a case of environmental injustice. Environmental justice goes beyond the mere description of environment- and health-related social inequalities by comprising two dimensions of justice as a normative approach: distributional and procedural justice. Attempts to explain the link between social circumstances, the environment and health deal with both the socially unequal distribution of environmental hazards and environmental resources (exposure variation) and social differences in vulnerability to the health effects of environmental exposures (effect modification). Integrated monitoring approaches provide the basis for deriving interventions under various aspects of environmental justice. Parting from public health research and embedded in the Health in All Policies (HiAP) concept, environmental justice has now been taken up in a number of fields, including politics, administration and practice. There are strategic considerations and attempts to anchor it in politics at the federal, state and the communal level, both by government and non-government groups. Health-promoting urban development is a core field for intervention. The Soziale Stadt (Social City) programme for promoting urban planning and construction as well as place oriented sectoral planning make an important contribution by helping to focus on urban spaces with multiple health hazards and to implement target group-oriented participation processes. There continues to be a need to develop methods and systematically implemented evaluations of political strategies and corresponding interventions regarding their effects on inequalities in health and environmental justice.

Unequal exposure to ecological hazards: environmental injustices in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

PubMed Central

Faber, Daniel R; Krieg, Eric J

2002-01-01

This study analyzes the social and geographic distribution of ecological hazards across 368 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Combining census data with a variety of environmental data, we tested for and identified both income-based and racially based biases to the geographic distribution of 17 different types of environmentally hazardous sites and industrial facilities. We also developed a composite measure of cumulative exposure to compare the relative overall risks characteristic of each community. To the best of our knowledge, this point system makes this the first environmental justice study to develop a means for measuring and ranking cumulative exposure for communities. The study also controls for the intensity of hazards in each community by accounting for the area across which hazards are distributed. The findings indicate that ecologically hazardous sites and facilities are disproportionately located and concentrated in communities of color and working-class communities. The implication of this research for policymakers and citizen advocates is that cumulative exposure of residents to environmentally hazardous facilities and sites should receive greater consideration regarding community demographics and environmental health indicators. We conclude that the provision of additional resources for environmental monitoring and ranking, as well as yearly progress reports, is necessary for communities and state agencies to achieve equal access to clean and healthy environments for all residents. PMID:11929739

Environmental hazards and public health: lessons for the practice of medicine and for public policy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wedeen, R.P.; Sheehan, H.E.

1992-01-01

The separation of occupational and environmental disease from the mainstream of medical practice has deep roots in the culture of the profession. Medical practice centered on individual patient care as nineteenth-century science yielded the therapeutic triumphs of the twentieth century. Social issues seemed remote to medical practitioners as the rewards of scientifically based therapies upstaged the unglamorous aspects of preventive medicine. Public health was left to politicians and bureaucrats. Victorian ambivalence toward the less successful members of society reinforced the isolation of medicine from public policy. As a consequence, physicians are largely ignored in contemporary debates about environmental hazards, tomore » the detriment of both society and the profession.« less

For Better or For Worse: Environmental Health Promotion in ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Environmental Health Education (EHE) is most effective when it incorporates environmental science, risk education, and health education. When paired with the local knowledge of community members, EHE can promote health equity and community action, especially for socially disadvantaged communities, which are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Developing EHE programs that inform residents about toxic exposures that damage their health and affect their quality of life is critical for them to understand their true risk. The community of interest is a public housing development surrounded by landfills, hazardous waste sites, and manufacturing facilities located in a Midwestern city of the United States (Chicago, Illinois). An environmental justice organization, People for Community Recovery (PCR), was the community partner. Data was collected during one week in March 2009 from community residents using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including both a focus group and a survey instrument provided to two different resident groups, to understand their attitudes/beliefs about environmental hazards, including exposure to hazardous wastes, landfills, and lead, and their preferences for EHE. The data was analyzed using standard qualitative analytical procedures and statistical software, when appropriate. This research assesses the impact that Environmental Health Education (EHE) can have on: improved civic engagement (i.e., increased int

Learning Pathways in Environmental Science Education: The Case of Hazardous Household Items

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malandrakis, George N.

2006-01-01

The present study draws on environmental science education to explore aspects of children's conceptual change regarding hazardous household items. Twelve children from a fifth-grade class attended a 300-h teaching module of environmentally oriented science activities aimed at assessing their awareness about the environmental and health hazards…

Environmental Hazards Assessment Program annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

On June 23, 1992, the US Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FG01-92EW50625 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP). The objectives of the EHAP program stated in the proposal to DOE are to: (1) Develop a holistic, national basis for risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication which recognizes the direct impact of environmental hazards on the health and well-being of all. (2) Develop a pool of talented scientists and experts in cleanup activities, especially in human health aspects; and (3) Identify needs and develop programs addressing themore » critical shortage of well-educated, highly-skilled technical and scientific personnel to address the health oriented aspects of environmental restoration and waste management. This report describes activities and reports on progress for the second year of the grant.« less

Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities.

PubMed

Gouveia, Nelson

2016-08-27

Environmental health inequalities refer to health hazards disproportionately or unfairly distributed among the most vulnerable social groups, which are generally the most discriminated, poor populations and minorities affected by environmental risks. Although it has been known for a long time that health and disease are socially determined, only recently has this idea been incorporated into the conceptual and practical framework for the formulation of policies and strategies regarding health. In this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), "Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities-Proceedings from the ISEE Conference 2015", we incorporate nine papers that were presented at the 27th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. This small collection of articles provides a brief overview of the different aspects of this topic. Addressing environmental health inequalities is important for the transformation of our reality and for changing the actual development model towards more just, democratic, and sustainable societies driven by another form of relationship between nature, economy, science, and politics.

Attitudes toward environmental hazards: Where do toxic wastes fit?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burger, J.; Cooper, K.; Martin, M.

1997-10-01

The public is continually faced with making decisions about the risks associated with environmental hazards, and, along with managers and government officials, must make informed decisions concerning possible regulation, mitigation, and restoration of degraded sites or other environmental threats. We explored the attitudes regarding several environmental hazards of six groups of people: undergraduate science majors, undergraduate nonscience majors, and graduate students in environmental health, in ecological risk assessment, and in nonscience disciplines, as well as nonstudents over 35 yr of age. We had predicted that there would be significant differences in attitudes between science and nonscience majors and as amore » function of age. Relative concerns could be divided into three discrete classes (in descending order of concern): (1) general ecological problems (cutting tropical forests, polluting groundwater, trash along the coasts, lead in drinking water, and acid rain), (2) radon and nuclear wastes, and finally (3) specific nuclear waste facilities, chromium, fertilizers and pesticides, and electromagnetic waves. For any hazard, attitudes were consistent across groups with regard to ranking the severity of the environmental problem and willingness to expend funds to solve the problems. Attitudes about spending money to develop methods to evaluate risk fell in the middle level of concern. There were no major differences among classes of college-age students, or between them and older nonstudents. 26 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

[THE STUDY OF MANIFESTATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL].

PubMed

Shmandiy, V M; Kharlamova, E V; Rugas, T E

2015-01-01

Elaborated methodological approaches to the monitoring of the state of ecological safety are based on the use of systems analysis of conditions and consistent patterns of the formation of the ecological danger search for effective means and methods of safety management. Ecological hazard is considered as a hierarchical structure, consisting of types, classes, species and subsubspecies. In industrially developed regions the most significant are technogenic and sociogenic classes. The sociogenic class of danger was proved to be primary in its formation, as the level of environmental awareness is largely determined by the degree of impact on human health and environment, manifestations of the danger of other classes are depend on it. When analyzing the state of danger there was applied the anthropocentric approach. There was used an assembly of characteristics considering the health status of the population of the certain territory under the influence of factors of environmental hazard. On the base of the colligation of literature data and the results of own observations there was suggested a generalized index of the state of the population'S health in socio-economic areas, there were selected zones with differing level of the technogenic loads and also rural areas beyond objects of technogenic impact. On results of studies there was proved the relationship between the level of the environmental hazard and state of the population's in various socio-economic zones.

Environmental Equity and Health: Understanding Complexity and Moving Forward

PubMed Central

Northridge, Mary E.; Stover, Gabriel N.; Rosenthal, Joyce E.; Sherard, Donna

2003-01-01

The authors invoke a population health perspective to assess the distribution of environmental hazards according to race/ethnicity, social class, age, gender, and sexuality and the implications of these hazards for health. The unequal burden of environmental hazards borne by African American, Native American, Latino, and Asian American/Pacific Islander communities and their relationship to welldocumented racial/ethnic disparities in health have not been critically examined across all population groups, regions of the United States, and ages. The determinants of existing environmental inequities also require critical research attention. To ensure inclusiveness and fill important gaps, scientific evidence is needed on the health effects of the built environment as well as the natural environment, cities and suburbs as well as rural areas, and indoor as well as outdoor pollutants. PMID:12554571

Kennedy Space Center environmental health program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marmaro, G. M.; Cardinale, M. A.; Summerfield, B. R.; Tipton, D. A.

1992-01-01

The Kennedy Space Center's environmental health organization is responsible for programs which assure its employees a healthful workplace under diverse and varied working conditions. These programs encompass the disciplines of industrial hygiene, radiation protection (health physics), and environmental sanitation/pollution control. Activities range from the routine, such as normal office work, to the highly specialized, such as the processing of highly toxic and hazardous materials.

Community Capacity for Environmental Health Promotion: Determinants and Implications for Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freudenberg, Nicholas

2004-01-01

The human response to an environmental hazard can either reduce or exacerbate its impact on health. This article reviews determinants of community-level responses to environmental health hazards. The aim is to identify factors that can enhance a community's capacity to protect itself and to suggest public health strategies that can increase such…

Environmental Public Health Surveillance for Exposure to Respiratory Health Hazards: A Joint NASA/CDC Project to Use Remote Sensing Data for Estimating Airborne Particulate Matter Over the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Estes, Maurice; Crosson, William

2007-01-01

As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN) the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELiX-Atlanta). The goal of developing the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is to improve the health of communities. Currently, few systems exist at the state or national level to concurrently track many of the exposures and health effects that might be associated with environmental hazards. An additional challenge is estimating exposure to environmental hazards such as particulate matter whose aerodynamic diameter is less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of Metropolitan Atlanta, GA. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) is collaborating with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of PM2.5 concentrations that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma. While use of the Air Quality System (AQS) PM2.5 data alone could meet HELIX-Atlanta specifications, there are only five AQS sites in the Atlanta area, thus the spatial coverage is not ideal. We are using NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data for estimating daily ground level PM2.5 at 10 km resolution over the metropolitan Atlanta area supplementing the AQS ground observations and filling their spatial and temporal gaps.

Environmental Hazards: What You Need To Know.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiNardo, Cathy

1996-01-01

Discusses what school business officials should know concerning environmental hazards in educational facilities, particularly bloodborne pathogens (Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B), lead in paint and water, and asbestos. The keys to managing environmental hazards are education and a knowledgeable inhouse employee or outside consultant…

Health and Environmental Hazards of Electronic Waste in India.

PubMed

Borthakur, Anwesha

2016-04-01

Technological waste in the form of electronic waste (e-waste) is a threat to all countries. E-waste impacts health and the environment by entering the food chain in the form of chemical toxicants and exposing the population to deleterious chemicals, mainly in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and persistent organic pollutants. This special report tries to trace the environmental and health implications of e-waste in India. The author concludes that detrimental health and environmental consequences are associated with e-waste and the challenge lies in producing affordable electronics with minimum chemical toxicants.

National Center for Environmental Health

MedlinePlus

... Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Division of Laboratory Sciences Publications & Products Books/Booklets Healthy Housing Reference Manual Healthy Housing Inspection Manual Fact Sheets Training File Formats Help: How do I ...

Pesticides (Environmental Health Student Portal)

MedlinePlus

... micropenguins. What can he do? An animation about pesticides, where they are found, how they are used, and their effects on human health. For Teachers Environmental Hazards on the Farm (Public ...

42 CFR 85.3 - Procedures for requesting health hazard evaluations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES REQUESTS FOR HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS § 85.3..., and Field Studies, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. (2) Requests from mining industry. Environmental Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut...

42 CFR 85.3 - Procedures for requesting health hazard evaluations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES REQUESTS FOR HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS § 85.3..., and Field Studies, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. (2) Requests from mining industry. Environmental Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut...

42 CFR 85.3 - Procedures for requesting health hazard evaluations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES REQUESTS FOR HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS § 85.3..., and Field Studies, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. (2) Requests from mining industry. Environmental Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut...

42 CFR 85.3 - Procedures for requesting health hazard evaluations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES REQUESTS FOR HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS § 85.3..., and Field Studies, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. (2) Requests from mining industry. Environmental Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut...

42 CFR 85.3 - Procedures for requesting health hazard evaluations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES REQUESTS FOR HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS § 85.3..., and Field Studies, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. (2) Requests from mining industry. Environmental Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut...

Health and Environmental Effects Profile for benzotrichloride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1986-07-01

The Health and Environmental Effects Profile for benzotrichloride was prepared to support listings of hazardous constituents of a wide range of waste streams under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and to provide health-related limits for emergency actions under Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Both published literature and information obtained from Agency program office files were evaluated as they pertained to potential human health, aquatic life and environmental effects of hazardous waste constituents. Quantitative estimates are presented provided sufficient data are available. Benzotrichloride has been evaluated as a carcinogen.more » The human carcinogen potency factor for benzotrichloride is 12.63 (mg/kg/day) for oral exposure. The Reportable Quantity (RQ) value of 1, 10, 100, 1000 or 5000 pounds is used to determine the quantity of a hazardous substance for which notification is required in the event of a release as specified by CERCLA based on chronic toxicity. The RQ value for benzotrichloride is 10.« less

Hazard identification, dose-response and environmental characteristics of stachybotryotoxins and other health-related products from Stachybotrys.

PubMed

Lai, K M

2006-03-01

An extensive growth of Stachybotrys in water-damaged buildings is of great public health concern. It is inconclusive whether Stachybotrys is responsible for the reported health effects on the occupants in these contaminated environments. However, based on the veterinary, occupational and laboratory toxicity studies, it is reasonable to project that Stachybotrys can cause adverse health responses once the toxic level of the corresponding agents reached the target systems. In order to assess the risk to occupants in contaminated buildings, it is essential to outline and collect information for risk assessment. This review paper presents the current information in the format of hazard identification, dose-response and environmental characteristics and aims to discuss existing information with researchers and risk assessors and help to conduct risk characterization under different indoor conditions.

Participatory health impact assessment for the development of local government regulation on hazard control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inmuong, Uraiwan, E-mail: uraiwan@kku.ac.t; Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Thailand 123 Mittrapharb Road, Khon Kaen 40002; Rithmak, Panee, E-mail: panrit@kku.ac.t

The Thai Public Health Act 1992 required the Thai local governments to issue respective regulations to take control of any possible health-hazard related activities, both from commercial and noncommercial sources. Since 1999, there has been centrally decentralized of power to a new form of local government establishment, namely Sub-district Administrative Organization (SAO). The SAO is asmall-scale local governing structure while its legitimate function is for community services, including control of health impact related activities. Most elected SAO administrators and officers are new and less experience with any of public health code of practice, particularly on health-hazard control. This action researchmore » attempted to introduce and apply a participatory health impact assessment (HIA) tool for the development of SAO health-hazard control regulation. The study sites were at Ban Meang and Kok See SAOs, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, while all intervention activities conducted during May 2005-April 2006. A set of cooperative activities between researchers and community representatives were planned and organized by; surveying and identifying place and service base locally causing local environmental health problems, organizing community participatory workshops for drafting and proposing the health-hazard control regulation, and appropriate practices for health-hazard controlling measures. This action research eventually could successfully enable the SAO administrators and officers understanding of local environmental-related health problem, as well as development of imposed health-hazard control regulation for local community.« less

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Health Hazard Assessment: putting the "health" into hazard assessment.

PubMed

Dean, Brandon; Bagwell, Dee Ann; Dora, Vinita; Khan, Sinan; Plough, Alonzo

2013-01-01

A ll communities, explicitly or implicitly, assess and prepare for the natural and manmade hazards that they know could impact their community. The commonality of hazard-based threats in most all communities does not usually result in standard or evidence-based preparedness practice and outcomes across those communities. Without specific efforts to build a shared perspective and prioritization, "all-hazards" preparedness can result in a random hodgepodge of priorities and preparedness strategies, resulting in diminished emergency response capabilities. Traditional risk assessments, with a focus on physical infrastructure, do not present the potential health and medical impacts of specific hazards and threats. With the implementation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's capability-based planning, there is broad recognition that a health-focused hazard assessment process--that engages the "Whole of Community"--is needed. Los Angeles County's Health Hazard Assessment and Prioritization tool provides a practical and innovative approach to enhance existing planning capacities. Successful utilization of this tool can provide a way for local and state health agencies and officials to more effectively identify the health consequences related to hazard-specific threats and risk, determine priorities, and develop improved and better coordinated agency planning, including community engagement in prioritization.

ANIMALS AS SENTINELS OF HUMAN HEALTH HAZARDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS

EPA Science Inventory

A workshop titled "Using Sentinel Species Data to Address the Potential Human Health Effects of Chemicals in the Environmnet," sponsored by the U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, the National Center for Environmental Assessment of the EPA, and the Agency for Toxi...

Foundations Invest In Environmental Health.

PubMed

Sessions, Kathryn; Fortunato, Karla; Johnson, Philip R S; Panek, Amy

2016-11-01

Nearly one in four deaths globally are due to environmental hazards such as air and water pollution, according to the World Health Organization. However, knowledge about how the environment affects health and health equity outcomes has not been well integrated into decisions that shape the conditions in which people live, work, and play. To address this challenge, US foundations have invested millions of dollars to make it easier to incorporate environmental health information into decisions ranging from family purchases and governmental policy making to business, medical, and other professional practices. This article summarizes grant making aimed at improving environmental conditions to improve health and health equity outcomes. We provide examples of environmental health grants that focus on tools that the public, policy makers, and professionals can use in making decisions. We found that the investment in and attention to environmental factors, including in work addressing social determinants of health, have been insufficient to realize the potential for reducing negative environmental impacts on health and health disparities. We argue that the grant making highlighted here has increased knowledge that could enable more widespread consideration of environmental health in many decisions, with positive effects on health and health equity. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

The hazards of hazard identification in environmental epidemiology.

PubMed

Saracci, Rodolfo

2017-08-09

Hazard identification is a major scientific challenge, notably for environmental epidemiology, and is often surrounded, as the recent case of glyphosate shows, by debate arising in the first place by the inherently problematic nature of many components of the identification process. Particularly relevant in this respect are components less amenable to logical or mathematical formalization and essentially dependent on scientists' judgment. Four such potentially hazardous components that are capable of distorting the correct process of hazard identification are reviewed and discussed from an epidemiologist perspective: (1) lexical mix-up of hazard and risk (2) scientific questions as distinct from testable hypotheses, and implications for the hierarchy of strength of evidence obtainable from different types of study designs (3) assumptions in prior beliefs and model choices and (4) conflicts of interest. Four suggestions are put forward to strengthen a process that remains in several aspects judgmental, but not arbitrary, in nature.

Ongoing research in occupational health and environmental epidemiology in developing countries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levy, B.S.; Kjellstrom, T.; Forget, G.

Research in occupational health and environmental epidemiology can play an important role in furthering our understanding of occupational and environmental health problems. Research guides us in the recognition, management, and prevention of health problems. However, in developing countries, where rates of occupational and environmental illnesses and injuries are higher and where these problems are often more severe than in developed countries, research capabilities are less developed. In mid-1990, a project was undertaken to (a) document ongoing research in occupational health and environmental epidemiology in developing countries, (b) facilitate the exchange of information among researchers in this field, (c) stimulate research,more » and (d) avoid unnecessary duplication among researchers in this field. A questionnaire was mailed, the purpose of which was to learn the current status of research in developing countries and to develop a directory of such ongoing research. The questionnaire was sent to 1,528 individuals. Of the 500 research projects identified, 77% were investigating chemical hazards; 26%, physical hazards; 10%, biological hazards; 10%, psychosocial hazards (some projects addressed multiple hazards). The chemical hazards studied most frequently were dusts, pesticides, and lead. The greatest number of research projects were identified in China, India, Brazil, Korea, and Thailand. Most projects were descriptive or cross-sectional epidemiologic studies or industrial hygiene or exposure-assessment studies. The World Health Organization has published a directory of the specific research projects that were identified in this survey.« less

Children’s Health in Latin America: The Influence of Environmental Exposures

PubMed Central

Laborde, Amalia; Tomasina, Fernando; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Bruné, Marie-Noel; Buka, Irena; Comba, Pietro; Corra, Lilian; Cori, Liliana; Duffert, Christin Maria; Harari, Raul; Iavarone, Ivano; McDiarmid, Melissa A.; Gray, Kimberly A.; Sly, Peter D.; Soares, Agnes; Suk, William A.

2014-01-01

Background Chronic diseases are increasing among children in Latin America. Objective and Methods To examine environmental risk factors for chronic disease in Latin American children and to develop a strategic initiative for control of these exposures, the World Health Organization (WHO) including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Collegium Ramazzini, and Latin American scientists reviewed regional and relevant global data. Results Industrial development and urbanization are proceeding rapidly in Latin America, and environmental pollution has become widespread. Environmental threats to children’s health include traditional hazards such as indoor air pollution and drinking-water contamination; the newer hazards of urban air pollution; toxic chemicals such as lead, asbestos, mercury, arsenic, and pesticides; hazardous and electronic waste; and climate change. The mix of traditional and modern hazards varies greatly across and within countries reflecting industrialization, urbanization, and socioeconomic forces. Conclusions To control environmental threats to children’s health in Latin America, WHO, including PAHO, will focus on the most highly prevalent and serious hazards—indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution, and toxic chemicals. Strategies for controlling these hazards include developing tracking data on regional trends in children’s environmental health (CEH), building a network of Collaborating Centres, promoting biomedical research in CEH, building regional capacity, supporting development of evidence-based prevention policies, studying the economic costs of chronic diseases in children, and developing platforms for dialogue with relevant stakeholders. Citation Laborde A, Tomasina F, Bianchi F, Bruné MN, Buka I, Comba P, Corra L, Cori L, Duffert CM, Harari R, Iavarone I, McDiarmid MA, Gray KA, Sly PD, Soares A, Suk WA, Landrigan PJ. 2015. Children’s health in Latin America: the influence of environmental exposures. Environ

Two Decades of Enhancing Children’s Environmental Health Protection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

PubMed Central

Firestone, Michael; Berger, Martha; Foos, Brenda; Etzel, Ruth

2016-01-01

Summary: This article provides an overview of public health efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the past two decades to protect children’s health from environmental hazards. It highlights examples of concrete steps and accomplishments toward improving environmental protection and health outcomes achieved through public policy, rules and regulations, increased scientific understanding, and public health messaging. Additionally, examples of future challenges for better understanding and improving children’s environmental health are discussed. PMID:27905272

The EPA Children's Environmental Health Yearbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Children's Health Protection.

Through their environments, children are exposed to a wide variety of substances that pose a risk to their health. This yearbook provides information to the public on the activities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect children from environmental hazards, including the latest information on the unique threats of environmental…

Composition and health hazards of water-based construction paints: results from a survey in the Netherlands.

PubMed Central

van Faassen, A; Borm, P J

1991-01-01

Water-based construction paints may have beneficial effects toward man's occupational and general environment when compared to traditional paints that contain large amounts of organic solvents. The aim of this study was to describe the health hazards of the application of these alternative paints. The composition of these paints was obtained by a questionnaire survey among the main producers and importers in The Netherlands. Physicochemical parameters and toxicity data of the constituents were used to estimate occupational and environmental health hazards. Mucous membrane of skin irritation and sensitization are predicted to be the most frequently occurring health hazards after contact with these paints during professional or do-it-yourself application. Health hazards from environmental pollution may be irritation of the mucous membranes when the indoor environment is painted and fish mortality due to slowly degradable polyacrylate binders. The health hazards can be reduced by replacing some toxic compounds with less toxic ones and by hygienic (ventilation, skincare, no cleaning of application materials under the tap) measures. PMID:1935844

Health concerns and hazardous waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yassi, A.; Weeks, J.; Kraut, A.

1990-01-01

This report discusses health effects of hazardous waste and emphasizes human health concerns related to establishing a hazardous waste management facility. The study reviewed world epidemiological and public health literature to identify cases of suspected or substantiated claims of public health impacts associated with hazardous waste management facilities and potential products or emissions from such facilities, and placed them into perspective, including possible routes and consequences of exposure, risk assessment, and the toxicity of selected organic and inorganic compounds.

Research and Development for Health and Environmental Hazard Assessment. Task Order 1. Development of Data Base Requirements for Human Health Based Water Quality Criteria for Military Recycle/Reuse Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

Environmental Hazard Assessment -. .’.’ASK ORDER I j EVELOPMENT OF DATA BASE REQUIREMENTS I . .oR HUMAN HEALTH BASED WATER QUALITY CRITERIA | COR MILITARY...Requirements for Human Sep a -1979- June 89 Health Based Water Quality Criteria for Military -%4,o ER Reevcle/ Reuse Applications Is 8_ 3.7𔃾__=1_...KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse aide If neceseary and Identify by block number) Water Reuse, Water Recycle, Water Quality Criteria, Human Health

Describing environmental public health data: implementing a descriptive metadata standard on the environmental public health tracking network.

PubMed

Patridge, Jeff; Namulanda, Gonza

2008-01-01

The Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network provides an opportunity to bring together diverse environmental and health effects data by integrating}?> local, state, and national databases of environmental hazards, environmental exposures, and health effects. To help users locate data on the EPHT Network, the network will utilize descriptive metadata that provide critical information as to the purpose, location, content, and source of these data. Since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's EPHT Metadata Subgroup has been working to initiate the creation and use of descriptive metadata. Efforts undertaken by the group include the adoption of a metadata standard, creation of an EPHT-specific metadata profile, development of an open-source metadata creation tool, and promotion of the creation of descriptive metadata by changing the perception of metadata in the public health culture.

Photovoltaic energy technologies: Health and environmental effects document

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moskowitz, P. D.; Hamilton, L. D.; Morris, S. C.; Rowe, M. D.

1980-09-01

The potential health and environmental consequences of producing electricity by photovoltaic energy systems was analyzed. Potential health and environmental risks are identified in representative fuel and material supply cycles including extraction, processing, refining, fabrication, installation, operation, and isposal for four photovoltaic energy systems (silicon N/P single crystal, silicon metal/insulator/semiconductor (MIS) cell, cadmium sulfide/copper sulfide backwall cell, and gallium arsenide heterojunction cell) delivering equal amounts of useful energy. Each step of the fuel and material supply cycles, materials demands, byproducts, public health, occupational health, and environmental hazards is identified.

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS PROFILE FOR BENZIDINE

EPA Science Inventory

The Health and Environmental Effects Profile for Benzidine was prepared to support listings of hazardous constituents of a wide range of waste streams under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and to provide health-related limits for emergency action...

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS DOCUMENT ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Health and Environmental Effects Documents (HEEDS) are prepared for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). This document series is intended to support listings under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as well as to provide health-related limits and goals for emergency and remedial actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Both published literature and information obtained from Agency Program Office files are evaluated as they pertain to potential human health, aquatic life and environmental effects of hazardous waste constituents. Several quantitative estimates are presented provided sufficient data are available. For systemic toxicants, these include Reference Doses (RfDs) for chronic and subchronic exposures for both the inhalation and oral exposures. In the case of suspected carcinogens, RfDs may not be estimated. Instead, a carcinogenic potency factor, or q1*, is provided. These potency estimates are derived for both oral and inhalation exposures where possible. In addition, unit risk estimates for air and drinking water are presented based on inhalation and oral data, respectively. Reportable quantities (RQs) based on both chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity are derived. The RQ is used to determine the quantity of a hazardous substance for which notification is required in the event of a release as specified under CERCLA.

Oligonucleotide-based biosensors for in vitro diagnostics and environmental hazard detection.

PubMed

Jung, Il Young; Lee, Eun Hee; Suh, Ah Young; Lee, Seung Jin; Lee, Hyukjin

2016-04-01

Oligonucleotide-based biosensors have drawn much attention because of their broad applications in in vitro diagnostics and environmental hazard detection. They are particularly of interest to many researchers because of their high specificity as well as excellent sensitivity. Recently, oligonucleotide-based biosensors have been used to achieve not only genetic detection of targets but also the detection of small molecules, peptides, and proteins. This has further broadened the applications of these sensors in the medical and health care industry. In this review, we highlight various examples of oligonucleotide-based biosensors for the detection of diseases, drugs, and environmentally hazardous chemicals. Each example is provided with detailed schematics of the detection mechanism in addition to the supporting experimental results. Furthermore, future perspectives and new challenges in oligonucleotide-based biosensors are discussed.

Hazard-ranking of agricultural pesticides for chronic health effects in Yuma County, Arizona.

PubMed

Sugeng, Anastasia J; Beamer, Paloma I; Lutz, Eric A; Rosales, Cecilia B

2013-10-01

With thousands of pesticides registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it not feasible to sample for all pesticides applied in agricultural communities. Hazard-ranking pesticides based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize community-specific pesticide hazards. This study applied hazard-ranking schemes for cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive/developmental toxicity in Yuma County, Arizona. An existing cancer hazard-ranking scheme was modified, and novel schemes for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity were developed to rank pesticide hazards. The hazard-ranking schemes accounted for pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential based on chemical properties of each pesticide. Pesticides were ranked as hazards with respect to each health effect, as well as overall chronic health effects. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides for overall chronic health effects were maneb, metam-sodium, trifluralin, pronamide, and bifenthrin. The relative pesticide rankings were unique for each health effect. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides differed from those most heavily applied, as well as from those previously detected in Yuma homes over a decade ago. The most hazardous pesticides for cancer in Yuma County, Arizona were also different from a previous hazard-ranking applied in California. Hazard-ranking schemes that take into account pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize pesticides of greatest health risk in agricultural communities. This study is the first to provide pesticide hazard-rankings for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential. These hazard-ranking schemes can be applied to other agricultural communities for prioritizing community-specific pesticide hazards to target decreasing health risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hazard-Ranking of Agricultural Pesticides for Chronic Health Effects in Yuma County, Arizona

PubMed Central

Sugeng, Anastasia J.; Beamer, Paloma I.; Lutz, Eric A.; Rosales, Cecilia B.

2013-01-01

With thousands of pesticides registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it not feasible to sample for all pesticides applied in agricultural communities. Hazard-ranking pesticides based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize community-specific pesticide hazards. This study applied hazard-ranking schemes for cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive/developmental toxicity in Yuma County, Arizona. An existing cancer hazard-ranking scheme was modified, and novel schemes for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity were developed to rank pesticide hazards. The hazard-ranking schemes accounted for pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential based on chemical properties of each pesticide. Pesticides were ranked as hazards with respect to each health effect, as well as overall chronic health effects. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides for overall chronic health effects were maneb, metam sodium, trifluralin, pronamide, and bifenthrin. The relative pesticide rankings were unique for each health effect. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides differed from those most heavily applied, as well as from those previously detected in Yuma homes over a decade ago. The most hazardous pesticides for cancer in Yuma County, Arizona were also different from a previous hazard-ranking applied in California. Hazard-ranking schemes that take into account pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize pesticides of greatest health risk in agricultural communities. This study is the first to provide pesticide hazard-rankings for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential. These hazard-ranking schemes can be applied to other agricultural communities for prioritizing community-specific pesticide hazards to target decreasing health risk. PMID:23783270

Complete Lesson 1: Environmental Health 101

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Introduces broad concept and why children may be particularly at risk from environmental health hazards by focusing on the differences between adults and children, highlighted by examining the four things all need to survive (air, water, food, shelter).

Environmental Health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, Duane; James, John; Russo, Dane; Limero, Thomas; Beck, Steve; Groves, Theron

1999-01-01

The Environmental Health activity for the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project (EDOMP) was formed to develop an overall strategy for safeguarding crew members from potential airborne hazards anticipated on missions of extended duration. These efforts were necessary because of major modifications to the air revitalization system of the U.S. Space Shuttle and an increased potential for environmental health risks associated with longer space flights. Degradation of air quality in the Shuttle during a space flight mission has the potential to affect the performance of the crew not only during piloting, landing, or egress, but also during space flight. It was anticipated that the risk of significant deterioration in air quality would increase with extended mission lengths and could result from: (1) a major chemical contamination incident, such as a thermodegradation event or toxic leak, (2) continual accumulation of volatile organic compounds to unacceptable levels, (3) excessive levels of airborne particles, (4) excessive levels of microorganisms, or (5) accumulation of airborne pathogens.

Issues and framework of environmental health in Malaysia.

PubMed

Mokhtar, Mazlin Bin; Murad, Wahid

2010-04-01

Environmental health problems in Malaysia are mostly attributed to atmospheric pollution, water pollution, climate change, ozone depletion, and solid waste management, as well as toxic, chemical, and hazardous waste management. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia, has been vigorously pursuing the environmental health agenda by collaborating with other agencies at district, state, national, and international levels. This article discusses the issues and management framework of environmental health in Malaysia. Some issues requiring further investigation in order to clearly understand the trade-off between atmospheric change and environmental health are suggested. These suggestions are developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the development and implementation of environmental policy, programs, and practice. Research on the relevant issues is discussed and a framework is built involving a comprehensive review of the literature and existing framework of Malaysian environmental health.

Engaging academia to advance the science and practice of environmental public health tracking.

PubMed

Strosnider, Heather; Zhou, Ying; Balluz, Lina; Qualters, Judith

2014-10-01

Public health agencies at the federal, state, and local level are responsible for implementing actions and policies that address health problems related to environmental hazards. These actions and policies can be informed by integrating or linking data on health, exposure, hazards, and population. The mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention׳s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is to provide information from a nationwide network of integrated health, environmental hazard, and exposure data that drives actions to improve the health of communities. The Tracking Program and federal, state, and local partners collect, integrate, analyze, and disseminate data and information to inform environmental public health actions. However, many challenges exist regarding the availability and quality of data, the application of appropriate methods and tools to link data, and the state of the science needed to link and analyze health and environmental data. The Tracking Program has collaborated with academia to address key challenges in these areas. The collaboration has improved our understanding of the uses and limitations of available data and methods, expanded the use of existing data and methods, and increased our knowledge about the connections between health and environment. Valuable working relationships have been forged in this process, and together we have identified opportunities and improvements for future collaborations to further advance the science and practice of environmental public health tracking. Published by Elsevier Inc.

75 FR 10293 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-05

... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory.... Institute Environmental Health Sciences, P. O. Box 12233, MD EC-30, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, (919... Health Sciences; 93.113, Biological Response to Environmental Health Hazards; 93.114, Applied...

Dust: A major environmental hazard on the earth's moon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heiken, G.; Vaniman, D.; Lehnert, B.

1990-01-01

On the Earth's Moon, obvious hazards to humans and machines are created by extreme temperature fluctuations, low gravity, and the virtual absence of any atmosphere. The most important other environmental factor is ionizing radiation. Less obvious environmental hazards that must be considered before establishing a manned presence on the lunar surface are the hazards from micrometeoroid bombardment, the nuisance of electro-statically-charged lunar dust, and an alien visual environment without familiar clues. Before man can establish lunar bases and lunar mining operations, and continue the exploration of that planet, we must develop a means of mitigating these hazards. 4 refs.

Examining Public Perceptions about Lead in School Drinking Water: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Twitter Response to an Environmental Health Hazard.

PubMed

Ekenga, Christine C; McElwain, Cora-Ann; Sprague, Nadav

2018-01-20

Exposure to lead has long been a community health concern in St. Louis, Missouri. The objective of this study was to examine public response to reports of elevated lead levels in school drinking water in St. Louis, Missouri via Twitter, a microblogging platform with over 320 million active users. We used a mixed-methods design to examine Twitter user status updates, known as "tweets," from 18 August to 31 December 2016. The number of tweets each day was recorded, and Twitter users were classified into five user types (General Public, Journalist/News, Health Professional/Academic, Politician/Government Official, and Non-Governmental Organization). A total of 492 tweets were identified during the study period. The majority of discourse on Twitter occurred during the two-week period after initial media reports and was driven by members of the General Public. Thematic analysis of tweets revealed four themes: Information Sharing, Health Concerns, Sociodemographic Disparities, and Outrage. Twitter users characterized lead in school drinking water as an issue of environmental inequity. The findings of this study provide evidence that social media platforms can be utilized as valuable tools for public health researchers and practitioners to gauge public sentiment about environmental health issues, identify emerging community concerns, and inform future communication and research strategies regarding environmental health hazards.

Perceptions of environmental health risks among residents in the "Toxic Doughnut": opportunities for risk screening and community mobilization.

PubMed

White, Brandi M; Hall, Eric S

2015-12-10

Surrounded by landfills, and toxic and hazardous facilities, Altgeld Gardens is located in a "toxic doughnut". With high rates of environmentally-related conditions, residents have called for a community-based environmental health assessment to improve overall health in their community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of environmental health risks of Altgeld's residents which would assist community organizing efforts and provide the groundwork for a community-based environmental health assessment. A questionnaire was designed and administered to 42 Altgeld residents who also participated in focus groups to assess their perceptions of environmental health risks. All participants were Altgeld residents for at least two years and were fairly representative of the broader community. Physical and social hazards were primarily identified as posing risks to participants' family and the broader community. Physical hazards included the dumping of hazardous waste and landfills; social hazards were crime and drugs. These findings have been useful in community organizing efforts and in program planning for local community-based organizations and public health agencies. The results have also been used to prioritize health and environmental risk issues impacting the community.

Nutrition and Other Protective Behaviors Motivated by Environmental Health Risk Awareness.

PubMed

Jones, Elizabeth W; Feng, Limin; Dixon, Jane K; Dixon, John P; Hofe, Carolyn R; Gaetke, Lisa M

2016-01-01

Research findings have suggested that exposure to environmental pollutants contributes to increased health risks, which may be modulated by certain nutrition and other protective health behaviors. Nutrition professionals play an important role in effectively disseminating this information and in devising specific community-based nutrition education programs for audiences located in areas with environmental health issues. To assess awareness of environmental health problems and motivation to adopt protective health behaviors for use in planning nutrition education programs for communities exposed to environmental pollutants. Data were collected from a modified, validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP) survey instrument administered to adults (n=774) participating in community events in Kentucky based on location relative to hazardous waste sites. The modified EHEP survey instrument showed good internal consistency reliability, and demographic characteristics were evaluated. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations in all groups, separately and combined, between awareness of environmental pollution in an individual's surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (P < 0.01) and between concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects and taking personal actions to protect against such environmental insults (P < 0.01). The groups having the highest level of awareness posed by pollution are those residing near federally designated hazardous waste sites. These results suggest that determining and expanding an audience's knowledge and perceptions of environmental health risks will enhance effective nutrition education program planning.

Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations.

PubMed

Castleman, Barry; Allen, Barbara; Barca, Stefania; Bohme, Susanna Rankin; Henry, Emmanuel; Kaur, Amarjit; Massard-Guilbaud, Genvieve; Melling, Joseph; Menendez-Navarro, Alfredo; Renfrew, Daniel; Santiago, Myrna; Sellers, Christopher; Tweedale, Geoffrey; Zalik, Anna; Zavestoski, Stephen

2008-01-01

At a conference held at Stony Brook University in December 2007, "Dangerous Trade: Histories of Industrial Hazard across a Globalizing World," participants endorsed a Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations. The Code outlines practices that would ensure corporations enact the highest health and environmentally protective measures in all the locations in which they operate. Corporations should observe international guidelines on occupational exposure to air contaminants, plant safety, air and water pollutant releases, hazardous waste disposal practices, remediation of polluted sites, public disclosure of toxic releases, product hazard labeling, sale of products for specific uses, storage and transport of toxic intermediates and products, corporate safety and health auditing, and corporate environmental auditing. Protective measures in all locations should be consonant with the most protective measures applied anywhere in the world, and should apply to the corporations' subsidiaries, contractors, suppliers, distributors, and licensees of technology. Key words: corporations, sustainability, environmental protection, occupational health, code of practice.

Investigating Environmental Concerns and Health Issues in Clarksville, Tennessee

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rainey, Shirley A.; Jones, Robert Emmet

2005-01-01

Environmental degradation is a serious problem for millions of people who are unjustly exposed to environmental conditions that threaten their everyday survival. A growing body of research shows race and class as significant predictors to exposure to environmental hazards and associated health problems. Presented are perceptions of environmental…

Environmental and occupational exposures in immigrant health.

PubMed

Eamranond, Pracha P; Hu, Howard

2008-09-23

Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation's health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status.

Environmental and Occupational Exposures in Immigrant Health

PubMed Central

Eamranond, Pracha P.; Hu, Howard

2008-01-01

Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation’s health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status. PMID:21572847

Learning Pathways in Environmental Science Education: The case of hazardous household items

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malandrakis, George N.

2006-11-01

The present study draws on environmental science education to explore aspects of children’s conceptual change regarding hazardous household items. Twelve children from a fifth-grade class attended a 30-h teaching module of environmentally oriented science activities aimed at assessing their awareness about the environmental and health hazards posed by several typical household products. In-depth interviews before, 2 weeks after, and 1 year after, the teaching intervention revealed that children followed three pathways of conceptual change ranging from the substantial alterations of their initial ideas to the qualitative enrichment of those ideas to the complete rejection of the new knowledge. Two components of the instructional intervention—the use of living organisms in classroom experiments, and group learning activities—along with the development of children’s situated metacognitive ideas facilitated their learning and increased the durability of the acquired knowledge. Additionally, sound indications concerning the situated nature and the social construction of the new knowledge were observed, as well as that in environmental education moral and value issues are closely related to knowledge.

Potential and Actual Health Hazards in the Dense Urban Operational Environment: Critical Gaps and Solutions for Military Occupational Health.

PubMed

Patterson, Steven L; Dancy, Blair C R; Ippolito, Danielle L; Stallings, Jonathan D

2017-11-01

: This paper presents environmental health risks which are prevalent in dense urban environments.We review the current literature and recommendations proposed by environmental medicine experts in a 2-day symposium sponsored by the Department of Defense and supported by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.Key hazards in the dense urban operational environment include toxic industrial chemicals and materials, water pollution and sewage, and air pollution. Four critical gaps in environmental medicine were identified: prioritizing chemical and environmental concerns, developing mobile decision aids, personalized health assessments, and better real-time health biomonitoring.As populations continue to concentrate in cities, civilian and military leaders will need to meet emerging environmental health concerns by developing and delivering adequate technology and policy solutions.

Computer Model Locates Environmental Hazards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Catherine Huybrechts Burton founded San Francisco-based Endpoint Environmental (2E) LLC in 2005 while she was a student intern and project manager at Ames Research Center with NASA's DEVELOP program. The 2E team created the Tire Identification from Reflectance model, which algorithmically processes satellite images using turnkey technology to retain only the darkest parts of an image. This model allows 2E to locate piles of rubber tires, which often are stockpiled illegally and cause hazardous environmental conditions and fires.

Environmental Hazards in the Child Care Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gratz, Rene; Boulton, Pamla

1993-01-01

Presents research findings regarding the susceptibility of young children to various indoor environmental pollutants including cigarette smoke, heating and cooking equipment, art supplies, lead, and asbestos. Discusses assessment, management, and prevention of environmental hazards to provide guidelines for achieving a safe child care environment.…

Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Volume 4: Annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Medical University of South Carolina`s (MUSC) vision is to become the premier national resource for medical information and for environmental/health risk assessment. A key component to the success of the many missions of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) is timely access to large volumes of data. The significant growth in the number of environmental/health information systems that has occurred over the past few years has made data access challenging. This study documents the results of the needs assessment effort conducted to determine the information access and processing requirements of EHAP. The following topics are addressed in this report:more » immunological consequences of beryllium exposure; assessment of genetic risks to environmental diseases; low dose-rate radiation health effects; environmental risk perception in defined populations; information support and access systems; and environmental medicine and risk communication: curriculum and a professional support network-Department of Family Medicine.« less

Examining Public Perceptions about Lead in School Drinking Water: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Twitter Response to an Environmental Health Hazard

PubMed Central

McElwain, Cora-Ann; Sprague, Nadav

2018-01-01

Exposure to lead has long been a community health concern in St. Louis, Missouri. The objective of this study was to examine public response to reports of elevated lead levels in school drinking water in St. Louis, Missouri via Twitter, a microblogging platform with over 320 million active users. We used a mixed-methods design to examine Twitter user status updates, known as “tweets,” from 18 August to 31 December 2016. The number of tweets each day was recorded, and Twitter users were classified into five user types (General Public, Journalist/News, Health Professional/Academic, Politician/Government Official, and Non-Governmental Organization). A total of 492 tweets were identified during the study period. The majority of discourse on Twitter occurred during the two-week period after initial media reports and was driven by members of the General Public. Thematic analysis of tweets revealed four themes: Information Sharing, Health Concerns, Sociodemographic Disparities, and Outrage. Twitter users characterized lead in school drinking water as an issue of environmental inequity. The findings of this study provide evidence that social media platforms can be utilized as valuable tools for public health researchers and practitioners to gauge public sentiment about environmental health issues, identify emerging community concerns, and inform future communication and research strategies regarding environmental health hazards. PMID:29361676

Occupational hazards to health of port workers.

PubMed

Wang, Yukun; Zhan, Shuifen; Liu, Yan; Li, Yan

2017-12-01

The aim of this article is to reduce the risk of occupational hazards and improve safety conditions by enhancing hazard knowledge and identification as well as improving safety behavior for freight port enterprises. In the article, occupational hazards to health and their prevention measures of freight port enterprises have been summarized through a lot of occupational health evaluation work, experience and understanding. Workers of freight port enterprises confront an equally wide variety of chemical, physical and psychological hazards in production technology, production environment and the course of labor. Such health hazards have been identified, the risks evaluated, the dangers to health notified and effective prevention measures which should be put in place to ensure the health of the port workers summarized. There is still a long way to go for the freight port enterprises to prevent and control the occupational hazards. Except for occupational hazards and their prevention measures, other factors that influence the health of port workers should also be paid attention to, such as age, work history, gender, contraindication and even the occurrence and development rules of occupational hazards in current production conditions.

Nutrition and Other Protective Behaviors Motivated by Environmental Health Risk Awareness

PubMed Central

Jones, Elizabeth W.; Feng, Limin; Dixon, Jane K.; Dixon, John P.; Hofe, Carolyn R.; Gaetke, Lisa M.

2016-01-01

Background Research findings have suggested that exposure to environmental pollutants contributes to increased health risks, which may be modulated by certain nutrition and other protective health behaviors. Nutrition professionals play an important role in effectively disseminating this information and in devising specific community-based nutrition education programs for audiences located in areas with environmental health issues. Objective To assess awareness of environmental health problems and motivation to adopt protective health behaviors for use in planning nutrition education programs for communities exposed to environmental pollutants. Method Data were collected from a modified, validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP) survey instrument administered to adults (n=774) participating in community events in Kentucky based on location relative to hazardous waste sites. Results The modified EHEP survey instrument showed good internal consistency reliability, and demographic characteristics were evaluated. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations in all groups, separately and combined, between awareness of environmental pollution in an individual’s surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (P < 0.01) and between concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects and taking personal actions to protect against such environmental insults (P < 0.01). The groups having the highest level of awareness posed by pollution are those residing near federally designated hazardous waste sites. Conclusion These results suggest that determining and expanding an audience’s knowledge and perceptions of environmental health risks will enhance effective nutrition education program planning. PMID:28090221

Geomorphological hazards and environmental impact: Assessment and mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panizza, Mario

In five sections the author develops the methods for the integration of geomorphological concepts into Environmental Impact and Mapping. The first section introduces the concepts of Impact and Risk through the relationships between Geomorphological Environment and Anthropical Element. The second section proposes a methodology for the determination of Geomorphological Hazard and the identification of Geomorphological Risk. The third section synthesizes the procedure for the compilation of a Geomorphological Hazards Map. The fourth section outlines the concepts of Geomorphological Resource Assessment for the analysis of the Environmental Impact. The fifth section considers the contribution of geomorphological studies and mapping in the procedure for Environmental Impact Assessment.

Nanominerals, fullerene aggregates, and hazardous elements in coal and coal combustion-generated aerosols: An environmental and toxicological assessment.

PubMed

Saikia, Jyotilima; Narzary, Bardwi; Roy, Sonali; Bordoloi, Manobjyoti; Saikia, Prasenjit; Saikia, Binoy K

2016-12-01

Studies on coal-derived nanoparticles as well as nano-minerals are important in the context of the human health and the environment. The coal combustion-generated aerosols also affect human health and environmental quality aspects in any coal-fired station. In this study, the feed coals and their combustion-generated aerosols from coal-fired boilers of two tea industry facilities were investigated for the presence of nanoparticles/nano minerals, fullerene aggregates, and potentially hazardous elements (PHEs). The samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS), High resolution-transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (HR-TEM/EDS) and Ultra Violet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) to know their extent of environmental risks to the human health when present in coals and aerosols. The feed coals contain mainly clay minerals, whilst glass fragments, spinel, quartz, and other minerals occur in lesser quantities. The PM samples contain potentially hazardous elements (PHEs) like As, Pb, Cd and Hg. Enrichment factor of the trace elements in particulate matters (PMs) was calculated to determine their sources. The aerosol samples were also found to contain nanomaterials and ultrafine particles. The fullerene aggregates along with potentially hazardous elements were also detected in the aerosol samples. The cytotoxicity studies on the coal combustion-generated PM samples show their potential risk to the human health. This detailed investigation on the inter-relationship between the feed coals and their aerosol chemistry will be useful for understanding the extent of environmental hazards and related human health risk. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 41506 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-16

... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... Sciences; 93.113, Biological Response to Environmental Health Hazards; 93.114, Applied Toxicological... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute of Environmental...

75 FR 13558 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-22

...: Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint, 7007 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC 27713. Contact Person: Leroy..., NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143, NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances--Basic Research and Education; 93.894, Resources and Manpower Development in the Environmental Health...

78 FR 26793 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-08

... evaluate grant applications. Place: Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint Hotel, 7007 Fayetteville Road...--Health Risks from Environmental Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143, NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances--Basic Research and Education; 93.894, Resources and...

Approaches to systematic assessment of environmental exposures posed at hazardous waste sites in the developing world: the Toxic Sites Identification Program.

PubMed

Ericson, Bret; Caravanos, Jack; Chatham-Stephens, Kevin; Landrigan, Philip; Fuller, Richard

2013-02-01

In the developing world, environmental chemical exposures due to hazardous waste sites are poorly documented. We describe the approach taken by the Blacksmith Institute's Toxic Sites Identification Program in documenting environmental chemical exposures due to hazardous waste sites globally, identifying sites of concern and quantifying pathways, populations, and severity of exposure. A network of local environmental investigators was identified and trained to conduct hazardous waste site investigations and assessments. To date, 2,095 contaminated sites have been identified within 47 countries having an estimated population at risk of 71,500,000. Trained researchers and investigators have visited 1,400 of those sites. Heavy metals are the leading primary exposures, with water supply and ambient air being the primary routes of exposure. Even though chemical production has occurred largely in the developed world to date, many hazardous waste sites in the developing world pose significant hazards to the health of large portions of the population. Further research is needed to quantify potential health and economic consequences and identify cost-effective approaches to remediation.

Radioactivity in mushrooms: a health hazard?

PubMed

Guillén, J; Baeza, A

2014-07-01

Mushrooms are a complementary foodstuff and considered to be consumed locally. The demand for mushrooms has increased in recent years, and the mushroom trade is becoming global. Mushroom origin is frequently obscured from the consumer. Mushrooms are considered excellent bioindicators of environmental pollution. The accumulation of radionuclides by mushrooms, which are then consumed by humans or livestock, can pose a radiological hazard. Many studies have addressed the radionuclide content in mushrooms, almost exclusively the radiocaesium content. There is a significant lack of data about their content from some of the main producer countries. An exhaustive review was carried out in order to identify which radionuclide might constitute a health hazard, and the factors conditioning it. Regulatory values for the different radionuclides were used. The worldwide range for radiocaesium, (226)Ra, (210)Pb, and (210)Po surpasses those values. Appropriate radiological protection requires that the content of those radionuclides in mushrooms should be monitored. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GRADE: Assessing the quality of evidence in environmental and occupational health

PubMed Central

Morgan, Rebecca L; Thayer, Kristina A; Bero, Lisa; Bruce, Nigel; Falck-Ytter, Yngve; Ghersi, Davina; Guyatt, Gordon; Hooijmans, Carlijn; Langendam, Miranda; Mandrioli, Daniele; Mustafa, Reem A.; Rehfuess, Eva A; Rooney, Andrew A; Shea, Beverley; Silbergeld, Ellen K; Sutton, Patrice; Wolfe, Mary; Woodruff, Tracey J; Verbeek, Jos H; Holloway, Alison C.; Santesso, Nancy; Schünemann, Holger J

2016-01-01

There is high demand in environmental health for adoption of a structured process that evaluates and integrates evidence while making decisions and recommendations transparent. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework holds promise to address this demand. For over a decade, GRADE has been applied successfully to areas of clinical medicine, public health, and health policy, but experience with GRADE in environmental and occupational health is just beginning. Environmental and occupational health questions focus on understanding whether an exposure is a potential health hazard or risk, assessing the exposure to understand the extent and magnitude of risk, and exploring interventions to mitigate exposure or risk. Although GRADE offers many advantages, including its flexibility and methodological rigor, there are features of the different sources of evidence used in environmental and occupational health that will require further consideration to assess the need for method refinement. An issue that requires particular attention is the evaluation and integration of evidence from human, animal, in vitro, and in silico (computer modelling) studies when determining whether an environmental factor represents a potential health hazard or risk. Assessment of the hazard of exposures can produce analyses for use in the GRADE evidence-to-decision (EtD) framework to inform risk-management decisions about removing harmful exposures or mitigating risks. The EtD framework allows for grading the strength of the recommendations based on judgments of the certainty in the evidence (also known as quality of the evidence), as well as other factors that inform recommendations such as social values and preferences, resource implications, and benefits. GRADE represents an untapped opportunity for environmental and occupational health to make evidence-based recommendations in a systematic and transparent manner. The objectives of this article are

GRADE: Assessing the quality of evidence in environmental and occupational health.

PubMed

Morgan, Rebecca L; Thayer, Kristina A; Bero, Lisa; Bruce, Nigel; Falck-Ytter, Yngve; Ghersi, Davina; Guyatt, Gordon; Hooijmans, Carlijn; Langendam, Miranda; Mandrioli, Daniele; Mustafa, Reem A; Rehfuess, Eva A; Rooney, Andrew A; Shea, Beverley; Silbergeld, Ellen K; Sutton, Patrice; Wolfe, Mary S; Woodruff, Tracey J; Verbeek, Jos H; Holloway, Alison C; Santesso, Nancy; Schünemann, Holger J

2016-01-01

There is high demand in environmental health for adoption of a structured process that evaluates and integrates evidence while making decisions and recommendations transparent. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework holds promise to address this demand. For over a decade, GRADE has been applied successfully to areas of clinical medicine, public health, and health policy, but experience with GRADE in environmental and occupational health is just beginning. Environmental and occupational health questions focus on understanding whether an exposure is a potential health hazard or risk, assessing the exposure to understand the extent and magnitude of risk, and exploring interventions to mitigate exposure or risk. Although GRADE offers many advantages, including its flexibility and methodological rigor, there are features of the different sources of evidence used in environmental and occupational health that will require further consideration to assess the need for method refinement. An issue that requires particular attention is the evaluation and integration of evidence from human, animal, in vitro, and in silico (computer modeling) studies when determining whether an environmental factor represents a potential health hazard or risk. Assessment of the hazard of exposures can produce analyses for use in the GRADE evidence-to-decision (EtD) framework to inform risk-management decisions about removing harmful exposures or mitigating risks. The EtD framework allows for grading the strength of the recommendations based on judgments of the certainty in the evidence (also known as quality of the evidence), as well as other factors that inform recommendations such as social values and preferences, resource implications, and benefits. GRADE represents an untapped opportunity for environmental and occupational health to make evidence-based recommendations in a systematic and transparent manner. The objectives of this article are

Forecasting extreme temperature health hazards in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Napoli, Claudia; Pappenberger, Florian; Cloke, Hannah L.

2017-04-01

Global Environmental Change, Series No. 2, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2004. [2] Pappenberger F. et al., Global forecasting of thermal health hazards: the skill of probabilistic predictions of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), International Journal of Biometeorology 59(3): 311-323, 2015.

Mapping environmental injustices: pitfalls and potential of geographic information systems in assessing environmental health and equity.

PubMed Central

Maantay, Juliana

2002-01-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used increasingly to map instances of environmental injustice, the disproportionate exposure of certain populations to environmental hazards. Some of the technical and analytic difficulties of mapping environmental injustice are outlined in this article, along with suggestions for using GIS to better assess and predict environmental health and equity. I examine 13 GIS-based environmental equity studies conducted within the past decade and use a study of noxious land use locations in the Bronx, New York, to illustrate and evaluate the differences in two common methods of determining exposure extent and the characteristics of proximate populations. Unresolved issues in mapping environmental equity and health include lack of comprehensive hazards databases; the inadequacy of current exposure indices; the need to develop realistic methodologies for determining the geographic extent of exposure and the characteristics of the affected populations; and the paucity and insufficiency of health assessment data. GIS have great potential to help us understand the spatial relationship between pollution and health. Refinements in exposure indices; the use of dispersion modeling and advanced proximity analysis; the application of neighborhood-scale analysis; and the consideration of other factors such as zoning and planning policies will enable more conclusive findings. The environmental equity studies reviewed in this article found a disproportionate environmental burden based on race and/or income. It is critical now to demonstrate correspondence between environmental burdens and adverse health impacts--to show the disproportionate effects of pollution rather than just the disproportionate distribution of pollution sources. PMID:11929725

Environmental threats to children's health in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

PubMed Central

Suk, William A; Ruchirawat, Kuhnying Mathuros; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Berger, Martha; Carpenter, David; Damstra, Terri; de Garbino, Jenny Pronczuk; Koh, David; Landrigan, Philip J; Makalinao, Irma; Sly, Peter D; Xu, Y; Zheng, B S

2003-01-01

The Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions contain half of the world's children and are among the most rapidly industrializing regions of the globe. Environmental threats to children's health are widespread and are multiplying as nations in the area undergo industrial development and pass through the epidemiologic transition. These environmental hazards range from traditional threats such as bacterial contamination of drinking water and wood smoke in poorly ventilated dwellings to more recently introduced chemical threats such as asbestos construction materials; arsenic in groundwater; methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India; untreated manufacturing wastes released to landfills; chlorinated hydrocarbon and organophosphorous pesticides; and atmospheric lead emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline. To address these problems, pediatricians, environmental health scientists, and public health workers throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific have begun to build local and national research and prevention programs in children's environmental health. Successes have been achieved as a result of these efforts: A cost-effective system for producing safe drinking water at the village level has been devised in India; many nations have launched aggressive antismoking campaigns; and Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan have all begun to reduce their use of lead in gasoline, with resultant declines in children's blood lead levels. The International Conference on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2002, brought together more than 300 representatives from 35 countries and organizations to increase awareness on environmental health hazards affecting children in these regions and throughout the world. The conference, a direct result of the Environmental Threats to the Health of Children meeting held in Manila in April 2000, provided participants with the latest scientific data on children's vulnerability to

Environmental threats to children's health in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

PubMed

Suk, William A; Ruchirawat, Kuhnying Mathuros; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Berger, Martha; Carpenter, David; Damstra, Terri; de Garbino, Jenny Pronczuk; Koh, David; Landrigan, Philip J; Makalinao, Irma; Sly, Peter D; Xu, Y; Zheng, B S

2003-08-01

The Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions contain half of the world's children and are among the most rapidly industrializing regions of the globe. Environmental threats to children's health are widespread and are multiplying as nations in the area undergo industrial development and pass through the epidemiologic transition. These environmental hazards range from traditional threats such as bacterial contamination of drinking water and wood smoke in poorly ventilated dwellings to more recently introduced chemical threats such as asbestos construction materials; arsenic in groundwater; methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India; untreated manufacturing wastes released to landfills; chlorinated hydrocarbon and organophosphorous pesticides; and atmospheric lead emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline. To address these problems, pediatricians, environmental health scientists, and public health workers throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific have begun to build local and national research and prevention programs in children's environmental health. Successes have been achieved as a result of these efforts: A cost-effective system for producing safe drinking water at the village level has been devised in India; many nations have launched aggressive antismoking campaigns; and Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan have all begun to reduce their use of lead in gasoline, with resultant declines in children's blood lead levels. The International Conference on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2002, brought together more than 300 representatives from 35 countries and organizations to increase awareness on environmental health hazards affecting children in these regions and throughout the world. The conference, a direct result of the Environmental Threats to the Health of Children meeting held in Manila in April 2000, provided participants with the latest scientific data on children's vulnerability to

Assessing the impact of hazardous waste on children's health: The exposome paradigm.

PubMed

Sarigiannis, D A

2017-10-01

Assessment of the health impacts related to hazardous waste is a major scientific challenge with multiple societal implications. Most studies related to associations between hazardous waste and public health do not provide established of mechanistic links between environmental exposure and disease burden, resulting in ineffective waste management options. The exposome concept comes to overhaul the nature vs. nurture paradigm and embraces a world of dynamic interactions between environmental exposures, endogenous exposures and genetic expression in humans. In this context, the exposome paradigm provides a novel tool for holistic hazardous waste management. Waste streams and the related contamination of environmental media are not viewed in isolation, but rather as components of the expotype, the vector of exposures an individual is exposed to over time. Thus, a multi-route and multi-pathway exposure estimation can be performed setting a realistic basis for integrated health risk assessment. Waste management practices are thus assessed not only regarding their technological edge and efficacy but also their effects on human health at the individual and community level, considering intra-subject variability in the affected population. The effectiveness of the exposome approach is demonstrated in the case of Athens, the capital of Greece, where the health effects associated to long term and short term exposure to two major waste management facilities (landfill and plastic recycling) are presented. Using the exposome analysis tools, we confirmed that proximity to a landfill is critical for children neurodevelopment. However, this effect is significantly modified by parameters such as parental education level, socioeconomic status and nutrition. Proximity to a plastics recycling plant does not pose significant threats under normal operating conditions; yet, in the case of an accidental fire, release of persistent carcinogenic compounds (dioxins and furans) even for a

Environmental Stressors: The Mental Health Impacts of Living Near Industrial Activity*

PubMed Central

DOWNEY, LIAM; VAN WILLIGEN, MARIEKE

2011-01-01

A growing literature examines whether the poor, the working class, and people of color are disproportionately likely to live in environmentally hazardous neighborhoods. This literature assumes that environmental characteristics such as industrial pollution and hazardous waste are detrimental to human health, an assumption that has not been well tested. Drawing upon the sociology of mental health and environmental inequality studies, we ask whether industrial activity has an impact on psychological well-being. We link individual-level survey data with data from the U.S. Census and the Toxic Release Inventory and find that residential proximity to industrial activity has a negative impact on mental health. This impact is both direct and mediated by individuals’ perceptions of neighborhood disorder and personal powerlessness, and the impact is greater for minorities and the poor than it is for whites and wealthier individuals. These results suggest that public health officials need to take seriously the mental health impacts of living near industrial facilities. PMID:16259150

76 FR 27653 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-12

... Southpoint, 7007 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC 27713. Contact Person: Linda K. Bass, PhD, Scientific Review... Estimation--Health Risks from Environmental Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143, NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances--Basic Research and Education; 93.894, Resources and...

Environmental and occupational health and human rights.

PubMed

Slatin, Craig

2011-01-01

Modern environmental- and occupational-related morbidities and mortality are determined by the power relations inherent in our existing capitalist systems of production and consumption. These systems thwart human public health rights because of the priority to maximize profit for the systems' owners rather than to establish ecologically sound and socially just development for all. The international public health community must return to its primary prevention roots and take action to eliminate the potential for population morbidities that result from hazardous substance exposures in work and community environments. The 1988 Adelaide Recommendations on Healthy Public Policy provide us with guidelines that incorporate a human rights approach and build on several decades of international public health declarations and charters. To succeed, public health must work with the labor movement. A human rights approach to environmental public health can help us make a transition to sustainable modes of production and consumption. The environmental justice movement's strategy for an economic greening that sets as a priority "pathways out of poverty" can help to advance environmental public health rights.

A Scoping Review of Maternal and Child Health Clinicians Attitudes, Beliefs, Practice, Training and Perceived Self-Competence in Environmental Health.

PubMed

Massaquoi, Lamin Daddy; Edwards, Nancy Christine

2015-12-10

Clinicians regularly assess, diagnose and manage illnesses which are directly or indirectly linked to environmental exposures. Yet, various studies have identified gaps in environmental assessment in routine clinical practice. This review assessed clinicians' environmental health practices, attitudes and beliefs, and competencies and training. Relevant articles were sought using a systematic search strategy using five databases, grey literature and a hand search. Search strategies and protocols were developed using tailored mesh terms and keywords. 43 out of 11,291 articles were eligible for inclusion. Clinicians' attitudes and beliefs towards environmental health and routine clinical practice were generally positive, with most clinicians believing that environmental hazards affect human health. However, with the exception of tobacco smoke exposure, environmental health assessment was infrequently part of routine clinical practice. Clinicians' self-competence in environmental assessment was reported to be inadequate. Major challenges were the time required to complete an assessment, inadequate training and concerns about negative patients' responses. Clinicians have strong positive attitudes and beliefs about the importance of environmental health assessments. However, more concerted and robust strategies will be needed to support clinicians in assuming their assessment and counselling roles related to a wider range of environmental hazards.

Environmental Projects. Volume 9: Construction of hazardous materials storage facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Activities at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) are carried out in support of seven parabolic dish antennas. These activities may give rise to environmental hazards. This report is one in a series of reports describing environmental projects at GDSCC. The construction of two hazardous materials and wastes storage facilities and an acid-wash facility is described. An overview of the Goldstone complex is also presented along with a description of the environmental aspects of the GDSCC site.

Hazardous Wastes. Two Games for Teaching about the Problem. Environmental Communications Activities. Bulletin 703.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Cooperative Extension Service.

Two games are presented which demonstrate the complexity of the hazardous waste problem through an introduction to the: (1) economics of waste disposal; (2) legislation surrounding waste disposal; (3) necessity to handle wastes with care; (4) damages to the environmental and human health resulting from improper disposal; (5) correct ways to…

The role of health and safety experts in the management of hazardous and toxic wastes in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Supriyadi; Hadiyanto

2018-02-01

Occupational Safety and Health Experts in Indonesia have an important role in integrating environmental health and safety factors, including in this regard as human resources assigned to undertake hazardous waste management. Comprehensive knowledge and competence skills need to be carried out responsibly, as an inherent professional occupational safety and health profession. Management leaders should continue to provide training in external agencies responsible for science in the management of toxic waste to enable occupational safety and health experts to improve their performance in the hierarchy of control over the presence of hazardous materials. This paper provides an overview of what strategies and competencies the Occupational Safety and Health expert needs to have in embracing hazardous waste management practices.

Will considerations of environmental sustainability revitalise the policy links between the urban environment and health?

PubMed

McMichael, Anthony J

2007-01-01

This paper explores when and how considerations of population health have influenced the creation, planning and management of cities. Cities--now the dominant human habitat--must be planned and managed sustainably in a world that is manifestly experiencing increasing environmental and social strains. Early industrialisation entailed crowding, squalor and industrial environmental blight; the two great associated public health hazards were infectious diseases and air pollution. These hazards have been largely controlled in rich countries. Today's main urban health hazards are obesity (with its life-shortening health consequences) and the huge contribution of cities to climate change with the resultant risks to population health. These and other health issues in urban environments need to be understood and addressed at the community or population level. This is an ecological challenge, crucial to attaining real sustainability.

Environmental health monograph

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1974-05-01

Current environmental programs intended to reduce or mediate environmental health hazards in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina, are described. The following areas are considered: air pollution, noise abatement, pesticide control, accident prevention, food and milk sanitation, occupational health housing, water supply, sewerage, industrial waste, solid waste disposal, and vector control. The lack of adequate technically trained manpower or funds to implement minimum codes currently in force in the Trident Region is noted. The wide range of public and private agencies concerned with environmental health issues creates complexities in dealing with these issues. Conflicting codes and standards exist atmore » various government levels. The Trident Health District Office Air Pollution Control Program provides the following: ambient air quality surveillance; review of plans and specifications for proposed air pollution control facilities and equipment; and air monitoring. A list of safety - related courses offered by the Greater Charleston Safety Council is provided. A lack of readily available statistics concerning the various kinds of accidents and the frequency of their occurrence is noted. Concern is also expressed over the lack of personnel to inspect the growing food service industry. Local activities in the area of occupational health are reported to be less than minimal. The Charleston County Health Department has recently introduced a rural sanitation program. The county also issues permits for septic tank installation. The Regional Planning Council for the area aids municipalities and counties in planning for and implementing supply control and solid waste management in compliance with Federal and State laws. Mosquito abatement, rabies control, and rodent control activities in the area are described. Portions of this document are not fully legible. (GRA)« less

[Relations of landslide and debris flow hazards to environmental factors].

PubMed

Zhang, Guo-ping; Xu, Jing; Bi, Bao-gui

2009-03-01

To clarify the relations of landslide and debris flow hazards to environmental factors is of significance to the prediction and evaluation of landslide and debris flow hazards. Base on the latitudinal and longitudinal information of 18431 landslide and debris flow hazards in China, and the 1 km x 1 km grid data of elevation, elevation difference, slope, slope aspect, vegetation type, and vegetation coverage, this paper analyzed the relations of landslide and debris flow hazards in this country to above-mentioned environmental factors by the analysis method of frequency ratio. The results showed that the landslide and debris flow hazards in China more occurred in lower elevation areas of the first and second transitional zones. When the elevation difference within a 1 km x 1 km grid cell was about 300 m and the slope was around 30 degree, there was the greatest possibility of the occurrence of landslide and debris hazards. Mountain forest land and slope cropland were the two land types the hazards most easily occurred. The occurrence frequency of the hazards was the highest when the vegetation coverage was about 80%-90%.

Twelfth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research.

PubMed

Tchounwou, Paul B

2016-05-04

During the past century, environmental hazards have become a major concern, not only to public health professionals, but also to the society at large because of their tremendous health, socio-cultural and economic impacts. Various anthropogenic or natural factors have been implicated in the alteration of ecosystem integrity, as well as in the development of a wide variety of acute and/or chronic diseases in humans. It has also been demonstrated that many environmental agents, acting either independently or in combination with other toxins, may induce a wide range of adverse health outcomes. Understanding the role played by the environment in the etiology of human diseases is critical to designing cost-effective control/prevention measures. This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health includes the proceedings of the Twelfth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The Symposium provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the scientific advances in biomedical, environmental, and public health research that addresses global environmental health issues.

An analytical assessment of population reaction to environmental health hazards

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stasiukaitis, B.

1994-12-31

The Savannah River Site (SRS), being a nuclear production facility, has created concern for the communities in the surrounding areas. After completing a Perceived Risk Survey (PRS) in 1993, it was found that some people express their concerns by contacting a public official. Thus, the Legislative Environmental Health Survey (LEHS) was created. This survey asked legislators of Georgia and South Carolina to respond to questions concerning various environmental concerns. The questions reflected how the legislators viewed their constituencies` concerns. These two surveys were compared to find differences in legislators` and public views.

Our environment, our health: a community-based participatory environmental health survey in Richmond, California.

PubMed

Cohen, Alison; Lopez, Andrea; Malloy, Nile; Morello-Frosch, Rachel

2012-04-01

This study presents a health survey conducted by a community-based participatory research partnership between academic researchers and community organizers to consider environmental health and environmental justice issues in four neighborhoods of Richmond, California, a low-income community of color living along the fence line of a major oil refinery and near other industrial and mobile sources of pollution. The Richmond health survey aimed to assess local concerns and perceptions of neighborhood conditions, health problems, mobile and stationary hazards, access to health care, and other issues affecting residents of Richmond. Although respondents thought their neighborhoods were good places to live, they expressed concerns about neighborhood stressors and particular sources of pollution, and identified elevated asthma rates for children and long-time Richmond residents. The Richmond health survey offers a holistic, community-centered perspective to understanding local environmental health issues, and can inform future environmental health research and organizing efforts for community-university collaboratives.

Exposure to hazardous substances and male reproductive health: a research framework.

PubMed Central

Moline, J M; Golden, A L; Bar-Chama, N; Smith, E; Rauch, M E; Chapin, R E; Perreault, S D; Schrader, S M; Suk, W A; Landrigan, P J

2000-01-01

The discovery in the mid-1970s that occupational exposures to pesticides could diminish or destroy the fertility of workers sparked concern about the effects of hazardous substances on male reproductive health. More recently, there is evidence that sperm quantity and quality may have declined worldwide, that the incidence of testicular cancer has progressively increased in many countries, and that other disorders of the male reproductive tract such as hypospadias and cryptorchidism may have also increased. There is growing concern that occupational factors and environmental chemical exposures, including in utero and childhood exposures to compounds with estrogenic activity, may be correlated with these observed changes in male reproductive health and fertility. We review the evidence and methodologies that have contributed to our current understanding of environmental effects on male reproductive health and fertility and discuss the methodologic issues which confront investigators in this area. One of the greatest challenges confronting researchers in this area is assessing and comparing results from existing studies. We elaborate recommendations for future research. Researchers in the field of male reproductive health should continue working to prioritize hazardous substances; elucidate the magnitude of male reproductive health effects, particularly in the areas of testicular cancer, hypospadias, and cryptorchidism; develop biomarkers of exposure to reproductive toxins and of reproductive health effects for research and clinical use; foster collaborative interdisciplinary research; and recognize the importance of standardized laboratory methods and sample archiving. PMID:11017884

Water, water quality and health (Chapter 3 in Book entitled: Environmental Tracking for Public Health Surveillance).

EPA Science Inventory

This chapter identifies the role environmental tracking plays in identifying public health water hazard and water quality issues. It outlines public health issues to be examined and provides an integrated overview of water and diseases by combining knowledge of the hydrological ...

BEHAVIORAL HAZARD IN HEALTH INSURANCE*

PubMed Central

Baicker, Katherine; Mullainathan, Sendhil; Schwartzstein, Joshua

2015-01-01

A fundamental implication of standard moral hazard models is overuse of low-value medical care because copays are lower than costs. In these models, the demand curve alone can be used to make welfare statements, a fact relied on by much empirical work. There is ample evidence, though, that people misuse care for a different reason: mistakes, or “behavioral hazard.” Much high-value care is underused even when patient costs are low, and some useless care is bought even when patients face the full cost. In the presence of behavioral hazard, welfare calculations using only the demand curve can be off by orders of magnitude or even be the wrong sign. We derive optimal copay formulas that incorporate both moral and behavioral hazard, providing a theoretical foundation for value-based insurance design and a way to interpret behavioral “nudges.” Once behavioral hazard is taken into account, health insurance can do more than just provide financial protection—it can also improve health care efficiency. PMID:23930294

Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) for Hazardous Materials Removal at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-31

ACM). The FEW Environmental Planning Function ( EPF ) conducted the analysis of this proposed action. 2. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION. The... EPF determined that the proposed action has the potential to affect Air Quality, Occupational Safety and Health, Cultural Resources and Hazardous Waste

Messing with Mother Nature Can Be Hazardous to Your Health. Assessment of Environmental Health Impacts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Americans for Indian Opportunity, Inc., Albuquerque, NM.

Environmental health impacts of development on Indian communities, and the roles of government agencies responsible for environmental protection and individual safety are being assessed by Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) during a two-year project. Although the more than 250 Indian tribes within the U.S. have federal guarantees for…

75 FR 46950 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-04

... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Gulf Oil Spill Health Effects. Date: August 17, 2010. Time: 1 p.m...--Health Risks from Environmental Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of...

Mapping the Racial Inequality in Place: Using Youth Perceptions to Identify Unequal Exposure to Neighborhood Environmental Hazards.

PubMed

Teixeira, Samantha; Zuberi, Anita

2016-08-25

Black youth are more likely than white youth to grow up in poor, segregated neighborhoods. This racial inequality in the neighborhood environments of black youth increases their contact with hazardous neighborhood environmental features including violence and toxic exposures that contribute to racial inequality in youth health and well-being. While the concept of neighborhood effects has been studied at length by social scientists, this work has not been as frequently situated within an environmental justice (EJ) paradigm. The present study used youth perceptions gained from in-depth interviews with youth from one Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood to identify neighborhood environmental health hazards. We then mapped these youth-identified features to examine how they are spatially and racially distributed across the city. Our results suggest that the intersection of race and poverty, neighborhood disorder, housing abandonment, and crime were salient issues for youth. The maps show support for the youths' assertions that the environments of black and white individuals across the city of Pittsburgh differ in noteworthy ways. This multi-lens, mixed-method analysis was designed to challenge some of the assumptions we make about addressing environmental inequality using youths' own opinions on the issue to drive our inquiry.

Exploring the efficacy of an environmental health intervention in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

PubMed

Hernández, Alma A; Grineski, Sara E

2010-01-01

This study explores the efficacy of an environmental health intervention in several poor colonias in Ciudad Juárez (Mexico). Parents of children with respiratory problems were given environment-friendly products intended to replace hazardous products used in the home, as well as information about environmental health. Parents were surveyed before and after to measure the effectiveness of the intervention and to gauge perceptions. There was a significant reduction in hazardous chemical use (eg, cleaning products and pesticides) and breathing problems. While the intervention focused on changing in-home behaviors, open-ended responses revealed that parents were most concerned about outdoor environmental conditions over which they had less control.

Health hazard evaluation report HETA 81-472-1380, Pennsylvania Power and Light, Martins Creek Steam Electric Station, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, F.A.

1983-10-01

In August 1980, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1600 for a Health Hazard Evaluation at the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company's Martins Creek Steam Electric Station in Martins Creek, Pennsylvania. The union was concerned about potential health and explosion hazards to employees from coal dust in Units 1 and 2 and the coal field. Based on environmental studies conducted at the time of the survey, NIOSH has determined that a potential health hazard may have existed due to exposure to respirable coal dust and quartz.more » Recommendations were made to ensure that potential health and explosion hazards are avoided in the future.« less

76 FR 21387 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-15

... applications. Place: Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint, 7007 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC 27713. Contact....142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143, NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances--Basic Research and Education; 93.894, Resources and Manpower Development in the Environmental...

Potential environmental impacts of light-emitting diodes (LEDs): metallic resources, toxicity, and hazardous waste classification.

PubMed

Lim, Seong-Rin; Kang, Daniel; Ogunseitan, Oladele A; Schoenung, Julie M

2011-01-01

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are advertised as environmentally friendly because they are energy efficient and mercury-free. This study aimed to determine if LEDs engender other forms of environmental and human health impacts, and to characterize variation across different LEDs based on color and intensity. The objectives are as follows: (i) to use standardized leachability tests to examine whether LEDs are to be categorized as hazardous waste under existing United States federal and California state regulations; and (ii) to use material life cycle impact and hazard assessment methods to evaluate resource depletion and toxicity potentials of LEDs based on their metallic constituents. According to federal standards, LEDs are not hazardous except for low-intensity red LEDs, which leached Pb at levels exceeding regulatory limits (186 mg/L; regulatory limit: 5). However, according to California regulations, excessive levels of copper (up to 3892 mg/kg; limit: 2500), Pb (up to 8103 mg/kg; limit: 1000), nickel (up to 4797 mg/kg; limit: 2000), or silver (up to 721 mg/kg; limit: 500) render all except low-intensity yellow LEDs hazardous. The environmental burden associated with resource depletion potentials derives primarily from gold and silver, whereas the burden from toxicity potentials is associated primarily with arsenic, copper, nickel, lead, iron, and silver. Establishing benchmark levels of these substances can help manufacturers implement design for environment through informed materials substitution, can motivate recyclers and waste management teams to recognize resource value and occupational hazards, and can inform policymakers who establish waste management policies for LEDs.

Anxiety about environmental hazards among teenagers in Helsinki, Moscow and Tallinn.

PubMed

Hokka, P; Palosuo, H; Zhuravleva, I; Pärna, K; Mussalo-Rauhamaa, H; Lakomova, N

1999-08-30

Comparative research of environmental attitudes has concentrated on adults of Western countries, whereas knowledge of environmental consciousness of East European people is modest. This article compares anxiety that teenagers in Helsinki, Moscow and Tallinn express about environmental hazards and their health effects. The data (Helsinki, N = 1396; Moscow, N = 618; Tallinn, N = 1268) were collected in schools by questionnaires from pupils between 13 and 18 years in 1994-1995. Air pollution, water pollution and survival of plant and animal species were considered most worrying environmental threats in every city. Environmental concern was usually highest in Moscow, but the effects of pollution on an individual's health worried Estonian teenagers most. The worry was most consistent in Moscow, where sex, class level or opinion of the state of one's own living environment did not usually have an effect on attitudes. Finnish girls and pupils in higher school classes were environmentally more conscious than boys or younger teenagers. In Tallinn, the sex and age differences in worry were smaller. Environmental worry seemed to have connections to a general sense of responsibility and risk behaviour such as heavy drinking and smoking. For all sites those pupils who often throw empty packages onto the street or into the nature expressed lower environmental concern than their more responsible peers. The differences of worry between the cities were difficult to interpret, but the greater total concern of young Muscovites may be part of their general social anxiety, which is associated with the instability of the Russian society.

Medical University of South Carolina Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Volume 6: Annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994 deliverables

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Medical University of South Carolina`s vision is to become the premier national resource for medical information and for environmental/health risk assessment. A key component to the success of the many missions of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) is timely access to large volumes of data. This study documents the results of the needs assessment effort conducted to determine the information access and processing requirements of EHAP. This report addresses the Department of Environmental Health Science, education and training initiative.

Environmental hazards in Nepal: altitude illness, environmental exposures, injuries, and bites in travelers and expatriates.

PubMed

Boggild, Andrea K; Costiniuk, Cecilia; Kain, Kevin C; Pandey, Prativa

2007-01-01

Adventure travel necessarily places travelers at risk of environmental hazards. We assessed the burden of "environmental" hazards among a cohort of travelers and expatriates presenting to a large travel clinic in Nepal. Data on travelers and expatriates seen at the Canadian International Water and Energy Consultants (CIWEC) clinic in Kathmandu were prospectively collected and entered into the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network database. Data on individuals receiving predefined diagnoses related to environmental hazards were extracted and analyzed. Of 10,499 travelers and 4,854 expatriates in the database, 2,160 were diagnosed with 2,533 environment-related illnesses. Injuries were common among both travelers and expatriates [N= 788 (6.1%) and 328 (4.9%), respectively], while altitude illness was seen almost exclusively in travelers [N= 611 (4.7%) vs N= 8 (0.1%)]. Factors independently associated with environmental diagnoses include male gender (p < 0.001), traveling for tourism (p < 0.001), and lack of pre-travel advice (p= 0.043). Three percent of travelers and 2% of expatriates presenting to CIWEC sustained a bite wound or required rabies postexposure prophylaxis. Injured travelers were less likely than others to have obtained pre-travel advice (p= 0.003), while those who sustained bite wounds were more likely to have received pre-travel advice (p < 0.001). Environmental hazards are important causes of morbidity and potential mortality among adventure travelers and expatriates. Current pre-travel interventions are missing certain risk groups entirely and failing to have the desired educational impact in others.

Occupational Health Hazards in ICU Nursing Staff

PubMed Central

Shimizu, Helena Eri; Couto, Djalma Ticiani; Merchán-Hamann, Edgar; Branco, Anadergh Barbosa

2010-01-01

This study analyzed occupational health hazards for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses and nursing technicians, comparing differences in the number and types of hazards which occur at the beginning and end of their careers. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 26 nurses and 96 nursing technicians from a public hospital in the Federal District, Brazil. A Likert-type work-related symptom scale (WRSS) was used to evaluate the presence of physical, psychological, and social risks. Data were analyzed with the use of the SPSS, version 12.0, and the Kruskal-Wallis test for statistical significance and differences in occupational health hazards at the beginning and at the end of the workers' careers. As a workplace, ICUs can cause work health hazards, mostly physical, to nurses and nursing technicians due to the frequent use of physical energy and strength to provide care, while psychological and social hazards occur to a lesser degree. PMID:21994814

Health and safety plan for the Environmental Restoration Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, C. Jr.; Burman, S.N.; Cipriano, D.J. Jr.

1994-08-01

This Programmatic Health and Safety plan (PHASP) is prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program. This plan follows the format recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for remedial investigations and feasibility studies and that recommended by the EM40 Health and Safety Plan (HASP) Guidelines (DOE February 1994). This plan complies with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements found in 29 CFR 1910.120 and EM-40 guidelines for any activities dealing with hazardous waste operations and emergency response efforts and with OSHA requirements found in 29 CFR 1926.65.more » The policies and procedures in this plan apply to all Environmental Restoration sites and activities including employees of Energy Systems, subcontractors, and prime contractors performing work for the DOE ORNL ER Program. The provisions of this plan are to be carried out whenever activities are initiated that could be a threat to human health or the environment. This plan implements a policy and establishes criteria for the development of procedures for day-to-day operations to prevent or minimize any adverse impact to the environment and personnel safety and health and to meet standards that define acceptable management of hazardous and radioactive materials and wastes. The plan is written to utilize past experience and best management practices to minimize hazards to human health and safety and to the environment from event such as fires, explosions, falls, mechanical hazards, or any unplanned release of hazardous or radioactive materials to air, soil, or surface water.« less

The environmental and medical geochemistry of potentially hazardous materials produced by disasters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Meeker, G.P.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Hageman, Philip L.; Wolf, Ruth E.

2014-01-01

Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and extreme storms, spills of mining/mineral-processing wastes or coal extraction by-products, and the 2001 attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center towers. In describing these characteristics, this chapter also illustrates the important roles that geochemists and other earth scientists can play in environmental disaster response and preparedness. In addition to characterizing in detail the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of HM generated by the disasters, these roles also include (1) identifying and discriminating potential multiple sources of the materials; (2) monitoring, mapping, and modeling dispersal and evolution of the materials in the environment; (3) understanding how the materials are modified by environmental processes; (4) identifying key characteristics and processes that influence the materials' toxicity to exposed humans and ecosystems; (5) estimating shifts away from predisaster environmental baseline conditions; and (6) using geochemical insights learned from past disasters to help estimate, prepare for, and increase societal resilience to the environmental and related health impacts of future disasters.

Children's Environmental Health Indicators in Australia.

PubMed

Sly, J Leith; Moore, Sophie E; Gore, Fiona; Brune, Marie Noel; Neira, Maria; Jagals, Paul; Sly, Peter D

2016-01-01

Adverse environmental exposures in early life increase the risk of chronic disease but do not attract the attention nor receive the public health priority warranted. A safe and healthy environment is essential for children's health and development, yet absent in many countries. A framework that aids in understanding the link between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes are environmental health indicators-numerical estimates of hazards and outcomes that can be applied at a population level. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a set of children's environmental health indicators (CEHI) for physical injuries, insect-borne disease, diarrheal diseases, perinatal diseases, and respiratory diseases; however, uptake of steps necessary to apply these indicators across the WHO regions has been incomplete. A first indication of such uptake is the management of data required to measure CEHI. The present study was undertaken to determine whether Australia has accurate up-to-date, publicly available, and readily accessible data on each CEHI for indigenous and nonindigenous Australian children. Data were not readily accessible for many of the exposure indicators, and much of the available data were not child specific or were only available for Australia's indigenous population. Readily accessible data were available for all but one of the outcome indicators and generally for both indigenous and nonindigenous children. Although Australia regularly collects data on key national indicators of child health, development, and well-being in several domains mostly thought to be of more relevance to Australians and Australian policy makers, these differ substantially from the WHO CEHI. The present study suggests that the majority of these WHO exposure and outcome indicators are relevant and important for monitoring Australian children's environmental health and establishing public health interventions at a local and national level and collection of appropriate

Interdisciplinary Environmental-health Science Throughout Disaster Lifecycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plumlee, G. S.; Morman, S. A.; Hoefen, T. M.

2014-12-01

Potential human health effects from exposures to hazardous disaster materials and environmental contamination are common concerns following disasters. Using several examples from US Geological Survey environmental disaster responses (e.g., 2001 World Trade Center, mine tailings spills, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, 2007-2013 wildfires, 2011 Gulf oil spill, 2012 Hurricane Sandy, 2013 Colorado floods) and disaster scenarios (2011 ARkStorm, 2013 SAFRR tsunami) this presentation will illustrate the role for collaborative earth, environmental, and health science throughout disaster lifecycles. Pre-disaster environmental baseline measurements are needed to help understand environmental influences on pre-disaster health baselines, and to constrain the magnitude of a disaster's impacts. During and following disasters, there is a need for interdisciplinary rapid-response and longer-term assessments that: sample and characterize the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of complex materials generated by the disasters; fingerprint material sources; monitor, map, and model dispersal and evolution of disaster materials in the environment; help understand how the materials are modified by environmental processes; and, identify key characteristics and processes that influence the exposures and toxicity of disaster materials to humans and the living environment. This information helps emergency responders, public health experts, and cleanup managers: 1) identify short- and long-term exposures to disaster materials that may affect health; 2) prioritize areas for cleanup; and 3) develop appropriate disposal solutions or restoration uses for disaster materials. By integrating lessons learned from past disasters with geospatial information on vulnerable sources of natural or anthropogenic contaminants, the environmental health implications of looming disasters or disaster scenarios can be better anticipated, which helps enhance preparedness and resilience. Understanding economic costs of

Hazardous Waste: Cleanup and Prevention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandas, Steve; Cronin, Nancy L.

1996-01-01

Describes the Superfund, a federal cleanup program created in response to growing public concern over the health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. Discusses sources, disposal, and movement and risk of hazardous waste. (JRH)

The effects of urban green space on environmental health equity and resilience to extreme weather

EPA Science Inventory

Introduction Exposure to environmental hazards and beneficial factors varies with income and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. The resulting environmental inequalities have direct and indirect impacts on health and wellbeing. Many environmental inequalities relate to n...

Environmental hazards of automobile mechanics in Ibadan, Nigeria.

PubMed

Omokhodion, F O

1999-01-01

A cross sectional survey was conducted among automobile mechanics and technicians in Ibadan to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and environmental hazards of these workers. Three hundred workers were interviewed. All respondents were males aged between 13 and 72 years of age. Educational attainment was poor, with only 20% of respondents having completed secondary education. Sanitation facilities were inadequate. Forty percent of workshops provided facilities for refuse disposal. Of the 33 workshops visited, only 1 provided toilet facilities. Most workers used facilities in neighbouring residential premises. Only three workshops (9%) had designated eating areas. Occupational exposure to petrol was common to all trades. Other occupational exposures were to petrochemicals such as engine oil and brake oil. Protective clothing was not used by the majority of workers. Only 25 (8%) respondents were wearing overalls at the time of our visit. This findings illustrate the typical work conditions of workers in small scale industries. There is a need for health education programmes about occupational and non-occupational diseases. This and other health promotion activities can be organized through the unions.

Recent advances in occupational and environmental health hazards of workers exposed to gasoline compounds.

PubMed

Ekpenyong, Christopher E; Asuquo, Asuquo E

2017-02-21

The impact of health and environmental hazards, associated with the constituents of gasoline, on occupationally exposed workers has been recorded over the past few decades. However, the scientific literature on their pathogenic potential remains incomplete, which could affect the current understanding of the associated health risks. This review provides current information based on recently improved research techniques to evaluate gasoline toxicity profiles for humans. Our current knowledge provides insight into the intricate mechanism of gasoline-induced adverse effects, including the formation of reactive metabolites via bio-activation and subsequent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress, which are involved in multiple mechanisms that are central to the aetiology of gasoline-induced toxicity. These mechanisms include covalent binding to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), leading to oxidative damage, tumor-suppression gene activity, and activation of pro-oncogenes. Furthermore, it results in induction of autoimmunity and local inflammatory responses, disruption of multiple neurotransmitters and immune cell function, derangement of various enzyme activities (e.g., sodiumpotassium adenosine triphosphate (Na+/K+/ATPase) activity, cytochrome P450 (CYP450), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), antioxidant enzyme activities, etc.), conjugation of bile, and non-specific cell membrane interaction, leading to damage of the membrane lipid bilayer and proteins. Available data suggests that exposure to gasoline or gasoline constituents have the potential to cause different types of illnesses. The data highlights the need to maintain safety measures via suitable research, medical surveillance, regulatory control, life style modification, early detection, and intervention to minimize exposure and manage suspected cases. They also present novel opportunities to design and develop effective therapeutic strategies against gasoline-induced detrimental effects. Int J

Chemical hazards in health care: high hazard, high risk, but low protection.

PubMed

McDiarmid, Melissa A

2006-09-01

It is counter-intuitive that the healthcare industry, whose mission is the care of the sick, is itself a "high-hazard" industry for the workers it employs. Possessing every hazard class, with chemical agents in the form of pharmaceuticals, sterilants, and germicidals in frequent use, this industry sector consistently demonstrates poor injury and illness statistics, among the highest in the United States, and in the European Union (EU), 34% higher than the average work-related accident rate. In both the United States and the EU, about 10% of all workers are employed in the healthcare sector, and in developing countries as well, forecasts for the increasing need of healthcare workers (HCW) suggests a large population at potential risk of health harm. The explosion of technology growth in the healthcare sector, most obvious in pharmaceutical applications, has not been accompanied by a stepped up safety program in hospitals. Where there is hazard recognition, the remedies are often voluntary, and often poorly enforced. The wrong assumption that this industry would police itself, given its presumed knowledge base, has also been found wanting. The healthcare industry is also a significant waste generator threatening the natural environment with chemical and infectious waste and products of incineration. The ILO has recommended that occupational health goals for industrial nations focus on the hazards of new technology of which pharma and biopharma products are the leaders. This unchecked growth cannot continue without a parallel commitment to the health and safety of workers encountering these "high tech" hazards. Simple strategies to improve the present state include: (a) recognizing healthcare as a "high-hazard" employment sector; (b) fortifying voluntary safety guidelines to the level of enforceable regulation; (c) "potent" inspections; (d) treating hazardous pharmaceuticals like the chemical toxicants they are; and (e) protecting HCWs at least as well as workers in

Guidelines for Environmental Health Management in Children’s Homes in Sub-Sahara Africa

PubMed Central

Muruka, Charles; Muruka, Andrew

2007-01-01

The field of environmental health focuses on the relationships between human health and well being and the influence of the physical, social and societal environments. Our understanding of the environment–health interface has progressed because of two relatively recent insights: First, the recognition that the unprecedented environmental changes of the last half-century are affecting global population health. Secondly, the recognition that children have greater vulnerability to environmental hazards and are inadequately protected by current regulatory standards. Efforts to redress this situation have shaped the current thrust in environmental health research toward preventing further harm to children’s health. The disproportionate vulnerability of children to environmental hazards can be explained by several reasons. Children are not “little adults.” It is known that children have greater risk of exposure and greater risk of harm compared to adults for many reasons that are unique to each developmental stage. Their behaviour and activity patterns bring them into greater contact with toxins. Children have important biological differences. Immature developing organs and tissues are more vulnerable to harm from toxic exposures. Immature metabolic and physiological systems less effectively protect the child from toxic exposure and effects. In addition, children have additional pathways of exposure that are not applicable to adults, e.g., in utero, via breast milk and via products such as toys, clothing, etc. Children also have a longer “shelf life.” They have much more of their life ahead of them during which time they will be exposed and may develop health problems as a result. Finally, children are more often involuntarily exposed and unable to avoid exposures of their own accord [1]. Due to the AIDS catastrophe in Sub-Saharan Africa, the numbers of children in difficult circumstances have increased. To mitigate the effects of the catastrophe, charitable

Development of a Two-Year Associate Arts Degree in Environmental Health Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Charles R.

The field of Environmental Health Technology (EHT) encompasses both the equipment and the trained expertise required to utilize land, water, energy, and minerals in the service of human health and welfare. EHT technicians work in disease control, licensing bureaus, hospitals, nursing homes, hazardous waste agencies, and other health agencies. In…

Prioritizing environmental issues around the world: opinions from an international Central and Eastern European environmental health conference.

PubMed

Craft, Elena S; Donnelly, Kirby C; Neamtiu, Iulia; McCarty, Kathleen M; Bruce, Erica; Surkova, Irina; Kim, David; Uhnakova, Iveta; Gyorffy, Erika; Tesarova, Eva; Anderson, Beth

2006-12-01

As the next generation of scientists enters the field of environmental health, it is imperative that they view their contributions in the context of global environmental stewardship. In this commentary, a group of international graduate students facilitated by three experienced environmental health scientists present their views on what they consider to be the global environmental health concerns of today. This group convened initially in October 2004 at an international health conference in Prague, Czech Republic. In this report we identify perceived environmental health concerns that exist around the world, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Additionally, we address these perceived problems and offers some potential solutions. At the meeting, students were invited to participate in two panel discussions. One group of young international scientists identified several significant global environmental health concerns, including air pollution, occupational hazards, and risk factors that may exacerbate current environmental health issues. The second panel determined that communication, education, and regulation were the mechanisms for addressing current environmental challenges. In this commentary we expand on the views presented at the meeting and represent the concerns of young investigators from nine different countries. We provide ideas about and support the exchange of information between developed and developing countries on how to handle the environmental health challenges that face the world today.

A synopsis of 30 years of major accomplishments by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in Environmental Health (Part 1 of 2): the 1980s.

PubMed

Logue, James N; Sivarajah, Kandiah

2010-12-01

This article reviews significant environmental health projects conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, particularly the Division of Environmental Health, during the 1980s. The authors describe lessons learned from dealing with health concerns related to the Vietnam War, Three Mile Island, hazardous waste sites, and radon, as well as emerging issues during that decade.

Health and Ecological Hazards Caused by Hazardous Substances

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In some cases, hazardous substances may irritate the skin or eyes, make it difficult to breathe, cause headaches and nausea, result in other types of illness, or far more severe health effects. Toxic effects on the environment can be just as devastating.

Environmental, health and safety assessment of photovoltaics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rose, E. C.

1983-01-01

The environmental, health, and safety (E, H and S) concerns associated with the fabrication, deployment, and decommissioning of photovoltaic (PV) systems in terrestial applications are identified and assessed. Discussion is limited to crystalline silicon technologies. The primary E, H, and S concerns that arise during collector fabrication are associated with occupational exposure to materials of undetermined toxicity or to materials that are known to be hazardous, but for which process control technology may be inadequate. Stricter exposure standards are anticipated for some materials and may indicate a need for further control technology development. Minimizing electric shock hazards is a significant concern during system construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning.

Health and environmental effects profile for 2,4-dimethylaniline and 2,4-dimethylaniline hydrochloride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1987-01-01

The Health and Environmental Effects Profile for 2-4-Dimethylaniline and 2,4-Dimethylaniline Hydrochloride was prepared to support listings of hazardous constituents of a wide range of waste streams under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and to provide health-related limits for emergency actions under Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Both published literature and information obtained from Agency program office files were evaluated as they pertained to potential human-health, aquatic-life and environmental effects of hazardous-waste constituents. The human carcinogen potency factors (q1*) for 2-4-dimethylaniline and 2,4-dimethylaniline hydrochloride are 0.75 and 0.58/(mg/kg/day) respectively,more » for oral exposure. The Reportable Quantity (RQ) value for 2-4-dimethylaniline and 2,4-dimethylaniline Hydrochloride is 1000.« less

Health Hazard Appraisal Counseling—Continuing Evaluation

PubMed Central

LaDou, Joseph; Sherwood, John N.; Hughes, Lewis

1979-01-01

A program of annual health examinations was expanded to include counseling based on a computerized appraisal of individual patients' specific health risk factors. Data obtained from a specially designed questionnaire, laboratory tests and a physical examination yielded a health hazard appraisal showing a number of weighted risk factors and their relation to ten leading causes of death as determined for that patient. From all of this information, a “risk age” was developed which could then be compared with the patient's “true age.” The results were reviewed with each patient, and methods of correcting health hazards were stressed. The first annual retesting of a group of 107 examinees showed a net risk age reduction of 1.4 years (formerly reported in this journal). The longer term follow-up reported in this paper showed a net risk reduction of 2.38 years in a group of 26 examinees. The net risk age reduction in the two groups represented 32 and 40 percent, respectively, of the achievable risk age reduction when patients comply with suggestions made during risk reduction counseling. These findings indicate that health hazard appraisal counseling is an effective method of altering priorities of health practices. PMID:425518

Environmental legislation as the legal framework for mitigating natural hazards in Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrido, Jesús; Arana, Estanislao; Jiménez Soto, Ignacio; Delgado, José

2015-04-01

In Spain, the socioeconomic losses due to natural hazards (floods, earthquakes or landslides) are considerable, and the indirect costs associated with them are rarely considered because they are very difficult to evaluate. The prevention of losses due to natural hazards is more economic and efficient through legislation and spatial planning rather than through structural measures, such as walls, anchorages or structural reinforcements. However, there isn't a Spanish natural hazards law and national and regional sector legislation make only sparse mention of them. After 1978, when the Spanish Constitution was enacted, the Autonomous Communities (Spanish regions) were able to legislate according to the different competences (urban planning, environment or civil protection), which were established in the Constitution. In the 1990's, the Civil Protection legislation (national law and regional civil protection tools) dealt specifically with natural hazards (floods, earthquakes and volcanoes), but this was before any soil, seismic or hydrological studies were recommended in the national sector legislation. On the other hand, some Autonomous Communities referred to natural hazards in the Environmental Impact Assessment legislation (EIA) and also in the spatial and urban planning legislation and tools. The National Land Act, enacted in 1998, established, for the first time, that those lands exposed to natural hazards should be classified as non-developable. The Spanish recast text of the Land Act, enacted by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2008, requires that a natural hazards map be included in the Environmental Sustainability Report (ESR), which is compulsory for all master plans, according to the provisions set out by Act 9/2006, known as Spanish Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Consequently, the environmental legislation, after the aforementioned transposition of the SEA European Directive 2001/42/EC, is the legal framework to prevent losses due to natural hazards

Educating refugees to improve their home environmental health.

PubMed

Korfmacher, Katrina Smith; George, Valerie

2012-01-01

Rochester's Healthy Home was a hands-on home environmental health museum that educated more than 3500 visitors between June 2006 and December 2009. The Healthy Home provided visitors with the tools, resources, and motivation to make their homes healthier by reducing environmental hazards. The Healthy Home focused on empowering low-income renters to protect their families from home health risks, but served a broad audience. On the basis of the Healthy Home's initial successes with diverse visitors, in 2009 the county health department provided funding for a 6-month project to educate 200 recently arrived refugees. This report summarizes the project's innovative approach to home health education, presents evaluation data on impacts on refugees and other visitors, suggests implications for resettlement agencies, and provides guidelines for those interested in replicating this approach in their own community.

Environmental Health Practice: Statistically Based Performance Measurement

PubMed Central

Enander, Richard T.; Gagnon, Ronald N.; Hanumara, R. Choudary; Park, Eugene; Armstrong, Thomas; Gute, David M.

2007-01-01

Objectives. State environmental and health protection agencies have traditionally relied on a facility-by-facility inspection-enforcement paradigm to achieve compliance with government regulations. We evaluated the effectiveness of a new approach that uses a self-certification random sampling design. Methods. Comprehensive environmental and occupational health data from a 3-year statewide industry self-certification initiative were collected from representative automotive refinishing facilities located in Rhode Island. Statistical comparisons between baseline and postintervention data facilitated a quantitative evaluation of statewide performance. Results. The analysis of field data collected from 82 randomly selected automotive refinishing facilities showed statistically significant improvements (P<.05, Fisher exact test) in 4 major performance categories: occupational health and safety, air pollution control, hazardous waste management, and wastewater discharge. Statistical significance was also shown when a modified Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons was performed. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the new self-certification approach to environmental and worker protection is effective and can be used as an adjunct to further enhance state and federal enforcement programs. PMID:17267709

Safety and Health Hazard Observations in Hmong Farming Operations

PubMed Central

Neitzel, R. L.; Krenz, J.; de Castro, A. B.

2014-01-01

Agricultural workers have a high risk of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. However, there are very few standardized tools available to assess safety and health in agricultural operations. Additionally, there are a number of groups of agricultural workers, including Hmong refugees and immigrants, for which virtually no information on safety and health conditions is available. This study developed an observation-based methodology for systematically evaluating occupational health and safety hazards in agriculture, and pilot-tested this on several small-scale Hmong farming operations. Each observation assessed of range of safety and health hazards (e.g., musculoskeletal hazards, dust and pollen, noise, and mechanical hazards), as well as on factors such as type of work area, presence of personal protective equipment, and weather conditions. Thirty-six observations were collected on nine farms. The most common hazards observed were bending at the back and lifting <50 pounds. Use of sharp tools without adequate guarding mechanisms, awkward postures, repetitive hand motions, and lifting >50 pounds were also common. The farming activities observed involved almost no power equipment, and no pesticide or chemical handling was observed. The use of personal protective equipment was uncommon. The results of this assessment agreed well with a parallel study of perceived safety and health hazards among Hmong agricultural workers. This study suggests that small-scale Hmong farming operations involve a variety of hazards, and that occupational health interventions may be warranted in this community. The study also demonstrates the utility of standardized assessment tools and mixed-method approaches to hazard evaluation. PMID:24911689

Health hazards of ceramic artists.

PubMed

Dorevitch, S; Babin, A

2001-01-01

Ceramic artists can be exposed to many hazards including metals (such as lead), fibrogenic dusts (such as silica), heat, repetitive motion, radiation, and toxic emissions from kilns. The health risks of these exposures have not been well characterized among artists, although limited information is available from commercial potteries. Adverse health effects may be prevented by using less hazardous materials (such as lead-free glazes), improved ventilation, and proper work practices. Special precautions must be in place if children have access to the ceramics studio. The use of glazed ceramic dishes can be a risk for lead toxicity. Food should not be stored in glazed ceramics, and pregnant women should avoid daily use of ceramic mugs for drinking hot beverages.

[Health hazards in childhood obesity: Evidence based on Chinese population].

PubMed

Ye, Peiyu; Chen, Fangfang; Mi, Jie

2016-01-01

Childhood obesity has become a critical issue in public health area. We searched Wanfang Data and PubMed databases for published studies on health hazards of childhood obesity in China during 2000-2015. From the evidence of the Chinese population studies, we know childhood obesity brings not only cardiovascular, endocrine and respiratory system health hazards, but also other health hazards to liver, moving skeleton, psychological behavior and cognition intelligence, et al. Only to understand the health hazards of childhood obesity, and put the key preventable period of chronic diseases forward to childhood, can pandemic of chronic diseases be controlled from the sources.

77 FR 43849 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-26

... applications. Place: Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint, 7007 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC 27713. Contact... Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143, NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances--Basic Research and Education; 93.894, Resources and Manpower Development in the Environmental Health Sciences; 93.113...

76 FR 58521 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-21

... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program. Date.... Allen, PhD, Scientific Review Administrator, Scientific Review Branch, Division of Extramural Research...

Data search and environmental hazard assessment for post-seveso chemicals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blok, Johan; Oostergo, Herman D.; Wondergem, Abraham C.; Leeuwen, Cornelis J. V.

1992-05-01

After the serious accident with a chemical industrial plant at Seveso (Italy) in 1976, the Commission of the European Communities has made a directive on major accidents, usually called the Post-Seveso Guideline. In its annex III, a list of 178 substances is given for which potentially dangerous volumes in case of an accident are defined on the basis of human health criteria. For the implementation of environmental criteria, information on toxicity to aquatic organisms, dilution, and physical behavior in water is needed. A literature search for relevant data on these 178 substances revealed aquatic toxicity data for 116 substances, but only for 87 substances sufficient data were available to make a hazard assessment. As an example, the River Rhine was used to calculate the critical quantities that, after a sudden discharge in the Swiss part, could cause damage at the Dutch part some 800 km downstream. In the absence of a common opinion on the criteria for being a major accident and a serious environmental hazard, the impact of different criteria quantities is discussed. If, for example, in the whole River Rhine a mortality of 5% of the aquatic species is chosen as the criterion for damage to the ecosystem, the critical quantities as mentioned in the EEC directive have to be lowered drastically for the majority of the substances. For 18 substances it could be shown that release of the mentioned quantities would be catastrophic for aquatic life in the whole river.

An approach to developing local climate change environmental public health indicators, vulnerability assessments, and projections of future impacts.

PubMed

Houghton, Adele; English, Paul

2014-01-01

Environmental public health indicators (EPHIs) are used by local, state, and federal health agencies to track the status of environmental hazards; exposure to those hazards; health effects of exposure; and public health interventions designed to reduce or prevent the hazard, exposure, or resulting health effect. Climate and health EPHIs have been developed at the state, federal, and international levels. However, they are also needed at the local level to track variations in community vulnerability and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance community resilience. This review draws on a guidance document developed by the U.S. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists' State Environmental Health Indicators Collaborative climate change working group to present a three-tiered approach to develop local climate change EPHIs. Local climate change EPHIs can assist local health departments (LHDs) in implementing key steps of the 10 essential public health services and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects framework. They also allow LHDs to incorporate climate-related trends into the larger health department planning process and can be used to perform vulnerability assessments which can be leveraged to ensure that interventions designed to address climate change do not exacerbate existing health disparities.

An Approach to Developing Local Climate Change Environmental Public Health Indicators, Vulnerability Assessments, and Projections of Future Impacts

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Environmental public health indicators (EPHIs) are used by local, state, and federal health agencies to track the status of environmental hazards; exposure to those hazards; health effects of exposure; and public health interventions designed to reduce or prevent the hazard, exposure, or resulting health effect. Climate and health EPHIs have been developed at the state, federal, and international levels. However, they are also needed at the local level to track variations in community vulnerability and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance community resilience. This review draws on a guidance document developed by the U.S. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists' State Environmental Health Indicators Collaborative climate change working group to present a three-tiered approach to develop local climate change EPHIs. Local climate change EPHIs can assist local health departments (LHDs) in implementing key steps of the 10 essential public health services and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects framework. They also allow LHDs to incorporate climate-related trends into the larger health department planning process and can be used to perform vulnerability assessments which can be leveraged to ensure that interventions designed to address climate change do not exacerbate existing health disparities. PMID:25349621

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS AND ADVERSE HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS: HAZARD IDENTIFICATION USING INTERREGION COMPARISONS

EPA Science Inventory

Background: Associations between adverse health effects and environmental exposures are difficult to study, because exposures may be widespread, low-dose in nature, and common throughout the study population. Therefore, individual risk-factor epidemiology may not be the right to...

Teaching about Hazardous Materials. ERIC/SMEAC Environmental Education Digest No. 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Disinger, John F.

Problems related to the handling of hazardous substances and toxic wastes have escalated making this environmental dilemma a national concern. This digest provides an update of key legislative and management efforts associated with hazardous wastes and reviews current instructional materials in the area. Major topics addressed include: (1) waste…

Health, Traffic, and Environmental Justice: Collaborative Research and Community Action in San Francisco, California

PubMed Central

Sciammas, Charlie; Seto, Edmund; Bhatia, Rajiv; Rivard, Tom

2009-01-01

Health impacts on neighborhood residents from transportation systems can be an environmental justice issue. To assess the effects of transportation planning decisions, including the construction of an intraurban freeway, on residents of the Excelsior neighborhood in southeast San Francisco, PODER (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights), a local grassroots environmental justice organization; the San Francisco Department of Public Health; and the University of California, Berkeley, collaborated on participatory research. We used our findings regarding traffic-related exposures and health hazards in the area to facilitate community education and action to address transportation-related health burdens on neighborhood residents. PMID:19890147

Environmental impact and human health risks of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in the vicinity of a new hazardous waste incinerator: a case study.

PubMed

Ferré-Huguet, Núria; Nadal, Martí; Schuhmacher, Marta; Domingo, José L

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the environmental impact of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in the vicinity of a new hazardous waste incinerator (HWI) 4 years after regular operation of the facility. A double approach was carried out. The PCDD/F congener profiles corresponding to environmental samples, soil and herbage, collected before the HWI (baseline) and 4 years after starting regular operations, as well as PCDD/F profiles of air emission samples, were compared. The potential health risks (carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic) due to PCDD/F exposure were assessed for adults and children living in the neighborhood of the facility. Human exposure to PCDD/Fs was mainly due to dietary food intake. Comparisons between the PCDD/F congener profiles corresponding to the baseline and current surveys, as well as data concerning the human health risk assessment, indicate that the HWI in question does not cause additional risks to the environment orto the population living in the vicinity of the facility.

Health hazard evaluation report No. HETA 80-234-1196, Master Metals, Incorporated, Cleveland, Ohio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boiano, J.M.; Moody, P.L.

1982-09-01

Health complaints consisted of digestive disturbances, constipation, and headaches. On September 25-26, 1980, and May 6-7, 1981, NIOSH investigators conducted an environmental and medical evaluation of the production workers. Further medical testing was conducted on October 20-22, 1981. Environmental measurements were made to determine worker exposure to lead, arsenic, arsine, stibine, and sulfur dioxide. The medical evaluation consisted of blood lead determinations, confidential questionnaires, blood pressure measurements, and blood and urine tests of kidney and erythropoietic function. A serious health hazard of overexposure to airborne lead and arsenic existed. A high prevalence of anemia and kidney function abnormalities suggests long-standing,more » severe lead toxicity among workers.« less

Understanding Wicked Problems: A Key to Advancing Environmental Health Promotion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreuter, Marshall W.; De Rosa, Christopher; Howze, Elizabeth H.; Baldwin, Grant T.

2004-01-01

Complex environmental health problems--like air and water pollution, hazardous waste sites, and lead poisoning--are in reality a constellation of linked problems embedded in the fabric of the communities in which they occur. These kinds of complex problems have been characterized by some as "wicked problems" wherein stakeholders may have…

Analysis of reproductive health hazard information on material safety data sheets for lead and the ethylene glycol ethers.

PubMed

Paul, M; Kurtz, S

1994-03-01

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) are essential sources of information regarding health risks from exposure to toxic chemicals. We analyzed the reproductive health hazard descriptions on nearly 700 MSDSs for lead- or ethylene glycol ether-containing products submitted by central Massachusetts firms to the Department of Environmental Protection under provisions of the Massachusetts Right-to-Know Law. Over 60% of the MSDSs made no mention whatsoever of effects on the reproductive system. Those that did were much more likely to address developmental risks than male reproductive effects. The MSDSs from firms employing 100 or more workers mentioned reproductive system effects more frequently than those from smaller companies. While the informativeness of the health hazard descriptions increased over time, 53% of the MSDSs prepared after promulgation of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard still contained no information on reproductive risks.

Toxicology in Australia: a key component of environmental health.

PubMed

Priestly, Brian G; Di Marco, Peter; Sim, Malcolm; Moore, Michael R; Langley, Andrew

2007-10-01

Managing public concerns relating to chemical exposures can consume substantial public health resources, particularly as the scientific basis around these issues is often contentious. Toxicology remains underrecognized as a public health discipline in Australia, although Australian toxicologists are making significant contributions from academia, government, and the commercial sector toward assessing the level of risk and protecting the community from environmental hazards. Internationally, the growth of environmental toxicology and the promotion of sound science in risk assessment as a basis for making regulatory decisions have been, to some extent, driven by the outcomes of the 1992 UNCED Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio Summit) and its Chapter 19 Agenda 21 activities. The promotion of safe chemical management practices and the need for global strengthening of capabilities in toxicology are among the initiatives of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS), which was formed after the Rio Summit to manage these programs. This article describes some of the initiatives in capacity building that marked the development of environmental toxicology in Australia since 1992 in response to these international environmental health initiatives.

Contested Environmental Hazards and Community Conflict over Relocation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shriver, Thomas E.; Kennedy, Dennis K.

2005-01-01

The majority of the literature on contaminated communities indicates that environmental hazards lead to conflict and dissension. In this paper we examine the salient dimensions of conflict and factionalism in a rural Oklahoma community. The community is heavily contaminated from 80 years of commercial mining operations and was one of the first…

Health Hazard Appraisal in Patient Counseling

PubMed Central

LaDou, Joseph; Sherwood, John N.; Hughes, Lewis

1975-01-01

A program of annual health examinations was expanded to include counseling based on a computerized appraisal of individual patients' specific health hazard factors. Data obtained from a specially designed questionnaire, laboratory tests and a physical examination yielded a printout showing a number of weighted risk factors and their relation to ten leading causes of death as determined for that patient. From all of this information, a risk (“apparent”) age was developed for the patient. The results were reviewed with each patient, and methods of correcting health hazards were stressed. A total of 488 persons were appraised, and 107 were randomly reappraised in less than a year, with the finding that the net risk age was reduced by 1.4 years. Such a reduction in risk age is significant; it indicates that appraisal-based counseling is an effective method of altering priorities of health practices. PMID:1114813

Perception and prevalence of work-related health hazards among health care workers in public health facilities in southern India.

PubMed

Senthil, Arasi; Anandh, Balasubramanian; Jayachandran, Palsamy; Thangavel, Gurusamy; Josephin, Diana; Yamini, Ravindran; Kalpana, Balakrishnan

2015-01-01

Health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to occupational related health hazards. Measuring worker perception and the prevalence of these hazards can help facilitate better risk management for HCWs, as these workers are envisaged to be the first point of contact, especially in resource poor settings. To describe the perception of occupational health hazards and self-reported exposure prevalence among HCWs in Southern India. We used cross sectional design with stratified random sampling of HCWs from different levels of health facilities and categories in a randomly selected district in Southern India. Data on perception and exposure prevalence were collected using a structured interview schedule developed by occupational health experts and administered by trained investigators. A total of 482 HCWs participated. Thirty nine percent did not recognize work-related health hazards, but reported exposure to at least one hazard upon further probing. Among the 81·5% who reported exposure to biological hazard, 93·9% had direct skin contact with infectious materials. Among HCWs reporting needle stick injury, 70·5% had at least one in the previous three months. Ergonomic hazards included lifting heavy objects (42%) and standing for long hours (37%). Psychological hazards included negative feelings (20·3%) and verbal or physical abuse during work (20·5%). More than a third of HCWs failed to recognize work-related health hazards. Despite training in handling infectious materials, HCWs reported direct skin contact with infectious materials and needle stick injuries. RESULTS indicate the need for training oriented toward behavioral change and provision of occupational health services.

Employment and environmental hazard: women workers and strategies of resistance in northern Thailand.

PubMed

Theobald, S

1996-10-01

This case study explores women's awareness of health and environmental dangers associated with employment in electronics factories in export processing zones (EPZs) in Thailand. The author illustrates with two examples of alliances between women and two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) the constraints of formal alliances. Data are obtained from participatory research conducted among women employed in the electronics industry in 1995 in the Northern Regional Industrial Estate (NRIE) in Lamphun in rural northern Thailand. This article discusses whether the emphasis on women's employment in EPZs really results in the greater good for women or whether it is exploitation. Women working in the NRIE were aware of the environmental hazards of their jobs. Many women workers migrated to EPZs from rural areas in order to create income to support a family or pay educational expenses. Another reason for seeking work at NRIE was to earn high wages for a limited period that could be used as capital to start their own business. Although women expressed interest in reducing the environmental hazards of their jobs, women put a stronger priority on not jeopardizing their employment status. Labor is in great supply, and women trouble-makers are likely to lose their jobs. The Center for the Advancement of Lanna Women (CALW) is an NGO that was set up by academics from Chiangmai University. CALW encourages women to speak out about health and working conditions, but workers did not know how far to go in protests before losing their jobs, and this undermined the alliance building and potential for change. It is urged that the Thai government acknowledge NGOs legally and open up dialogue. Civil participation can only be actualized, if there is formal recognition of the role of the state and its relationship to industry and industry's goals of profit.

The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

PubMed

Bjørn Jensen, Lene; Lukic, Irena; Gulis, Gabriel

2018-05-07

The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO). Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state) with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

Workplace hazards to women's reproductive health.

PubMed

Rice, Heidi Roeber; Baker, Beth A

2007-09-01

Women make up nearly half of Minnesota's workforce. Thus, many women, including those of reproductive age, are exposed to workplace hazards. These hazards may be chemical-toxicants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and endocrine disruptors; physical--the result of activities or proximity to something in the environment; or biological-infectious agents. And they are of growing concern among scientists and the public. Although data on the effect of these hazards on the reproductive health of women is limited, there is evidence indicating they ought to be of concern to women and the physicians who treat them. Clinicians are encouraged to assess women for exposure to workplace hazards and to communicate with them about whether such exposure might increase their risk for problems such as infertility, miscarriage, and preterm birth. This article highlights selected job-related hazards and offers suggestions for caring for working women of reproductive age.

Health hazards associated with solid waste disposal.

PubMed

Gaby, W L

1981-01-01

The landfilling and disposal of domestic solid waste should be considered as great or greater a public health hazard as raw sewage. Solid waste is toxic and contains a greater variety of pathogenic microorganisms than does sewage sludge. Of all the procedures for solid waste disposal, landfills have and will continue to give rise to serious public health problems of land and water pollution. Although the general public is opposed to landfilling our inept health officials have offered small communities and cities no choice. Small communities do not have the technical knowledge or the funds to initiate alternative procedures. As the volume of solid waste increases each year the magnitude of the health hazards will eventually force public health agencies to implement correct disposal procedures ultimately resulting in recycling.

Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 85-165-1605, St. Louis Police Auto Body Shop, St. Louis, Missouri

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carson, G.A.

1985-07-01

Environmental and breathing-zone samples were analyzed for toluene, lead, and total dust at the Saint Louis Police Auto Body Shop, Saint Louis, Missouri in January and February, 1985. The evaluation was requested by the Health Commissioner of the City of Saint Louis to investigate working conditions in the body shop. A prior health department investigation had indicated that there might be health hazards in the shop area. The author concludes that a potential health hazard exists due to overexposure to total dust while performing certain repairs at the facility. Recommendations include installing a supply air ventilation system for the exhaustmore » fans, orienting vehicles in the shop so that technicians are always working upstream of the airflow, and providing respiratory protection when it is not possible to control dust emissions.« less

Characterization of post-disaster environmental management for Hazardous Materials Incidents: Lessons learnt from the Tianjin warehouse explosion, China.

PubMed

Zhang, Hui; Duan, Huabo; Zuo, Jian; Song, MingWei; Zhang, Yukui; Yang, Bo; Niu, Yongning

2017-09-01

Hazardous Materials Incidents (HMIs) have attracted a growing public concern worldwide. The health risks and environmental implications associated with HMIs are almost invariably severe, and underscore the urgency for sound management. Hazardous Materials Explosion incidents (HMEIs) belong to a category of extremely serious HMIs. Existing studies placed focuses predominately on the promptness and efficiency of emergency responses to HMIs and HMEIs. By contrast, post-disaster environmental management has been largely overlooked. Very few studies attempted to examine the post-disaster environmental management plan particularly its effectiveness and sufficiency. In the event of the Tianjin warehouse explosion (TWE), apart from the immediate emergency response, the post-disaster environmental management systems (P-EMSs) have been reported to be effective and sufficient in dealing with the environmental concerns. Therefore, this study aims to critically investigate the P-EMSs for the TWE, and consequently to propose a framework and procedures for P-EMSs in general for HMIs, particularly for HMEIs. These findings provide a useful reference to develop P-EMSs for HMIs in the future, not only in China but also other countries. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Remote sensing helps to assess natural hazards and environmental changes in Asia-Pacific region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thouret, Jean-Claud; Liew, Soo Chin; Gupta, Avijit

2012-04-01

Conference on Remote Sensing, Natural Hazards, and Environmental Change; Singapore, 28-29 July 2011 Natural hazards and anthropogenic environmental changes, both significant in the Asia-Pacific region, were the two themes of a conference organized by the National University of Singapore's Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) and the Université Blaise Pascal's Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans. The application of satellite imagery at a wide range of resolutions, from 500 meters to 50 centimeters, was a unifying approach in many of the studies presented. The recent arrival of a new generation of satellites with extremely high resolution (50 centimeters) has improved scientists' ability to carry out detailed studies of natural hazards and environmental change.

Public health implications of environmental exposures.

PubMed Central

De Rosa, C T; Pohl, H R; Williams, M; Ademoyero, A A; Chou, C H; Jones, D E

1998-01-01

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a public health agency with responsibility for assessing the public health implications associated with uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances into the environment. The biological effects of low-level exposures are a primary concern in these assessments. One of the tools used by the agency for this purpose is the risk assessment paradigm originally outlined and described by the National Academy of Science in 1983. Because of its design and inherent concepts, risk assessment has been variously employed by a number of environmental and public health agencies and programs as a means to organize information, as a decision support tool, and as a working hypothesis for biologically based inference and extrapolation. Risk assessment has also been the subject of significant critical review. The ATSDR recognizes the utility of both the qualitative and quantitative conclusions provided by traditional risk assessment, but the agency uses such estimates only in the broader context of professional judgment, internal and external peer review, and extensive public review and comment. This multifaceted approach is consistent with the Council on Environmental Quality's description and use of risk analysis as an organizing construct based on sound biomedical and other scientific judgment in concert with risk assessment to define plausible exposure ranges of concern rather than a single numerical estimate that may convey an artificial sense of precision. In this approach biomedical opinion, host factors, mechanistic interpretation, molecular epidemiology, and actual exposure conditions are all critically important in evaluating the significance of environmental exposure to hazardous substances. As such, the ATSDR risk analysis approach is a multidimensional endeavor encompassing not only the components of risk assessment but also the principles of biomedical judgment, risk management, and risk communication

Perception and prevalence of work-related health hazards among health care workers in public health facilities in southern India

PubMed Central

Senthil, Arasi; Anandh, Balasubramanian; Jayachandran, Palsamy; Thangavel, Gurusamy; Josephin, Diana; Yamini, Ravindran; Kalpana, Balakrishnan

2015-01-01

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to occupational related health hazards. Measuring worker perception and the prevalence of these hazards can help facilitate better risk management for HCWs, as these workers are envisaged to be the first point of contact, especially in resource poor settings. Objective: To describe the perception of occupational health hazards and self-reported exposure prevalence among HCWs in Southern India. Methods: We used cross sectional design with stratified random sampling of HCWs from different levels of health facilities and categories in a randomly selected district in Southern India. Data on perception and exposure prevalence were collected using a structured interview schedule developed by occupational health experts and administered by trained investigators. Results: A total of 482 HCWs participated. Thirty nine percent did not recognize work-related health hazards, but reported exposure to at least one hazard upon further probing. Among the 81·5% who reported exposure to biological hazard, 93·9% had direct skin contact with infectious materials. Among HCWs reporting needle stick injury, 70·5% had at least one in the previous three months. Ergonomic hazards included lifting heavy objects (42%) and standing for long hours (37%). Psychological hazards included negative feelings (20·3%) and verbal or physical abuse during work (20·5%). Conclusion: More than a third of HCWs failed to recognize work-related health hazards. Despite training in handling infectious materials, HCWs reported direct skin contact with infectious materials and needle stick injuries. Results indicate the need for training oriented toward behavioral change and provision of occupational health services. PMID:25482656

Environmental health concerns of the Persian Gulf War.

PubMed Central

Young, R. C.; Rachal, R. E.; Huguley, J. W.

1992-01-01

Environmental health concerns in the Persian Gulf are peculiar to the geography of the region. Prevention of heat and solar injury deserves primary consideration, but cold injury also may occur in the desert. Immunizations are recommended against a number of diseases, while malarial chemoprophylaxis is necessary in Iraq and Kuwait. In addition to malaria, other parasitic diseases deserve consideration. Diarrheal diseases, diseases from the desert dust, and products of infected desert animals are of concern. Additional natural hazards are venomous bites from scorpions and desert snakes. Finally, threats of enemy action necessitated protection from nuclear biological and chemical weapons and LASER eye/skin injury. Unexploded ordinance will constitute a continuing hazard into the future. Images Figure 2 PMID:1495114

Physical and environmental hazards in the prosthetics and orthotics workshop: a pilot study

PubMed Central

ANDERSON, Sarah; STUCKEY, Rwth; POOLE, Diana; OAKMAN, Jodi

2017-01-01

Prosthetists and Orthotists (P&O) are exposed to physical hazards within the workshop environment. Concern regarding these exposures has been expressed by P&Os; however, little research has been undertaken. Exposures to noise and volatile organic compounds in amounts larger than statutorily allowed can have adverse short and long term consequences on people’s health. To identify and quantify hazardous noise and chemical exposures in a typical P&O workplace. Noise and volatile organic compound testing was undertaken in 2011 and 2013. Modifications to the workshop occurred between these testing times and the impact of these changes examined. The levels of volatile organic compounds was very low in all areas in 2011 and 2013. Noise levels were high and staff require the use of PPE to prevent exposure beyond levels prescribed in the Australian Standards. Conclusions. Occupational environmental exposures in P&O are of concern to the profession. A pilot study of one facility demonstrated that Occupational Noise exposures are high and may result in hearing loss and other adverse health outcomes. Occupational chemical exposures through volatile organic compound exposures are relatively low. Further, systematic investigation is required to develop evidence-based control strategies. PMID:28179609

Perceptions of environmental health risks among residents in the “Toxic Doughnut”: Opportunities for risk screening and community mobilization

EPA Science Inventory

Surrounded by landfills, and toxic and hazardous facilities, Altgeld Gardens is located in a “toxic doughnut.” With high rates of environmentally-related conditions, residents have called for a community-based environmental health assessment to improve overall health in their com...

Teaching about Hazardous and Toxic Materials. Teaching Activities in Environmental Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Disinger, John F.; Lisowski, Marylin

Designed to assist practitioners of both formal and non-formal settings, this 18th volume of the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education's Teaching Activities in Environmental Education series specifically focuses on the theme of hazardous and toxic materials. Initially, basic environmental concepts that deal with…

Making environmental health interesting for medical students-internet assisted facilitated collaborative learning approach.

PubMed

Sudharsanam, Manni Balasubramaniam

2014-01-01

Topics on environmental health are usually neglected by students and it is necessary for them to learn this area with a public health perspective as environment plays a vital role in multi-factorial causation of diseases. Hence there is a need for alternative teaching/learning methods to facilitate students in acquiring the required knowledge. To increase the student interest and enhance their participation in acquiring knowledge in public health perspective of environmental health. Teaching Objectives/Learning Were: At the end of the session students should know the importance of air as an environmental factor in disease causation in special reference to public health hazards, the major sources of air pollution, major pollutants causing the health hazards, the way to measure pollutants and control them. The whole class of students was divided into two batches and one session was planned for each batch. Each batch was divided into six small groups. The groups were given task of exploring the internet on the different topics mentioned in the learning objectives. All the students were asked to explore, compile information and collectively prepare a presentation and present their findings based on their reviews. Students' feedback was collected at the end of each session. Eighty five percent of them were clear about the learning objectives and interested about internet learning. Most of them gave a positive opinion about the newer teaching learning method. Internet assisted group study served as a valuable alternative, innovative, and interesting tool to teach and learn the environmental health as revealed by students' feedback.

29 CFR 1926.59 - Hazard communication.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Hazard communication. 1926.59 Section 1926.59 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls...

29 CFR 1926.59 - Hazard communication.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hazard communication. 1926.59 Section 1926.59 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls...

21 CFR 2.5 - Imminent hazard to the public health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Imminent hazard to the public health. 2.5 Section... GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND DECISIONS General Provisions § 2.5 Imminent hazard to the public health... a significant threat of danger to health, creates a public health situation (1) that should be...

21 CFR 2.5 - Imminent hazard to the public health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Imminent hazard to the public health. 2.5 Section... GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND DECISIONS General Provisions § 2.5 Imminent hazard to the public health... a significant threat of danger to health, creates a public health situation (1) that should be...

21 CFR 2.5 - Imminent hazard to the public health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Imminent hazard to the public health. 2.5 Section... GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND DECISIONS General Provisions § 2.5 Imminent hazard to the public health... a significant threat of danger to health, creates a public health situation (1) that should be...

21 CFR 2.5 - Imminent hazard to the public health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Imminent hazard to the public health. 2.5 Section... GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND DECISIONS General Provisions § 2.5 Imminent hazard to the public health... a significant threat of danger to health, creates a public health situation (1) that should be...

21 CFR 2.5 - Imminent hazard to the public health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Imminent hazard to the public health. 2.5 Section... GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS AND DECISIONS General Provisions § 2.5 Imminent hazard to the public health... a significant threat of danger to health, creates a public health situation (1) that should be...

Health-hazard evaluation determination report No. 75-91-489, Alcoa Aluminum Company, Warrick Operations, Newburgh, Indiana

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1978-05-01

A health-hazard evaluation, including mortality and follow-up environmental studies of worker exposure to oil mists, coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPV), and carbon monoxide in the rolling mills of the Alcoa Aluminum Company Warrick Operations, Newburgh, Indiana was conducted. The mortality study was inconclusive due to the small number of expected deaths and inaccurate medical histories. It was impossible to determine if Alcoa employees who died from cancer or ischemic heart disease did so as a result of their work exposure. Results of sampling indicate that employees working in the anode block fabrication and kiln area were exposed to hazardous levelsmore » of CTPV as cyclohexane solubles. Fifteen of 17 extracts contained benzo(a)pyrene. Employees were not exposed to hazardous levels of carbon monoxide and those in the hot mill area and cold mill oil houses were not exposed to oil mist at concentrations which would be expected to result in long-term adverse health effects. Recommendations included: pre-employment and periodic physical examination; environmental monitoring, effective engineering, and administrative controls to reduce exposure to CTPV to the lowest extent possible; disposable protective clothes for workers exposed to CTPV; and prompt decontamination of skin exposed to CTPV.« less

An (even) broader perspective: Combining environmental processes and natural hazards education in a MSc programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heckmann, Tobias; Haas, Florian; Trappe, Martin; Cyffka, Bernd; Becht, Michael

2010-05-01

Natural hazards are processes occurring in the natural environment that negatively affect human society. In most instances, the definition of natural hazards implies sudden events as different as earthquakes, floods or landslides. In addition, there are other phenomena that occur more subtly or slowly, and nevertheless may have serious adverse effects on the human environment. Hence, a comprehensive study programme in natural hazards has to include not only the conspicuous causes and effects of natural catastrophes, but of environmental processes in general. Geography as a discipline is located at the interface of natural, social and economic sciences; the physical geography programme described here is designed to include the social and economic dimension as well as management issues. Modules strengthening the theoretical background of geomorphic, geological, hydrological and meteorological processes and hazards are complemented by practical work in the field and the laboratory, dealing with measuring and monitoring environmental processes. On this basis, modeling and managing skills are developed. Another thread in the transdisciplinary programme deals with sustainability and environmental policy issues, and environmental psychology (e.g. perception of and reaction to hazards). This will improve the communication and team working skills of students wherever they are part of an interdisciplinary working group. Through the involvement in research programmes, students are confronted ‘hands on' with the different aspects of environmental processes and their consequences; thus, they will be excellently but not exclusively qualified for positions in the ‘natural hazards' sector.

Health and environmental effects profile for 4-chloro-2-methylaniline and 4-chloro-2-methylaniline hydrochloride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1986-12-01

The Health and Environmental Effects Profile for 4-chloro-2-methylaniline and 4-chloro-2-methylaniline hydrochloride was prepared to support listings of hazardous constituents of a wide range of waste streams under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and to provide health-related limits for emergency actions under Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Both published literature and information obtained from Agency program office files were evaluated as they pertained to potential human-health, aquatic-life and environmental effects of hazardous-waste constituents. The human carcinogen potency factors (q1*) for 4-chloro-2-methylaniline and 4-chloro-2-methylaniline hydrochloride are 0.58 and 0.46/(mg/kg/day), respectively,more » for oral exposure. The Reportable Quantity (RQ) value for 4-chloro-2-methylaniline and 4-chloro-2-methylaniline hydrochloride is 5000.« less

Environmental health and development in a developing country: Rwanda, a case study.

PubMed

Blanc, P

1984-06-01

This article reports the author's field investigation into the effects of economic development on environmental health in Rwanda. It was hypothesized that the placement of environmentally hazardous industry would not be given meaningful consideration in the course of the introduction of advanced technolgies. Rwanda is a poor, overpopulated country with a subsistence economy whose development has been largely stimulated by international aid projects. Site visits to industrial and agricultural processing facilities revealed significant perticide exposure, lack of respiratory protection from mineral dusts, respiratory symptoms from organic dusts, and sources of heavy metal contamination. The Rwanda experience suggests that 2 major economic activities are most likely to have a major environmental impact in developing countries: exploitation of natural resources and agricultural commercialization. Mining activity, for example, has produced both chronic diseases such as silicosis and general environmental degradation such as runoff to surface water sources. The use of agricultural petrochemicals is likely to produce acute and chronic poisoning among peasant farmers with little access to adequate health care. Even the smallest industrial installation can have widespread impact if the proper infrastructure for waste treatment is not established. In addition, the technology required to test for environmental contamination is beyond the scope of Third World economies. Hazardous environmental exposures may have amplified or additive effects in the presence of compromised baseline health and sanitary conditions and inadequate health care facilities. It is concluded that Rwanda represents an example of the failure of economic developers to consider the far-reaching effects of changes in the work environment, introduction of new agricultural techniques, alteration of the rural-urban equilibrium, and degradation of the air, water, and soil quality. There is a need to adapt models

Advancing Health and Environmental Disease Tracking: A 5-Year Follow-Up Study

PubMed Central

Litt, Jill S.; Wismann, Andrea; Resnick, Beth; Dawson, Rebecca Smullin; Hano, Mary; Burke, Thomas A.

2007-01-01

Objectives. Our goal was to gain an understanding of the extent to which environmental public health tracking (EPHT) has progressed since the release of the 2000 Pew Environmental Health Commission report examining the nation’s EPHT infrastructure. Methods. As a follow-up to the Pew Commission report, we conducted a telephone survey of state practitioners in an effort to assess EPHT trends and changes in state-level capacities and activities over the past several years. Results. We found that new and enhanced federal–state partnerships; improved surveillance, data analysis, and communication capacities; and enhanced support of tracking personnel have provided a foundation for progress in the area of EPHT. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s support of EPHT has strengthened the national environmental public health infrastructure and capacity to track environmental hazards, exposures, and health. Conclusions. Improved funding, data access, and translation of data to prevention activities are critical to sustaining progress in EPHT and developing the evidence base necessary for assessing the longer-term impacts and efficacy of EPHT and related environmental health improvements. PMID:17267714

The Control of Hazardous Wastes and the Role of Environmental Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfortner, Ray

1984-01-01

Discusses legislation aimed at hazardous waste issues which are implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments. Particular attention is given to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). A case study of an abandoned acres superfund site is included with two related student…

Epidemiologic methods lessons learned from environmental public health disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina.

PubMed

Svendsen, Erik R; Runkle, Jennifer R; Dhara, Venkata Ramana; Lin, Shao; Naboka, Marina; Mousseau, Timothy A; Bennett, Charles

2012-08-01

Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA). We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters.

Evaluations in support of regulatory and research decisions by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for the control of toxic hazards from hazardous wastes, glyphosate, dalapon, and synthetic fuels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scofield, R.

1984-01-01

This report includes toxicological and regulatory evaluations performed in support of U.S. EPA regulation of toxic materials and hazardous wastes. The first section of the report describes evaluations which support: (a) the regulation of small-volume generators of hazardous wastes, (b) the regulation of hazardous wastes from pesticide manufacturing, and (c) the disposal of the herbicide, silvex. The second section describes the environmental fate, transport, and effect of glyphosate and dalapon. The third section deals with synthetic fuels, including evaluations of synfuel-product toxicity, uncontrolled air emissions, and particular focus on the toxicity of products from several indirect coal liquefaction processes includingmore » methanol synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch, Mobil M-Gasoline, and Lurgi gasification technologies. Three direct coal liquefaction processes were examined for product toxicity and air emissions: Solvent Refined Coal (I and II) and the Exxon Donor Solvent Process. Also described in the third section is an evaluation of environmental and health hazards associated with the use of synthetic fuels from indirect coal liquefaction, direct coal liquefaction, and shale oil. Finally, the fourth section discusses some problems associated with performing, on a contractual basis, scientific and technical evaluations in support of U.S. EPA regulatory and research decisions.« less

Management of environmental health issues for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: is enhanced integrated environmental health surveillance needed in every day routine operation?

PubMed Central

Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Mouchtouri, Varvara; Vaitsi, Vasiliki; Kapoula, Christina; Vousoureli, Anastasia; Kalivitis, Isidiros; Chervoni, Julia; Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Vasilogiannakopoulos, Antonios; Daniilidis, Vasilis D; Kremastinou, Jenny

2006-01-01

Background Management of environmental health issues is an integral part of public health systems. An active integrated environmental health surveillance and response system was developed for the Athens Olympics to monitor and prevent exposure to environmental hazards. The potential for permanent implementation of the program was examined. Methods The environmental health surveillance and response system included standardization, computerization and electronic transmission of data concerning environmental inspections of 17 site categories (restaurants, swimming pools etc) of public health interest, drinking and recreational water examinations and suggested corrective actions. The Olympic Planning Unit integrated and centrally managed data from 13 public health agencies, recommended, supervised and coordinated prompt corrective actions. Methods used to test the effectiveness of the program were the assessment of water quality test and inspection results trends over time using linear regression and epidemiological surveillance findings. Results Between January 2003 and September the 30th, 2004, 196 inspectors conducted 8562 inspections, collected 5024 water samples and recommended 17 027 corrective actions. In 10 cruise ships used as floating hotels inspectors conducted 10 full inspections, 2 re-inspections, and 27 follow-up inspections. Unsatisfactory inspection results (r = 0.44, p < 0.0001) and positive water quality tests (r = 0.39, p < 0.001) presented an overall decrease trend over time. In August, 2003, an outbreak of salmonellosis was linked to a hotel restaurant which accommodated athletes during a test event. Conclusion Lessons learned for future events include timely implementation and installation of communication processes, and rapid and coordinated response to unsatisfactory inspection results. Routine national programs need to adopt enhanced environmental health surveillance aimed at public health decision-making, but with a different perspective. PMID

Management of environmental health issues for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: is enhanced integrated environmental health surveillance needed in every day routine operation?

PubMed

Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Mouchtouri, Varvara; Vaitsi, Vasiliki; Kapoula, Christina; Vousoureli, Anastasia; Kalivitis, Isidiros; Chervoni, Julia; Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Vasilogiannakopoulos, Antonios; Daniilidis, Vasilis D; Kremastinou, Jenny

2006-12-18

Management of environmental health issues is an integral part of public health systems. An active integrated environmental health surveillance and response system was developed for the Athens Olympics to monitor and prevent exposure to environmental hazards. The potential for permanent implementation of the program was examined. The environmental health surveillance and response system included standardization, computerization and electronic transmission of data concerning environmental inspections of 17 site categories (restaurants, swimming pools etc) of public health interest, drinking and recreational water examinations and suggested corrective actions. The Olympic Planning Unit integrated and centrally managed data from 13 public health agencies, recommended, supervised and coordinated prompt corrective actions. Methods used to test the effectiveness of the program were the assessment of water quality test and inspection results trends over time using linear regression and epidemiological surveillance findings. Between January 2003 and September the 30th, 2004, 196 inspectors conducted 8562 inspections, collected 5024 water samples and recommended 17 027 corrective actions. In 10 cruise ships used as floating hotels inspectors conducted 10 full inspections, 2 re-inspections, and 27 follow-up inspections. Unsatisfactory inspection results (r = 0.44, p < 0.0001) and positive water quality tests (r = 0.39, p < 0.001) presented an overall decrease trend over time. In August, 2003, an outbreak of salmonellosis was linked to a hotel restaurant which accommodated athletes during a test event. Lessons learned for future events include timely implementation and installation of communication processes, and rapid and coordinated response to unsatisfactory inspection results. Routine national programs need to adopt enhanced environmental health surveillance aimed at public health decision-making, but with a different perspective.

Environmental health impacts of unconventional natural gas development: a review of the current strength of evidence.

PubMed

Werner, Angela K; Vink, Sue; Watt, Kerrianne; Jagals, Paul

2015-02-01

Rapid global expansion of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) raises environmental health concerns. Many studies present information on these concerns, yet the strength of epidemiological evidence remains tenuous. This paper is a review of the strength of evidence in scientific reporting of environmental hazards from UNGD activities associated with adverse human health outcomes. Studies were drawn from peer-reviewed and grey literature following a systematic search. Five databases were searched for studies published from January 1995 through March 2014 using key search terms relevant to environmental health. Studies were screened, ranked and then reviewed according to the strength of the evidence presented on adverse environmental health outcomes associated with UNGD. The initial searches yielded >1000 studies, but this was reduced to 109 relevant studies after the ranking process. Only seven studies were considered highly relevant based on strength of evidence. Articles spanned several relevant topics, but most focussed on impacts on typical environmental media, such as water and air, with much of the health impacts inferred rather than evidenced. Additionally, the majority of studies focussed on short-term, rather than long-term, health impacts, which is expected considering the timeframe of UNGD; therefore, very few studies examined health outcomes with longer latencies such as cancer or developmental outcomes. Current scientific evidence for UNGD that demonstrates associations between adverse health outcomes directly with environmental health hazards resulting from UNGD activities generally lacks methodological rigour. Importantly, however, there is also no evidence to rule out such health impacts. While the current evidence in the scientific research reporting leaves questions unanswered about the actual environmental health impacts, public health concerns remain intense. This is a clear gap in the scientific knowledge that requires urgent attention

Environmental Health

MedlinePlus

... Home Mercury Lead Arsenic Volatile Organic Compounds ... Print this Page What is Environmental Health ? Environmental Health is the interrelationship between human health and the environment, either natural or manmade. ...

Assessing homeland chemical hazards outside the military gates: industrial hazard threat assessments for department of defense installations.

PubMed

Kirkpatrick, Jeffrey S; Howard, Jacqueline M; Reed, David A

2002-04-08

As part of comprehensive joint medical surveillance measures outlined by the Department of Defense, the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) is beginning to assess environmental health threats to continental US military installations. A common theme in comprehensive joint medical surveillance, in support of Force Health Protection, is the identification and assessment of potential environmental health hazards, and the evaluation and documentation of actual exposures in both a continental US and outside a continental US setting. For the continental US assessments, the USACHPPM has utilized the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) database for risk management plans in accordance with Public Law 106-40, and the toxic release inventory database, in a state-of the art geographic information systems based program, termed the Consequence Assessment and Management Tool Set, or CATS, for assessing homeland industrial chemical hazards outside the military gates. As an example, the US EPA toxic release inventory and risk management plans databases are queried to determine the types and locations of industries surrounding a continental US military installation. Contaminants of concern are then ranked with respect to known toxicological and physical hazards, where they are then subject to applicable downwind hazard simulations using applicable meteorological and climatological data sets. The composite downwind hazard areas are mapped in relation to emergency response planning guidelines (ERPG), which were developed by the American Industrial Hygiene Association to assist emergency response personnel planning for catastrophic chemical releases. In addition, other geographic referenced data such as transportation routes, satellite imagery and population data are included in the operational, equipment, and morale risk assessment and management process. These techniques have been developed to assist military medical planners and operations

21 CFR 7.41 - Health hazard evaluation and recall classification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Health hazard evaluation and recall classification. 7.41 Section 7.41 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN..., and Industry Responsibilities § 7.41 Health hazard evaluation and recall classification. (a) An...

Health hazards in areas of military operations conducted in different climatic and sanitary conditions.

PubMed

Korzeniewski, Krzysztof

2011-01-01

This paper reviews the most common health hazards occurring among personnel of peacekeeping and stabilization missions functioning within armed conflicts in the contemporary world. Military operations have been executed in diverse climatic and sanitary conditions, which are frequently unfamiliar for their participants. Some of them, e.g. the UN peacekeeping missions in the Middle East (Lebanon, the Golan Heights), have been carried out in a relatively stable geopolitical environment; whereas, stabilization missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are actually combat activities, undoubtedly fall into the group of the most perilous military operations in the world. Hot or cold climate, poor sanitary and hygienic conditions along with warfare facilitate the occurrence of numerous diseases and body injuries not only among the local people but also among peacekeepers, who represent the population of immigrants. Health hazards which pose major epidemiological threats in combat zones are arthropod-borne, food and water-borne, respiratory tract diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, enzootic diseases, battle injuries, and non- -battle injuries, e.g. traffic accidents. Another considerable health problem are psychiatric disorders, which can either appear directly after the occurrence of a traumatic event in a combat zone or indirectly, after some time had elapsed. In addition to the health hazards listed above, environmental factors such as changeable weather conditions and local fauna may also be life threatening.

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Heritage Environmental Services PR, LLC in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

From August 2009 until October 2014, Heritage Environmental Services PR (“Heritage-PR”) owned and operated an environmental services facility for the treatment, storage and disposal (“TSD”) of hazardous wastes at 3080 Hostos Avenue in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

Development and Evaluation of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity Tests for Assessing the Hazards of Environmental Contaminants

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-08-01

AL/EQ-TR-1997-0050 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF REPRODUCTIVE AND DEVELOPMENT TOXICITY TESTS FOR ASSESSING THE HAZARDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL...SUBTITLE Development and Evaluation of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity Tests for Assessing the Hazards of Environmental Contaminants 6...pd in testing toxicity in surface waters, ground waters and H- ™t™j£J^^^M hazard assessment when used in conjunction in sediments. FETAX can be usea

Environmental, health and economic conditions perceived by 50 rural communities in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Ohtsuka, Ryutaro; Inaoka, Tsukasa; Moji, Kazuhiko; Karim, Enamul; Yoshinaga, Mari

2002-12-01

For randomly selected 50 villages in Bangladesh, an interview survey with a structured questionnaire was conducted to reveal their perception on the environmental, health and economic conditions at present and for the past 10-year change. The eight following items were analyzed in this paper: air pollution and water pollution, which represent environmental conditions with close relation to health conditions, soil degradation and deforestation, which represent environmental conditions with close relation to economic conditions, epidemic diseases and malnutrition, which represent health conditions, and poverty and jobless, which represent economic conditions. Among the 50 villages, deforestation was most frequently perceived serious at present and worsened in the past 10 years. Of the remaining seven items, those related to economic conditions were more seriously perceived than those related to health and environmental conditions. As revealed by the cluster analysis for the inter-item relations, epidemic diseases, which formed the same cluster with the environmental items, were recognized less serious whereas malnutrition, which formed the same cluster with the economic items, was recognized more serious. These findings are useful not only for rural development programs but also for mitigation programs toward health and environmental hazards in Bangladesh.

Environmental assessment in health care organizations.

PubMed

Romero, Isabel; Carnero, María Carmen

2017-12-22

The aim of this research is to design a multi-criteria model for environmental assessment of health care organizations. This is a model which guarantees the objectivity of the results obtained, is easy to apply, and incorporates a series of criteria, and their corresponding descriptors, relevant to the internal environmental auditing processes of the hospital. Furthermore, judgments were given by three experts from the areas of health, the environment, and multi-criteria decision techniques. From the values assigned, geometric means were calculated, giving weightings for the criteria of the model. This innovative model is intended for application within a continuous improvement process. A practical case from a Spanish hospital is included at the end. Information contained in the sustainability report provided the data needed to apply the model. The example contains all the criteria previously defined in the model. The results obtained show that the best-satisfied criteria are those related to energy consumption, generation of hazardous waste, legal matters, environmental sensitivity of staff, patients and others, and the environmental management of suppliers. On the other hand, those areas returning poor results are control of atmospheric emissions, increase in consumption of renewable energies, and the logistics of waste produced. It is recommended that steps be taken to correct these deficiencies, thus leading to an acceptable increase in the sustainability of the hospital.

Continuing Environmental Health Education for Environmental Health Personnel, Lesson Six.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Environmental Health, 1981

1981-01-01

Presents the sixth and final lesson on general environmental health, appearing since January, 1977 in this journal. Twenty-five multiple choice questions appear dealing with environmental health topics such as food sanitation, milk sanitation, vector control, public health housing, institutional environmental health, waste disposal, air pollution,…

The Role of Environmental Hazard in Mothers' Beliefs about Appropriate Supervision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damashek, Amy; Borduin, Charles; Ronis, Scott

2014-01-01

Understanding factors that influence mothers' beliefs about appropriate levels of supervision for their children may assist in efforts to reduce child injury rates. This study examined the interaction of child (i.e. age, gender, and injury risk behavior) and maternal perception of environmental hazard (i.e. hazard level, injury likelihood,…

Physically and psychologically hazardous jobs and mental health in Thailand

PubMed Central

Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara; Strazdins, Lyndall; Lim, Lynette L.-Y.; Kelly, Matthew; Seubsman, Sam-ang; Sleigh, Adrian C.

2015-01-01

This paper investigates associations between hazardous jobs, mental health and wellbeing among Thai adults. In 2005, 87 134 distance-learning students from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University completed a self-administered questionnaire; at the 2009 follow-up 60 569 again participated. Job characteristics were reported in 2005, psychological distress and life satisfaction were reported in both 2005 and 2009. We derived two composite variables grading psychologically and physically hazardous jobs and reported adjusted odds ratios (AOR) from multivariate logistic regressions. Analyses focused on cohort members in paid work: the total was 62 332 at 2005 baseline and 41 671 at 2009 follow-up. Cross-sectional AORs linking psychologically hazardous jobs to psychological distress ranged from 1.52 (one hazard) to 4.48 (four hazards) for males and a corresponding 1.34–3.76 for females. Similarly AORs for physically hazardous jobs were 1.75 (one hazard) to 2.76 (four or more hazards) for males and 1.70–3.19 for females. A similar magnitude of associations was found between psychologically adverse jobs and low life satisfaction (AORs of 1.34–4.34 among males and 1.18–3.63 among females). Longitudinal analyses confirm these cross-sectional relationships. Thus, significant dose–response associations were found linking hazardous job exposures in 2005 to mental health and wellbeing in 2009. The health impacts of psychologically and physically hazardous jobs in developed, Western countries are equally evident in transitioning Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Regulation and monitoring of work conditions will become increasingly important to the health and wellbeing of the Thai workforce. PMID:24218225

Physically and psychologically hazardous jobs and mental health in Thailand.

PubMed

Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara; Strazdins, Lyndall; Lim, Lynette L-Y; Kelly, Matthew; Seubsman, Sam-ang; Sleigh, Adrian C

2015-09-01

This paper investigates associations between hazardous jobs, mental health and wellbeing among Thai adults. In 2005, 87 134 distance-learning students from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University completed a self-administered questionnaire; at the 2009 follow-up 60 569 again participated. Job characteristics were reported in 2005, psychological distress and life satisfaction were reported in both 2005 and 2009. We derived two composite variables grading psychologically and physically hazardous jobs and reported adjusted odds ratios (AOR) from multivariate logistic regressions. Analyses focused on cohort members in paid work: the total was 62 332 at 2005 baseline and 41 671 at 2009 follow-up. Cross-sectional AORs linking psychologically hazardous jobs to psychological distress ranged from 1.52 (one hazard) to 4.48 (four hazards) for males and a corresponding 1.34-3.76 for females. Similarly AORs for physically hazardous jobs were 1.75 (one hazard) to 2.76 (four or more hazards) for males and 1.70-3.19 for females. A similar magnitude of associations was found between psychologically adverse jobs and low life satisfaction (AORs of 1.34-4.34 among males and 1.18-3.63 among females). Longitudinal analyses confirm these cross-sectional relationships. Thus, significant dose-response associations were found linking hazardous job exposures in 2005 to mental health and wellbeing in 2009. The health impacts of psychologically and physically hazardous jobs in developed, Western countries are equally evident in transitioning Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Regulation and monitoring of work conditions will become increasingly important to the health and wellbeing of the Thai workforce. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

Environmental Hazards and Systems Schools. Technical Report No. 81.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dexter, Arthur

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the feasibility of incorporating certain protective concepts into selected systems-constructed schools. These concepts were to be incorporated at a minimal cost increase, with minimal sacrifice of amenities, and with no detrimental effect on facility configuration. The environmental hazards taken into…

Guidance Manual for Integrating Hazardous Material Control and Management into System Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

34 in the remainder of this "• IPS. Ensure that system safety, Section refer to the DoD format paragraph health hazards, and environmental for the...hazardous materials is controlled in the manner which protects human health and the environment at the least cost. Hazardous Material Control and Management...of hazardous materials is controlled in a manner which protects human health and the environment at the least cost. Hazardous Material Control and

Environmental pediatrics: an emerging issue.

PubMed

Valenzuela, Patricia M; Matus, M Soledad; Araya, Gabriela I; Paris, Enrique

2011-01-01

To review the most relevant articles regarding environmental pediatrics, its potential effects on health, and especially its advances in prevention. A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE/PubMed and SciELO databases. Articles from 1990 to 2010 were reviewed, in addition to book chapters related to environmental pediatrics. There is a significant variety of factors that make children highly vulnerable to environmental hazard exposure, which are mainly associated with children's comparatively greater consumption of water, food, and air in relation to body weight. According to the World Health Organization, every year more than 3 million children under the age of 5 die because of environment-related conditions. Approximately 30 to 40% of pediatric diseases are related to environmental factors. Children are constantly exposed to various environmental health hazards, among which the following stand out: contaminated water, lack of adequate sanitation facilities, air pollution, disease vectors, chemical hazards, injuries, and accidents. Nowadays, pediatricians are challenged to address environmental pediatrics health care needs. The pediatric health history needs to be more comprehensive by adding pointed questions to help identify potential environmental risks. Awareness and understanding of the noxious effects of various environmental conditions and knowledge of the related prevention measures will result in timely and adequate interventions that will improve our children's health and development.

Epidemiologic Methods Lessons Learned from Environmental Public Health Disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina

PubMed Central

Svendsen, Erik R.; Runkle, Jennifer R.; Dhara, Venkata Ramana; Lin, Shao; Naboka, Marina; Mousseau, Timothy A.; Bennett, Charles

2012-01-01

Background: Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Methods: Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA). Findings: We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. Interpretation: These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters. PMID:23066404

Environmental Factor{trademark} system: RCRA hazardous waste handler information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1999-03-01

Environmental Factor{trademark} RCRA Hazardous Waste Handler Information on CD-ROM unleashes the invaluable information found in two key EPA data sources on hazardous waste handlers and offers cradle-to-grave waste tracking. It`s easy to search and display: (1) Permit status, design capacity and compliance history for facilities found in the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (RCRIS) program tracking database; (2) Detailed information on hazardous wastes generation, management and minimization by companies who are large quantity generators, and (3) Data on the waste management practices of treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities from the EPA Biennial Reporting System which is collectedmore » every other year. Environmental Factor`s powerful database retrieval system lets you: (1) Search for RCRA facilities by permit type, SIC code, waste codes, corrective action or violation information, TSD status, generator and transporter status and more; (2) View compliance information -- dates of evaluation, violation, enforcement and corrective action; (3) Lookup facilities by waste processing categories of marketing, transporting, processing and energy recovery; (4) Use owner/operator information and names, titles and telephone numbers of project managers for prospecting; and (5) Browse detailed data on TSD facility and large quantity generators` activities such as onsite waste treatment, disposal, or recycling, offsite waste received, and waste generation and management. The product contains databases, search and retrieval software on two CD-ROMs, an installation diskette and User`s Guide. Environmental Factor has online context-sensitive help from any screen and a printed User`s Guide describing installation and step-by-step procedures for searching, retrieving and exporting. Hotline support is also available for no additional charge.« less

Managing hazards in place: The risks of residual risks.

PubMed

Silbergeld, Ellen K

2017-10-01

Managing hazards in place (MHP) is a policy instrument in environmental health that allows less than complete removal, abatement, or remediation of environmental hazards. The practice of minimizing exposure to hazards rather than removing them is widely recognized as part of the toolbox of environmental protection for human and ecosystem health. The concept of managing hazards in place is embedded in several environmental statutes and regulations in the US notably the waste management regulations, as well as in the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. While this commentary focuses largely on applications of MHP in the US, this policy is also utilized by agencies in many other countries for managing hazardous waste sites, lead in housing and drinking water systems, and environmental contamination of rivers and estuaries. The rationale for this concept is not difficult to understand: MHP policies can reduce the costs of meeting environmental goals; it can provide opportunities for access to resources that have been contaminated by past actions such as waste disposal, and it can enhance land and property values as well as tax revenues all of which are important to home owners and communities. The concerns related to this concept are also not difficult to understand: an incompletely abated or contained hazard may present future exposure risks to humans and environmental biota. Further, the compromise implicit in MHP is the assurance of indefinite oversight and monitoring to detect any releases. To that extent, MHP involves both sociology as well as toxicology and the exposure sciences. Because of the prevalence of managing hazards in place, this commentary suggests that evaluation of its performance is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New dimensions in our understanding of the human health effects of environmental pollutants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carpenter, D.O.

The term {open_quotes}hazardous{close_quotes} waste is used primarily in reference to potential hazards to human health and, to a lesser decree, hazards to wildlife and the ecosystem. Many of the chemicals associated with hazardous waste sites are also widely distributed throughout the environment; therefore, the health hazards associated with hazardous waste sites are not different from those associated with general environmental contamination. Until recently, it was generally assumed that cancer was the human disease of greatest concern associated with toxic chemicals. In fact, most governmental regulations related to exposure are designed on the basis of presumed cancer risks. Since the evidencemore » that hazardous chemicals can cause cancer is strong, it is appropriate to be concerned about cancer risk. Recent evidence, however, has triggered a reevaluation of the assumption that only cancer is of concern. New evidence suggests that noncancer endpoints may occur more frequently than cancer, may affect a greater number of individuals, and may occur at lower concentrations. Of particular concern is evidence of irreversible effects on the embryo and very young children, which influence intelligence, attention span, sexual development, and immune function. Although these effects are often subtle and difficult to quantify, the combined evidence is sufficiently compelling to necessitate a reevaluation of those outcomes of primary concern to human health. 57 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.« less

Effective Two-way Communication of Environmental Hazards: Understanding Public Perception in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorono-Leturiondo, Maria; O'Hare, Paul; Cook, Simon; Hoon, Stephen R.; Illingworth, Sam

2017-04-01

Climate change intensified hazards, such as floods and landslides, require exploring renewed ways of protecting at-risk communities (World Economic Forum 2016). Scientists are being encouraged to explore new pathways to work closely with affected communities in search of experiential knowledge that is able to complement and extend scientific knowledge (see for instance Whatmore and Landström 2011 and Höpner et al. 2010). Effective two-way communication of environmental hazards is, however, a challenge. Besides considering factors such as the purpose of communication, or the characteristics of the different formats; effective communication has to carefully acknowledge the personal framework of the individuals involved. Existing experiences, values, beliefs, and needs are critical determinants of the way they perceive and relate to these hazards, and in turn, of the communication process in which they are involved (Longnecker 2016 and Gibson et al. 2016). Our study builds on the need to analyze how the public perceives environmental hazards in order to establish forms of communication that work. Here we present early findings of a survey analysing the UK public's perception and outline how survey results can guide more effective two-way communication practices between scientists and affected communities. We explore the perception of environmental hazards in terms of how informed and concerned the public is, as well as how much ownership they claim over these phenomena. In order to gain a more accurate image, we study environmental hazards in relation to other risks threatening the UK, such as large-scale involuntary migration or unemployment (World Economic Forum 2016, Bord et al. 1998). We also explore information consumption in relation to environmental hazards and the public's involvement in advancing knowledge. All these questions are accompanied by an extensive demographics section that allows us to ascertain how the context or environment in which an

Collaboration Between Environmental Water Chemistry Students and Hazardous Waste Treatment Specialists on the University of Colorado-Boulder Campus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittrich, T. M.

2012-12-01

The University of Colorado-Boulder is one of a few universities in the country that has a licensed Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for hazardous waste on campus. This facility, located on the bottom floor of the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) building, allows CU to more economically treat hazardous waste by enabling treatment specialists on staff to safely collect and organize the hazardous waste generated on campus. Hazardous waste is anything that contains a regulated chemical or compound and most chemicals used in engineering labs (e.g., acids, solvents, metal solutions) fall into this category. The EH&S staff is able to treat close almost 33% of the waste from campus and the rest is packed for off-site treatment at various places all over the country for disposal (e.g., Sauget, IL, Port Aurthor, TX). The CU-Boulder campus produced over 50 tons of hazardous waste in 2010 costing over $300,000 in off-campus expenses. The EH&S staff assigns one of over 50 codes to the waste which will determine if the waste can be treated on campus of must be shipped off campus to be disposed of. If the waste can be treated on campus, it will undergo one of three processes: 1) neutralization, 2) UV-ozone oxidation, or 3) ion exchange. If the waste is acidic but contains no heavy metals, the acid is neutralized with sodium hydroxide (a base) and can be disposed "down the drain" to the Boulder Wastewater Treatment Plant. If the waste contains organic compounds and no metals, a UV-ozone oxidation system is used to break down the organic compounds. Silver from photography wastewater can be removed using ion exchange columns. Undergraduate and graduate students worked with the hazardous waste treatment facility at the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) building on the CU-Boulder campus during the fall of 2011 and fall of 2012. Early in the semester, students receive a tour of the three batch treatment processes the facility is equipped with. Later in the

Helping the auto repair industry manage hazardous wastes: an education project in King County, Washington.

PubMed

McKenrick, Laurence L; Ii, Keiko; Lawrence, Bill; Kaufmann, Michael; Marshall, Mark

2003-11-01

From January 1, 2000, to August 31, 2001, a team of environmental health specialists from Public Health-Seattle & King County, a partner in King County's Local Hazardous Waste Management Program, made educational visits to 981 automotive repair shops. The purpose was to give the auto repair industry technical assistance on hazardous waste management without using enforcement action. Through site inspections and interviews, the environmental health staff gathered information on the types and amounts of conditionally exempt small-quantity generator (CESQG) hazardous wastes and how they were handled. Proper methods of hazardous waste management, storage, and disposal were discussed with shop personnel. The environmental health staff measured the impact of these educational visits by noting changes made between the initial and follow-up visits. This report focuses on nine major waste streams identified in the auto repair industry. Of the 981 shops visited, 497 were already practicing proper hazardous waste management and disposal. The remaining 484 shops exhibited 741 discrepancies from proper practice. Environmental health staff visited these shops again within six months of the initial visit to assess changes in their practices. The educational visits and technical assistance produced a 76 percent correction of all the discrepancies noted.

40 CFR 271.11 - Requirements for transporters of hazardous wastes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... that such wastes do not present a hazard to human health or the environment. These requirements shall... hazardous wastes. 271.11 Section 271.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZATION OF STATE HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS Requirements...

40 CFR 271.11 - Requirements for transporters of hazardous wastes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... that such wastes do not present a hazard to human health or the environment. These requirements shall... hazardous wastes. 271.11 Section 271.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZATION OF STATE HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS Requirements...

40 CFR 271.11 - Requirements for transporters of hazardous wastes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... that such wastes do not present a hazard to human health or the environment. These requirements shall... hazardous wastes. 271.11 Section 271.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZATION OF STATE HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS Requirements...

Environmental Hazard of Selenium in the Animas La Plata Wate Development Project

Treesearch

A. Dennis Lemly

1997-01-01

A hazard assessment of selenium was conducted for the Animas La Plata Project, a multiple-use water development proposed for Colorado and New Mexico by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. A published protocol for aquatic hazard assessment of selenium was applied to environmental monitoring data to assess current threats to biota in the water supply rivers (Animas...

The use of third-party review to reduce health and environmental hazards from surfactants and cleaning products in the janitorial industry.

PubMed

Okumura, Kazuhiro

2009-05-01

The demand for environmentally preferable products is increasing in the area of Institutional and Industrial (I&I) cleaners. The GreenBlue Institute (GreenBlue) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) Design for Environment (DfE) launched two programs to review surfactant ingredients and final cleaning products, with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) conducting third-party reviews. The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program (LHWMP) in King County, Washington, has a strategic goal to reduce the risk of exposure of hazardous chemicals to vulnerable populations such as janitorial workers. This report summarizes the NSF partnership with GreenBlue, CleanGredients, and U.S. EPA's DfE to perform third-party reviews of cleaning product ingredients and its relevance to LHWMP's interest in reducing risks to workers in the janitorial industry. Due to information barriers, workers in the janitorial industry are at risk daily to these hazardous chemicals. The surfactant and formulator review program will make positive contributions towards the reduction of toxic chemical exposure to the employees of the janitorial industry. With proper communication and an increased use of less toxic cleaners, exposures to vulnerable populations can be reduced.

Impact of environmental hazards on internal soiling within concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, Sara

2014-09-01

Environmental conditions have a significant impact on internal soiling of a CPV system, which affects overall system performance and efficiency. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62108, Section 10, standard includes accelerated testing such as temperature cycling, damp heat, and humidity freeze to assess a CPV module's ability to withstand environmental hazards that can compromise the typical 25-year lifetime. This paper discusses the IEC 60529 ingress protection (IP) test protocols and how they can be used to evaluate the performance of CPV modules to block water and particulate contaminants. Studies with GORE® Protective Vents installed in a CPV module and subjected to environmental hazard testing have shown increased reliability of the module over the lifetime of the system by protecting the seals from pressure differentials and keeping out contaminants.

Practical management of chemicals and hazardous wastes: An environmental and safety professional`s guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuhre, W.L.

This book was written to help the environmental and safety student learn about the field and to help the working professional manage hazardous material and waste issues. For example, one issue that will impact virtually all of these people mentioned is the upcoming environmental standardization movement. The International Standards Organization (ISO) is in the process of adding comprehensive environmental and hazardous waste management systems to their future certification requirements. Most industries worldwide will be working hard to achieve this new level of environmental management. This book presents many of the systems needed to receive certification. In order to properly managemore » hazardous waste, it is important to consider the entire life cycle, including when the waste was a useful chemical or hazardous material. Waste minimization is built upon this concept. Understanding the entire life cycle is also important in terms of liability, since many regulations hold generators responsible from cradle to grave. This book takes the life-cycle concept even further, in order to provide additional insight. The discussion starts with the conception of the chemical and traces its evolution into a waste and even past disposal. At this point the story continues into the afterlife, where responsibility still remains.« less

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Northeast Environmental Services in Canastota, New York

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Haz-O-Waste Corporation operated this treatment and storage facility for hazardous and industrial wastes from August 1976 until it was purchased by Northeast Environmental Services, Inc., in September, 1986. The facility is located on Canal Road in Can

Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 84-384-1580, Crystal Zoo, Boulder, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gunter, B.; Thoburn, T.W.

Environmental and breathing zone samples werr analyzed for 1,1,1-trichloroethane, toluene, petroleum distillate, lead, quartz, cristobalite, and total particulates at Crystal Zoo, Boulder, Colorado in August, 1984. The evaluation was requested by the management because of concern for the workers health. Medical questionnaires were administered to eight workers in the leaded-crystal grinding room. Blood lead and free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) concentrations were measured in the grinding-room workers and in three comparisons. The authors conclude that a health hazard due to overexposure to lead exists in the grinding department. Recommendations include improving work practices, prohibiting dry grinding of polishing of leaded glass,more » and installing down-draft ventilation.« less

Assessment of the Acute and Chronic Health Hazards of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids.

PubMed

Wattenberg, Elizabeth V; Bielicki, Jeffrey M; Suchomel, Ashley E; Sweet, Jessica T; Vold, Elizabeth M; Ramachandran, Gurumurthy

2015-01-01

There is growing concern about how hydraulic fracturing affects public health because this activity involves handling large volumes of fluids that contain toxic and carcinogenic constituents, which are injected under high pressure through wells into the subsurface to release oil and gas from tight shale formations. The constituents of hydraulic fracturing fluids (HFFs) present occupational health risks because workers may be directly exposed to them, and general public health risks because of potential air and water contamination. Hazard identification, which focuses on the types of toxicity that substances may cause, is an important step in the complex health risk assessment of hydraulic fracturing. This article presents a practical and adaptable tool for the hazard identification of HFF constituents, and its use in the analysis of HFF constituents reported to be used in 2,850 wells in North Dakota between December 2009 and November 2013. Of the 569 reported constituents, 347 could be identified by a Chemical Abstract Service Registration Number (CASRN) and matching constituent name. The remainder could not be identified either because of trade secret labeling (210) or because of an invalid CASRN (12). Eleven public databases were searched for health hazard information on thirteen health hazard endpoints for 168 identifiable constituents that had at least 25 reports of use. Health hazard counts were generated for chronic and acute endpoints, including those associated with oral, inhalation, ocular, and dermal exposure. Eleven of the constituents listed in the top 30 by total health hazard count were also listed in the top 30 by reports of use. This includes naphthalene, which along with benzyl chloride, has the highest health hazard count. The top 25 constituents reportedly used in North Dakota largely overlap with those reported for Texas and Pennsylvania, despite different geologic formations, target resources (oil vs. gas), and disclosure requirements

Responsibilities of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Provider in the Treatment and Prevention of Climate Change-Related Health Problems.

PubMed

Perkison, William B; Kearney, Gregory D; Saberi, Pouné; Guidotti, Tee; McCarthy, Ronda; Cook-Shimanek, Margaret; Pensa, Mellisa A; Nabeel, Ismail

2018-02-01

: Workers are uniquely susceptible to the health hazards imposed by environmental changes. Occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) providers are at the forefront of emerging health issues pertaining to working populations including climate change, and must be prepared to recognize, respond to, and mitigate climate change-related health effects in workers. This guidance document from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine focuses on North American workers health effects that may occur as a result of climate change and describes the responsibilities of the OEM provider in responding to these health challenges.

[Contamination of health care institutions environmental objects by Legionella pneumophila].

PubMed

Shkarin, V V; Blagonravova, A S; Chubukova, O A; Korotaeva, S V

2011-01-01

AIM. The extent of environmental objects contamination by Legionella pneumophila in Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod region hospitals evaluation, and detection of potentially hazardous objects. 433 swabs of environmental objects, and 43 hot water supply and pool water samples from various departments of 4 multi-disciplinary hospitals were studies. DNA from environmental samples was detected by using real time PCR. L. pneumophila DNA was detected in 41 (9,47%) samples from environmental objects and in 2 (4,65%) samples from hot water supply. These bacteria were more frequently detected in environmental samples from physiotherapy departments. Repeated detection of legionellae from the same objects was registered. Circulation of legionellae in multidisciplinary hospitals was determined. Circulation high risk departments and risk objects--reservoirs of L. pneumophila in health care institutions were determined.

Fall Hazards Within Senior Independent Living: A Case-Control Study.

PubMed

Kim, Daejin; Portillo, Margaret

2018-01-01

The main purpose of this research was to identify significant relationships between environmental hazards and older adults' falling. Falls can present a major health risk to older persons. Identifying potential environmental hazards that increase fall risks can be effective for developing fall prevention strategies that can create safer residential environments for older adults. The research included a retrospective analysis of 449 fall incident reports in two case-control buildings. In the homes of 88 older adults residing in independent living, an observational study was conducted to identify environmental hazards using two assessment tools including Westmead Home Safety Assessment (WeHSA) and resident interviews. A fall history analysis indicated that falls occurred in the bathroom were significantly associated with hospitalization. The observational study revealed that the bathroom was the most common place for environmental hazards. The research showed, with increasing age and use of mobility assistive aids, there was a corresponding increase in the total number of environmental hazards. Home hazards were significantly and independently associated with the incidence rate of falls. In other words, the high fall rate building included more environmental hazards compared to the low fall rate building while controlling for residents' age and mobility. The current study provides empirical evidence of the link between environmental hazards and older adults' falling, which is useful for developing effective fall intervention design strategies.

Review of hazards to female reproductive health in veterinary practice.

PubMed

Scheftel, Joni M; Elchos, Brigid L; Rubin, Carol S; Decker, John A

2017-04-15

OBJECTIVE To review publications that address female reproductive health hazards in veterinary practice, summarize best practices to mitigate reproductive risks, and identify current knowledge gaps. DESIGN Systematized review. SAMPLE English-language articles describing chemical, biological, and physical hazards present in the veterinary workplace and associations with adverse reproductive outcomes or recommendations for minimizing risks to female reproductive health. PROCEDURES Searches of the CAB abstracts database were performed in July 2012 and in May 2015 with the following search terms: veterinarians AND occupational hazards and vets.id AND occupational hazards.sh. Searches of the PubMed database were conducted in November 2012 and in May 2015 with the following medical subject heading terms: occupational exposure AND veterinarians; anesthetics, inhalation/adverse effects AND veterinarians; risk factors AND pregnancy AND veterinarians; pregnancy outcome AND veterinarians; and animal technicians AND occupational exposure. Two additional PubMed searches were completed in January 2016 with the terms disinfectants/toxicity AND female AND fertility/drug effects and veterinarians/psychology AND stress, psychological. No date limits were applied to searches. RESULTS 4 sources supporting demographic trends in veterinary medicine and 118 resources reporting potential hazards to female reproductive health were identified. Reported hazards included exposure to anesthetic gases, radiation, antineoplastic drugs, and reproductive hormones; physically demanding work; prolonged standing; and zoonoses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Demographic information suggested that an increasing number of women of reproductive age will be exposed to chemical, biological, and physical hazards in veterinary practice. Information on reproductive health hazards and minimizing risk, with emphasis on developing a safety-focused work culture for all personnel, should be discussed starting

Review of hazards to female reproductive health in veterinary practice

PubMed Central

Scheftel, Joni M.; Elchos, Brigid L.; Rubin, Carol S.; Decker, John A.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE To review publications that address female reproductive health hazards in veterinary practice, summarize best practices to mitigate reproductive risks, and identify current knowledge gaps. DESIGN Systematized review. SAMPLE English-language articles describing chemical, biological, and physical hazards present in the veterinary workplace and associations with adverse reproductive outcomes or recommendations for minimizing risks to female reproductive health. PROCEDURES Searches of the CAB abstracts database were performed in July 2012 and in May 2015 with the following search terms: veterinarians AND occupational hazards and vets.id AND occupational hazards.sh. Searches of the PubMed database were conducted in November 2012 and in May 2015 with the following medical subject heading terms: occupational exposure AND veterinarians; anesthetics, inhalation/adverse effects AND veterinarians; risk factors AND pregnancy AND veterinarians; pregnancy outcome AND veterinarians; and animal technicians AND occupational exposure. Two additional PubMed searches were completed in January 2016 with the terms disinfectants/toxicity AND female AND fertility/drug effects and veterinarians/psychology AND stress, psychological. No date limits were applied to searches. RESULTS 4 sources supporting demographic trends in veterinary medicine and 118 resources reporting potential hazards to female reproductive health were identified. Reported hazards included exposure to anesthetic gases, radiation, antineoplastic drugs, and reproductive hormones; physically demanding work; prolonged standing; and zoonoses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Demographic information suggested that an increasing number of women of reproductive age will be exposed to chemical, biological, and physical hazards in veterinary practice. Information on reproductive health hazards and minimizing risk, with emphasis on developing a safety-focused work culture for all personnel, should be discussed starting

Arsenic residue in the products and by-products of chicken and ducks: a possible concern of avian health and environmental hazard to the population in West Bengal, India.

PubMed

Rana, Tanmoy; Bera, Asit Kumar; Mondal, Dipak Kumar; Das, Subhashree; Bhattacharya, Debasis; Samanta, Srikanta; Pan, Diganta; Das, Subrata Kumar

2014-07-01

Arsenicosis caused due to drinking of arsenic contaminated ground water is a major environmental health hazard throughout the world. We evaluated the ecotoxicological effect of arsenic on chicken and duck in an arsenic endemic zone. The concentration of arsenic was higher in chicken and duck feed and their by-products than that in the respective samples of control area. Arsenic concentration in the eggs of both chicken and duck was higher than that in the respective samples of control area. Thus, we concluded that arsenic enters into food chain through the intake of contaminated eggs. Furthermore, adverse health effect of arsenic on avian population is due to the alteration in haematobiochemical indices. © The Author(s) 2012.

Health behaviours as a predictor of quitting hazardous alcohol use in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.

PubMed

Säfsten, Eleonor; Forsell, Yvonne; Ramstedt, Mats; Galanti, Maria R

2018-06-01

Adopting healthy behaviours may facilitate the transition from hazardous to non-hazardous use of alcohol, yet, longitudinal studies of health behaviours in relation to the cessation of hazardous alcohol use are rare. We addressed this question using data from a large population-based cohort of adults in Sweden (Stockholm Public Health Cohort). Participants from two sub-cohorts (inception in 2002 and 2010), with follow-up until the year 2014 were included. Health behaviours (tobacco use, diet and physical activity) and alcohol use were self-reported in questionnaire-based surveys. Hazardous alcohol use was defined as either usual weekly consumption (2002 sub-cohort) or heavy occasional alcohol consumption (2010 sub-cohort). Baseline hazardous drinkers with complete data constituted the analytical sample (n = 8946). Logistic regression was used to calculate the Odds Ratios and their 95% confidence intervals of quitting hazardous alcohol use, with tobacco use, diet and physical activity as predictors of change. In the 2002 sub-cohort, 28% reported non-hazardous use sustained through two consecutive follow-up points. In the 2010 sub-cohort, 36% of the participants reported non-hazardous use of alcohol at follow-up. Favourable health behaviours at baseline (e.g. no tobacco use, sufficient fruit intake and physical activity) were associated with a 19% to 75% higher of odds quitting hazardous alcohol use. Further, favourable changes in diet and tobacco cessation were associated with non-hazardous alcohol use at follow-up. As many as one-third of hazardous alcohol users may quit this drinking pattern in a medium-long term. Holding or achieving a healthy lifestyle may facilitate this transition.

Towards Healthy Schools 2015: Progress on America's Environmental Health Crisis for Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Healthy Schools Network, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

States compel children to attend school; in fact, 98% of all school-age children attend schools--irrespective of conditions. Yet the environmental conditions of decayed facilities or facilities close to hazards can damage children's health and ability to learn. At the same time, it is well documented that healthy school facilities can help…

Selection on Moral Hazard in Health Insurance

PubMed Central

Einav, Liran; Finkelstein, Amy; Ryan, Stephen; Schrimpf, Paul

2012-01-01

We use employee-level panel data from a single firm to explore the possibility that individuals may select insurance coverage in part based on their anticipated behavioral (“moral hazard”) response to insurance, a phenomenon we label “selection on moral hazard.” Using a model of plan choice and medical utilization, we present evidence of heterogeneous moral hazard as well as selection on it, and explore some of its implications. For example, we show that, at least in our context, abstracting from selection on moral hazard could lead to over-estimates of the spending reduction associated with introducing a high-deductible health insurance option. PMID:24748682

The Susceptibility of Older Adults to Environmental Hazards

EPA Science Inventory

This rapid growth in the number of older Americans has many implications for public health, including the need to better understand the health risks posed by environmental exposures to older adults. This paper describes the need to link environmental exposures, the processing of...

Hazardous waste and health impact: a systematic review of the scientific literature.

PubMed

Fazzo, L; Minichilli, F; Santoro, M; Ceccarini, A; Della Seta, M; Bianchi, F; Comba, P; Martuzzi, M

2017-10-11

Waste is part of the agenda of the European Environment and Health Process and included among the topics of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. Disposal and management of hazardous waste are worldwide challenges. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the health impact of hazardous waste exposure, applying transparent and a priori defined methods. The following five steps, based on pre-defined systematic criteria, were applied. 1. Specify the research question, in terms of "Population-Exposure-Comparators-Outcomes" (PECO). people living near hazardous waste sites; Exposure: exposure to hazardous waste; Comparators: all comparators; Outcomes: all diseases/health disorders. 2. Carry out the literature search, in Medline and EMBASE. 3. Select studies for inclusion: original epidemiological studies, published between 1999 and 2015, on populations residentially exposed to hazardous waste. 4. Assess the quality of selected studies, taking into account study design, exposure and outcome assessment, confounding control. 5. Rate the confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome taking into account the reliability of each study, the strength of the association and concordance of results.Fifty-seven papers of epidemiological investigations on the health status of populations living near hazardous waste sites were selected for the evidence evaluation. The association between 95 health outcomes (diseases and disorders) and residential exposure to hazardous waste sites was evaluated. Health effects of residential hazardous waste exposure, previously partially unrecognized, were highlighted. Sufficient evidence was found of association between exposure to oil industry waste that releases high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and acute symptoms. The evidence of causal relationship with hazardous waste was defined as limited for: liver, bladder, breast and testis cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, asthma, congenital anomalies

Potential Health Hazards of Video Display Terminals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, William E.; And Others

In response to a request from three California unions to evaluate potential health hazards from the use of video display terminals (VDT's) in information processing applications, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a limited field investigation of three companies in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area. A…

Is health risk assessment unethical

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, B.L.

For persons who have followed the environmental movement in the US and in other countries, it comes as no revelation that the general public has been, and remains, quite concerned about environmental hazards. This concern has in turn led to national and local legislation that is intended to protect the environment and public health. In a parallel way, transnational public concerns have fostered international agreements on controlling such environmental hazards as shipments of hazardous wastes and ocean pollution. Over time, as governments have attempted to come to grips with controlling various environmental hazards, the development and use of health riskmore » assessment has become a well-favored practice by government and some private sector agencies. Because health risk assessment is used to ultimately manage environmental hazards that impact the well-being of people, it seems timely to raise the questions of to what extent are ethical considerations incorporated into health risk assessments and risk management actions.« less

Self-selection and moral hazard in Chilean health insurance.

PubMed

Sapelli, Claudio; Vial, Bernardita

2003-05-01

We study the existence of self-selection and moral hazard in the Chilean health insurance industry. Dependent workers must purchase health insurance either from one public or several private insurance providers. For them, we analyze the relationship between health care services utilization and the choice of either private or public insurance. In the case of independent workers, where there is no mandate, we analyze the relationship between utilization and the decision to voluntarily purchase health insurance. The results show self-selection against insurance companies for independent workers, and against public insurance for dependent workers. Moral hazard is negligible in the case of hospitalization, but for medical visits, it is quantitatively important.

Removing Hazardous Materials from Buildings: A Training Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

Army Pamphlet DAIM-ODF OACSIM Facility Policy Division DHHS Department of Health and Human Services DoD Department of Defense DoDD Department of...materials have the potential to: – Damage human health and safety – Damage environmental systems through releases to the air, water, or soil • Certain...EPA, or otherwise identified as creating an environmental and/or human health hazard when deteriorated or disturbed, or when entering the waste

Chemical incidents resulted in hazardous substances releases in the context of human health hazards.

PubMed

Pałaszewska-Tkacz, Anna; Czerczak, Sławomir; Konieczko, Katarzyna

2017-02-21

The research purpose was to analyze data concerning chemical incidents in Poland collected in 1999-2009 in terms of health hazards. The data was obtained, using multimodal information technology (IT) system, from chemical incidents reports prepared by rescuers at the scene. The final analysis covered sudden events associated with uncontrolled release of hazardous chemical substances or mixtures, which may potentially lead to human exposure. Releases of unidentified substances where emergency services took action to protect human health or environment were also included. The number of analyzed chemical incidents in 1999-2009 was 2930 with more than 200 different substances released. The substances were classified into 13 groups of substances and mixtures posing analogous risks. Most common releases were connected with non-flammable corrosive liquids, including: hydrochloric acid (199 cases), sulfuric(VI) acid (131 cases), sodium and potassium hydroxides (69 cases), ammonia solution (52 cases) and butyric acid (32 cases). The next group were gases hazardous only due to physico-chemical properties, including: extremely flammable propane-butane (249 cases) and methane (79 cases). There was no statistically significant trend associated with the total number of incidents. Only with the number of incidents with flammable corrosive, toxic and/or harmful liquids, the regression analysis revealed a statistically significant downward trend. The number of victims reported was 1997, including 1092 children and 18 fatalities. The number of people injured, number of incidents and the high 9th place of Poland in terms of the number of Seveso establishments, and 4 times higher number of hazardous industrial establishments not covered by the Seveso Directive justify the need for systematic analysis of hazards and their proper identification. It is advisable enhance health risk assessment, both qualitative and quantitative, by slight modification of the data collection system so as

75 FR 38100 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-01

...: Notice. SUMMARY: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a research institute of... translation. Research translation fosters the movement of fundamental science toward a useable end-product. It... Innovation Promote transdisciplinary science. SRP firmly supports transdisciplinary research--the synthesis...

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Cumulative Environmental Health Impacts in California: Evidence From a Statewide Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1)

PubMed Central

Faust, John; August, Laura Meehan; Cendak, Rose; Wieland, Walker; Alexeeff, George

2015-01-01

Objectives. We used an environmental justice screening tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1) to compare the distribution of environmental hazards and vulnerable populations across California communities. Methods. CalEnviroScreen 1.1 combines 17 indicators created from 2004 to 2013 publicly available data into a relative cumulative impact score. We compared cumulative impact scores across California zip codes on the basis of their location, urban or rural character, and racial/ethnic makeup. We used a concentration index to evaluate which indicators were most unequally distributed with respect to race/ethnicity and poverty. Results. The unadjusted odds of living in one of the 10% most affected zip codes were 6.2, 5.8, 1.9, 1.8, and 1.6 times greater for Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and other or multiracial individuals, respectively, than for non-Hispanic Whites. Environmental hazards were more regressively distributed with respect to race/ethnicity than poverty, with pesticide use and toxic chemical releases being the most unequal. Conclusions. Environmental health hazards disproportionately burden communities of color in California. Efforts to reduce disparities in pollution burden can use simple screening tools to prioritize areas for action. PMID:26378826

Evaluation of a Home-Based Environmental and Educational Intervention to Improve Health in Vulnerable Households: Southeastern Pennsylvania Lead and Healthy Homes Program

PubMed Central

Mankikar, Deepa; Campbell, Carla; Greenberg, Rachael

2016-01-01

This evaluation examined whether participation in a home-based environmental educational intervention would reduce exposure to health and safety hazards and asthma-related medical visits. The home intervention program focused on vulnerable, low-income households, where children had asthma, were at risk for lead poisoning, or faced multiple unsafe housing conditions. Home visitors conducted two home visits, two months apart, consisting of an environmental home assessment, Healthy Homes education, and distribution of Healthy Homes supplies. Measured outcomes included changes in participant knowledge and awareness of environmental home-based hazards, rate of children’s asthma-related medical use, and the presence of asthma triggers and safety hazards. Analysis of 2013–2014 baseline and post-intervention program data for a cohort of 150 families revealed a significantly lower three-month rate (p < 0.05) of children’s asthma-related doctor visits and hospital admissions at program completion. In addition, there were significantly reduced reports of the presence of home-based hazards, including basement or roof leaks (p = 0.011), plumbing leaks (p = 0.019), and use of an oven to heat the home (p < 0.001). Participants’ pre- and post- test scores showed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in knowledge and awareness of home hazards. Comprehensive home interventions may effectively reduce environmental home hazards and improve the health of asthmatic children in the short term. PMID:27618087

Evaluation of a Home-Based Environmental and Educational Intervention to Improve Health in Vulnerable Households: Southeastern Pennsylvania Lead and Healthy Homes Program.

PubMed

Mankikar, Deepa; Campbell, Carla; Greenberg, Rachael

2016-09-09

This evaluation examined whether participation in a home-based environmental educational intervention would reduce exposure to health and safety hazards and asthma-related medical visits. The home intervention program focused on vulnerable, low-income households, where children had asthma, were at risk for lead poisoning, or faced multiple unsafe housing conditions. Home visitors conducted two home visits, two months apart, consisting of an environmental home assessment, Healthy Homes education, and distribution of Healthy Homes supplies. Measured outcomes included changes in participant knowledge and awareness of environmental home-based hazards, rate of children's asthma-related medical use, and the presence of asthma triggers and safety hazards. Analysis of 2013-2014 baseline and post-intervention program data for a cohort of 150 families revealed a significantly lower three-month rate (p < 0.05) of children's asthma-related doctor visits and hospital admissions at program completion. In addition, there were significantly reduced reports of the presence of home-based hazards, including basement or roof leaks (p = 0.011), plumbing leaks (p = 0.019), and use of an oven to heat the home (p < 0.001). Participants' pre- and post- test scores showed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in knowledge and awareness of home hazards. Comprehensive home interventions may effectively reduce environmental home hazards and improve the health of asthmatic children in the short term.

Environmental Health Risk Assesement in Flood-prone Area in Tamangapa Sub-District Makassar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haris, Ibrahim Abdul; Basir, Basir

2018-05-01

Environmental health in Indonesia is still caution to concern, poor sanitation in Indonesia is characterized by the high incidence of infectious diseases in society. The society in flood-prone area has a high-risk exposure on the disease based on the environment because they live in disaster-prone area. This research aimed to describe the condition of sanitary facilities and risky behavior on public health in flood-prone areas in Manggala district particularly in Tamangapa sub-district of Makassar. This reserach uses an observation method with a descriptive approach. The data is processed by using SPSS and Arc View GIS applications. Environmental risk category is determined by the approach of Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA). The results showed that the flood-prone area in RT 04 RW 06 was included in very high-risk category at 229 with an index value of environmental health risks 212-229. Meanwhile, RT 04 RW 05 was in the category of low risk in the amount of 155 with an index of 155-173. Environmental health hazards identified in Tamangapa flood-prone areas sub-district includes domestic sources of clean water, domestic wastewater, and household garbage.

[Earthquakes--a historical review, environmental and health effects, and health care measures].

PubMed

Nola, Iskra Alexandra; Doko Jelinić, Jagoda; Žuškin, Eugenija; Kratohvil, Mladen

2013-06-01

Earthquakes are natural disasters that can occur at any time, regardless of the location. Their frequency is higher in the Circum-Pacific and Mediterranean/Trans-Asian seismic belt. A number of sophisticated methods define their magnitude using the Richter scale and intensity using the Mercani-Cancani-Sieberg scale. Recorded data show a number of devastating earthquakes that have killed many people and changed the environment dramatically. Croatia is located in a seismically active area, which has endured a series of historical earthquakes, among which several occurred in the Zagreb area. The consequences of an earthquake depend mostly on the population density and seismic resistance of buildings in the affected area. Environmental consequences often include air, water, and soil pollution. The effects of this kind of pollution can have long-term health effects. The most dramatic health consequences result from the demolition of buildings. Therefore, quick and efficient aid depends on well-organized health professionals as well as on the readiness of the civil defence, fire department, and Mountain Rescue Service members. Good coordination among these services can save many lives Public health interventions must include effective control measures in the environment as secondary prevention methods for health problems caused by unfavourable environmental factors. The identification and control of long-term hazards can reduce chronic health effects. The reduction of earthquake-induced damages includes setting priorities in building seismically safe buildings.

Strategies for assessing the implications of malformed frogs for environmental health.

PubMed Central

Burkhart, J G; Ankley, G; Bell, H; Carpenter, H; Fort, D; Gardiner, D; Gardner, H; Hale, R; Helgen, J C; Jepson, P; Johnson, D; Lannoo, M; Lee, D; Lary, J; Levey, R; Magner, J; Meteyer, C; Shelby, M D; Lucier, G

2000-01-01

The recent increase in the incidence of deformities among natural frog populations has raised concern about the state of the environment and the possible impact of unidentified causative agents on the health of wildlife and human populations. An open workshop on Strategies for Assessing the Implications of Malformed Frogs for Environmental Health was convened on 4-5 December 1997 at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The purpose of the workshop was to share information among a multidisciplinary group with scientific interest and responsibility for human and environmental health at the federal and state level. Discussions highlighted possible causes and recent findings directly related to frog deformities and provided insight into problems and strategies applicable to continuing investigation in several areas. Possible causes of the deformities were evaluated in terms of diagnostics performed on field amphibians, biologic mechanisms that can lead to the types of malformations observed, and parallel laboratory and field studies. Hydrogeochemistry must be more integrated into environmental toxicology because of the pivotal role of the aquatic environment and the importance of fates and transport relative to any potential exposure. There is no indication of whether there may be a human health factor associated with the deformities. However, the possibility that causal agents may be waterborne indicates a need to identify the relevant factors and establish the relationship between environmental and human health in terms of hazard assessment. PMID:10620528

NATIONAL QA STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

EPA Science Inventory

The clean-up of Federally-owned facilities contaminated by mixtures of hazardous chemical and radioactive wastes involves critical decisions based on environmental data. ederal agencies are currently using several different standards or sets of requirements, including U.S. Enviro...

Linking Asthma Exacerbation and Air Pollution Data: A Step Toward Public Health and Environmental Data Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faruque, Fazlay; Finley, Richard; Marshall, Gailen; Brackin, Bruce; Li, Hui; Williams, Worth; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Luvall, Jeffrey; Rickman, Doug; Crosson, Bill

2006-01-01

Studies have shown that reducing exposure to triggers such as air pollutants can reduce symptoms and the need for medication in asthma patients. However, systems that track asthma are generally not integrated with those that track environmental hazards related to asthma. Tlvs lack of integration hinders public health awareness and responsiveness to these environmental triggers. The current study is a collaboration between health and environmental professionals to utilize NASA-derived environmental data to develop a decision support system (DSS) for asthma prediction, surveillance, and intervention. The investigators link asthma morbidity data from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and Mississippi Department of Health (MDH) with air quality data from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and remote sensing data from NASA. Daily ambient environmental hazard data for PM2.5 and ozone are obtained from the MDEQ air quality monitoring locations and are combined with remotely sensed data from NASA to develop a state-wide spatial and time series profile of environmental air quality. These data are then used to study the correlation of these measures of air quality variation with the asthma exacerbation incidence throughout the state over time. The goal is to utilize these readily available measures to allow real-time risk assessment for asthma exacerbations. GeoMedStat, a DSS previously developed for biosurveillance, will integrate these measures to monitor, analyze and report the real-time risk assessment for asthma exacerbation throughout the state.

Earthquake Hazard and the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI) Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serva, Leonello; Vittori, Eutizio; Comerci, Valerio; Esposito, Eliana; Guerrieri, Luca; Michetti, Alessandro Maria; Mohammadioun, Bagher; Mohammadioun, Georgianna C.; Porfido, Sabina; Tatevossian, Ruben E.

2016-05-01

The main objective of this paper was to introduce the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale (ESI), a new scale developed and tested by an interdisciplinary group of scientists (geologists, geophysicists and seismologists) in the frame of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) activities, to the widest community of earth scientists and engineers dealing with seismic hazard assessment. This scale defines earthquake intensity by taking into consideration the occurrence, size and areal distribution of earthquake environmental effects (EEE), including surface faulting, tectonic uplift and subsidence, landslides, rock falls, liquefaction, ground collapse and tsunami waves. Indeed, EEEs can significantly improve the evaluation of seismic intensity, which still remains a critical parameter for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, allowing to compare historical and modern earthquakes. Moreover, as shown by recent moderate to large earthquakes, geological effects often cause severe damage"; therefore, their consideration in the earthquake risk scenario is crucial for all stakeholders, especially urban planners, geotechnical and structural engineers, hazard analysts, civil protection agencies and insurance companies. The paper describes background and construction principles of the scale and presents some case studies in different continents and tectonic settings to illustrate its relevant benefits. ESI is normally used together with traditional intensity scales, which, unfortunately, tend to saturate in the highest degrees. In this case and in unpopulated areas, ESI offers a unique way for assessing a reliable earthquake intensity. Finally, yet importantly, the ESI scale also provides a very convenient guideline for the survey of EEEs in earthquake-stricken areas, ensuring they are catalogued in a complete and homogeneous manner.

Children's Environmental Health: Beyond National Boundaries.

PubMed

Miller, Mark D; Marty, Melanie A; Landrigan, Philip J

2016-02-01

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental pollution, a major cause of disease, death, and disability in countries at every level of development. This article reviews threats to children, including air and water pollution, toxic industrial chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and hazardous wastes. Global climate change is expected to exacerbate many of these issues. Examples of innovative nongovernmental organizations and governmental programs that address the impacts of environmental hazards on children are included. International travel, adoption, migration, and movement of goods and pollutants worldwide make these conditions concerns for all pediatricians. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Environmental quality: wellfare, confort and health].

PubMed

Vargas Marcos, Francisco; Gallego Pulgarín, Isabel

2005-01-01

Different ways of interpreting environmental conditions have led to the development of concepts such as the sick building, indoor air quality or indoor environment quality, for understanding the complexity of the pollutants in enclosed environments and the implications thereof on the health. The "Indoor Environment Quality" proposal is an advancement, operative and conceptual, surpassing amply prior ones, given that it orients the actions toward healthy environments without limiting the idea of pollution to the air alone. The aim is identifying the competence to preventing hazards related to exposure to pollutants within the confines of indoor environments and know the legislative framework useful for taking the actions. Optimum conditions within indoor environments must redound in health, well-being and comfort with regard to both working life as well as the environments in which everyday activities outside of work, extracurricular, leisure-time and entertainment activities are carried out. Today's society is demanding safe, clean, well-climatized places, for this is necessary to integrate the inhabitant's perceptions and demands and achieve an optimum balance among social standards, energy use and sustainable development. Legislation is being further expanded upon in the direction of occupational health and safety and the regulation of chemical substances. Environmental Health carries out prevention and control tasks, takes part in the enforcement of international pollution and waste reduction agreements and promotes measures for carrying out the European Environment and Health Strategy. It is considered useful the elaboration of protocols for the evaluation and administration gives the risks associated to the interior pollutants.

A Framework for Assessing Health Risk of Environmental ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA released the final report entitled, A Framework for Assessing Health Risk of Environmental Exposures to Children, which examines the impact of potential exposures during developmental lifestages and subsequent lifestages, while emphasizing the iterative nature of the analysis phase with a multidisciplinary team. Major findings and conclusions: This report outlines the framework in which mode of action(s) (MOA) can be considered across life stages. The framework is based upon existing approaches adopted in the Framework on Cumulative Risk Assessment and identifies existing guidance, guidelines and policy papers that relate to children's health risk assessment. It emphasizes the importance of an iterative approach between hazard, dose response, and exposure analyses. In addition, it includes discussion of principles for weight of evidence consideration across life stages for the hazard characterization database.Key science/assessment issues:This framework addresses the questions of why and how an improved children's health risk assessment will strengthen the overall risk assessment process across the Agency. This approach improves the scientific explanation of children's risk and will add value by: 1) providing for a more complete evaluation of the potential for vulnerability at different life stages, including a focus on the underlying biological events and critical developmental periods for incorporating MOA considerations; 2) evaluating of the potential fo

What You Should Know about Asbestos Health Hazards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

PTA Today, 1986

1986-01-01

The presence of asbestos health hazards in the schools is particulary serious since children exposed to asbestos are more likely to develop cancer than adults similarly exposed. Health risks of asbestos, scope of the problem, and asbestos testing are discussed. (DF)

USGS Environmental health science strategy: providing environmental health science for a changing world: public review release

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bright, Patricia R.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Barber, Larry B.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Cross, Paul C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Winton, James R.

2012-01-01

disasters. * Strategic Science Action 2. - Enhance methods to anticipate, prepare for, and identify environmental, ecological, and related health impacts of future disasters. This strategy is one of seven USGS science strategies developed concurrently: * Climate and Land Use Change * Core Science Systems * Ecosystems * Energy and Mineral Resources * Environmental Health * Natural Hazards * Water. This strategy describes how USGS will address the highest priority environmental health issues facing the Nation. The ultimate intended outcome of this science strategy is prevention and reduction of adverse impacts to the quality of the environment, the health of our living resources, and human health. Communication with, and receiving input from, partners and stakeholders regarding their science needs is essential for successful implementation of this strategy. It is incumbent on USGS to reach out to all stakeholders to ensure that USGS efforts are focused on the highest priority environmental health issues and that products are provided in the most timely and usable form to all those who can use them. USGS must reach out to the scientific community, internally and externally, to ensure that our efforts are integrated with and take full advantage of the activities of others.

Environmental Assessment for Airborne Laser Debris Management Vandenberg AFB, California

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

use, aesthetics, hazardous materials management, soils and geology, noise, cultural resources, and environmental justice. The resources analyzed in...more detail include: health and safety, hazardous waste management, water resources, air quality, and biological resources. Environmental Effects Under...either intact or destroyed target missiles could result in several potential hazards . Health and Safety. Based on the debris migration modeling and

No Safe Place: Environmental Hazards & Injustice along Mexico's Northern Border

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grineski, Sara E.; Collins, Timothy W.; Aguilar, Maria de Lourdes Romo; Aldouri, Raed

2010-01-01

This article examines spatial relationships between environmental hazards (i.e., pork feed lots, brick kilns, final assembly plants and a rail line) and markers of social marginality in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Juarez represents an opportunity for researchers to test for patterns of injustice in a recently urbanizing metropolis of the Global South.…

Environmental health in China: challenges to achieving clean air and safe water

PubMed Central

Zhang, Junfeng (Jim); Mauzerall, Denise L.; Zhu, Tong; Liang, Song; Ezzati, Majid; Remais, Justin

2014-01-01

The health effects of environmental risks, especially those of air and water pollution, remain a major source of morbidity and mortality in China. Biomass fuel and coal are routinely burned for cooking and heating in almost all rural and many urban households resulting in severe indoor air pollution that contributes greatly to the burden of disease. Many communities lack access to safe drinking water and santiation, and thus the risk of waterborne disease in many regions remains high. At the same time, China is rapidly industrializing with associated increases in energy use and industrial waste. While economic growth resulting from industrialization has improved health and quality of life indicators in China, it has also increased the incidence of environmental disasters and the release of chemical toxins into the environment, with severe impacts on health. Air quality in China's cities is among the worst in the world and industrial water pollution has become a widespread health hazard. Moreover, emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases from energy use are rapidly increasing. Global climate change will inevitably intensify China's environmental health problems, with potentially catastrophic outcomes from major shifts in temperature and precipitation. Facing the overlap of traditional, modern, and emerging environmental problems, China has committed substantial resources to environmental improvement. China has the opportunity to both address its national environmental health challenges and to assume a central role in the international effort to improve the global environment. PMID:20346817

Health hazard evaluation/toxicity determination report 74-16-272, Marathon Battery Company, Waco, Texas. [Hazards to personnel from nickel and cadmium exposure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thoburn, T.W.; Larsen, L.R.

1976-03-01

A health hazard evaluation investigation was conducted by NIOSH at the Marathon Battery Company in Waco, Texas, acting on a request from an authorized employee representative regarding exposure to dust and fumes in maintenance and production areas in the nickel-cadmium battery assembly factory. The prevailing symptoms among the approximately 60 affected predominantly female employees, was nausea. Environmental evaluation revealed that a potential hazard exists to employees from exposure to nickel and cadmium dusts. Workers in 4 departments showed levels of cadmium and nickel in hair and urine above those found in the control group; workers in 2 of the 4more » departments also showed excessive symptomatology and physical findings indicating upper respiratory irritation. Air samples also showed some excessive levels of cadmium and nickel particularly in these same 2 departments. However, medical evaluation of employees failed to demonstrate any apparent serious occupationally induced illness.« less

An Approach to Developing Local Climate Change Environmental Public Health Indicators in a Rural District.

PubMed

Houghton, Adele; Austin, Jessica; Beerman, Abby; Horton, Clayton

2017-01-01

Climate change represents a significant and growing threat to population health. Rural areas face unique challenges, such as high rates of vulnerable populations; economic uncertainty due to their reliance on industries that are vulnerable to climate change; less resilient infrastructure; and lower levels of access to community and emergency services than urban areas. This article fills a gap in public health practice by developing climate and health environmental public health indicators for a local public health department in a rural area. We adapted the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network's framework for climate and health indicators to a seven-county health department in Western Kentucky. Using a three-step review process, we identified primary climate-related environmental public health hazards for the region (extreme heat, drought, and flooding) and a suite of related exposure, health outcome, population vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability indicators. Indicators that performed more poorly at the county level than at the state and national level were defined as "high vulnerability." Six to eight high vulnerability indicators were identified for each county. The local health department plans to use the results to enhance three key areas of existing services: epidemiology, public health preparedness, and community health assessment.

The formal electronic recycling industry: Challenges and opportunities in occupational and environmental health research.

PubMed

Ceballos, Diana Maria; Dong, Zhao

2016-10-01

E-waste includes electrical and electronic equipment discarded as waste without intent of reuse. Informal e-waste recycling, typically done in smaller, unorganized businesses, can expose workers and communities to serious chemical health hazards. It is unclear if formalization into larger, better-controlled electronics recycling (e-recycling) facilities solves environmental and occupational health problems. To systematically review the literature on occupational and environmental health hazards of formal e-recycling facilities and discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen research in this area. We identified 37 publications from 4 electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Environmental Index, NIOSHTIC-2) specific to chemical exposures in formal e-recycling facilities. Environmental and occupational exposures depend on the degree of formalization of the facilities but further reduction is needed. Reported worker exposures to metals were often higher than recommended occupational guidelines. Levels of brominated flame-retardants in worker's inhaled air and biological samples were higher than those from reference groups. Air, dust, and soil concentrations of metals, brominated flame-retardants, dioxins, furans, polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons, or polychlorinated biphenyls found inside or near the facilities were generally higher than reference locations, suggesting transport into the environment. Children of a recycler had blood lead levels higher than public health recommended guidelines. With mounting e-waste, more workers, their family members, and communities could experience unhealthful exposures to metals and other chemicals. We identified research needs to further assess exposures, health, and improve controls. The long-term solution is manufacturing of electronics without harmful substances and easy-to-disassemble components. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program: a model for multidisciplinary training of the next generation of environmental health scientists.

PubMed

Carlin, Danielle J; Henry, Heather; Heacock, Michelle; Trottier, Brittany; Drew, Christina H; Suk, William A

2018-03-28

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) funds university-based, multidisciplinary research on human health and environmental science and engineering with the central goals to understand how hazardous substances contribute to disease and how to prevent exposures to these environmental chemicals. This multi-disciplinary approach allows early career scientists (e.g. graduate students and postdoctoral researchers) to gain experience in problem-based, solution-oriented research and to conduct research in a highly collaborative environment. Training the next generation of environmental health scientists has been an important part of the SRP since its inception. In addition to basic research, the SRP has grown to include support of broader training experiences such as those in research translation and community engagement activities that provide opportunities to give new scientists many of the skills they will need to be successful in their field of research. Looking to the future, the SRP will continue to evolve its training component by tracking and analyzing outcomes from its trainees by using tools such as the NIEHS CareerTrac database system, by increasing opportunities for trainees interested in research that goes beyond US boundaries, and in the areas of bioinformatics and data integration. These opportunities will give them the skills needed to be competitive and successful no matter which employment sector they choose to enter after they have completed their training experience.

21 CFR 7.41 - Health hazard evaluation and recall classification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... exposed to the product being considered, with particular attention paid to the hazard to those individuals....e., Class I, Class II, or Class III, to indicate the relative degree of health hazard of the product...

Experimental investigation to evaluate the potential environmental hazards of photovoltaic panels.

PubMed

Tammaro, Marco; Salluzzo, Antonio; Rimauro, Juri; Schiavo, Simona; Manzo, Sonia

2016-04-05

Recently the potential environmental hazard of photovoltaic modules together with their management as waste has attracted the attention of scientists. Particular concern is aroused by the several metals contained in photovoltaic panels whose potential release in the environment were scarcely investigated. Here, for the first time, the potential environmental hazard of panels produced in the last 30 years was investigated through the assessment of up to 18 releasable metals. Besides, the corresponding ecotoxicological effects were also evaluated. Experimental data were compared with the current European and Italian law limits for drinking water, discharge on soil and landfill inert disposal in order to understand the actual pollution load. Results showed that less than 3% of the samples respected all law limits and around 21% was not ecotoxic. By considering the technological evolutions in manufacturing, we have shown that during the years crystalline silicon panels have lower tendency to release hazardous metals with respect to thin film panels. In addition, a prediction of the amounts of lead, chromium, cadmium and nickel releasable from next photovoltaic waste was performed. The prevision up to 2050 showed high amounts of lead (30t) and cadmium (2.9t) releasable from crystalline and thin film panels respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Management of clandestine drug laboratories: need for evidence-based environmental health policies.

PubMed

Al-Obaidi, Tamara A; Fletcher, Stephanie M

2014-01-01

Clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) have been emerging and increasing as a public health problem in Australia, with methamphetamine being the dominant illegally manufactured drug. However, management and remediation of contaminated properties are still limited in terms of regulation and direction, especially in relation to public and environmental health practice. Therefore, this review provides an update on the hazards and health effects associated with CDLs, with a specific look at the management of these labs from an Australian perspective. Particularly, the paper attempts to describe the policy landscape for management of CDLs, and identifies current gaps and how further research may be utilised to advance understanding and management of CDLs and inform public health policies. The paper highlights a significant lack of evidence-based policies and guidelines to guide regulatory authority including environmental health officers in Australia. Only recently, the national Clandestine Drug Laboratory Guidelines were developed to assist relevant authority and specialists manage and carry out investigations and remediation of contaminated sites. However, only three states have developed state-based guidelines, some of which are inadequate to meet environmental health requirements. The review recommends well-needed inter-sectoral collaborations and further research to provide an evidence base for the development of robust policies and standard operating procedures for safe and effective environmental health management and remediation of CDLs.

Competing Forces of Socioeconomic Development and Environmental Degradation on Health and Happiness for Different Income Groups in China.

PubMed

Gu, Lijuan; Rosenberg, Mark W; Zeng, Juxin

2017-10-01

China's rapid socioeconomic growth in recent years and the simultaneous increase in many forms of pollution are generating contradictory pictures of residents' well-being. This paper applies multilevel analysis to the 2013 China General Social Survey data on social development and health to understand this twofold phenomenon. Multilevel models are developed to investigate the impact of socioeconomic development and environmental degradation on self-reported health (SRH) and self-reported happiness (SRHP), differentiating among lower, middle, and higher income groups. The results of the logit multilevel analysis demonstrate that income, jobs, and education increased the likelihood of rating SRH and SRHP positively for the lower and middle groups but had little or no effect on the higher income group. Having basic health insurance had an insignificant effect on health but increased the likelihood of happiness among the lower income group. Provincial-level pollutants were associated with a higher likelihood of good health for all income groups, and community-level industrial pollutants increased the likelihood of good health for the lower and middle income groups. Measures of community-level pollution were robust predictors of the likelihood of unhappiness among the lower and middle income groups. Environmental hazards had a mediating effect on the relationship between socioeconomic development and health, and socioeconomic development strengthened the association between environmental hazards and happiness. These outcomes indicate that the complex interconnections among socioeconomic development and environmental degradation have differential effects on well-being among different income groups in China.

[Chemical hazards arising from shale gas extraction].

PubMed

Pakulska, Daria

2015-01-01

The development of the shale industry is gaining momentum and hence the analysis of chemical hazards to the environment and health of the local population is extreiely timely and important. Chemical hazards are created during the exploitation of all minerals, but in the case of shale gas production, there is much more uncertainty as regards to the effects of new technologies application. American experience suggests the increasing risk of environmental contamination, mainly groundwater. The greatest, concern is the incomplete knowledge of the composition of fluids used for fracturing shale rock and unpredictability of long-term effects of hydraulic fracturing for the environment and health of residents. High population density in the old continent causes the problem of chemical hazards which is much larger than in the USA. Despite the growing public discontent data on this subject are limited. First of all, there is no epidemiological studies to assess the relationship between risk factors, such as air and water pollution, and health effects in populations living in close proximity to gas wells. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss existing concepts on the sources of environmental contamination, an indication of the environment elements under pressure and potential health risks arising from shale gas extraction.

Role of local government in responding to environmental health challenges: a case study of Chungnam.

PubMed

Myung, Hyung-Nam; Lee, Hoo-Young

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to introduce the establishment process, policy target, and projects for "Chungnam's master plan on environmental health policy (2017-2020)" as the local government's role in addressing local environmental health challenges. We first analyzed existing studies and social issues on the media related to "Chungnam's master plan" to understand Chungnam's environmental health status and discussed domestic and international policy trends and related plans. An environmental health perception questionnaire survey and a Delphi expert questionnaire survey were conducted among provincial residents to collect various actors' opinions on Chungnam's environmental health issues and policy. An expert advisory panel was launched, and a residents' voice workshop and cities-and-guns-policy-suggestion workshop were held. The vision of Chungnam's environmental health policy is minimizing environmental hazards. We finally selected "Pleasant environment, healthy people, happy Chungnam" to represent the will to shape a pleasant environment and prevent and manage health damages for a happy Chungnam. We selected five strategies based on status analysis and a review of domestic and international policy trends and related plans and identified 2 targets (policy objectives) to accomplish the strategies. The strategies to achieve the first target, "Leader in environmental health policy: Chungnam," include 'Empowering active provincial capabilities,' 'Setting up province-specific systems for environmental health surveys and research,' and 'Preventing and managing newly emerging pollutants.' The strategies for the second target, "Everyone is healthy: Chungnam," include 'Relieving health inequalities among vulnerable regions and residents' and 'Enlarging the resident-friendly environmental health policy.' We developed 29 projects in total, according to these strategies. The establishment of "Chungnam's master plan" is highly valuable; we developed it through discussion

Where You Live Matters: Localising Environmental Impacts on Health, Nutrition and Poverty in Cambodia Using Small Area Estimation Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsen, K.; van Soesbergen, A.; Matthews, Z.

2016-12-01

Socioeconomic development depends on local environments. However, the scientific evidence quantifying the impact of environmental factors on health, nutrition and poverty at subnational levels is limited. This is because socioeconomic indicators are derived from sample surveys representative only at aggregate levels compared to environmental variables mostly available in high-resolution grids. Cambodia was selected because of its commitment to development in the context of a rapidly deteriorating environment. Having made considerable progress since 2005, access to health services is limited, a quarter of the population is still poor and 40% rural children are malnourished. Cambodia is also facing considerable environmental challenges including high deforestation rates, land degradation and natural hazards. Addressing existing gaps in the knowledge of environmental impacts on health and livelihoods, this study applies small area estimation (SAE) to quantify health, nutritional and poverty outcomes in the context of local environments. SAE produces reliable subnational estimates of socioeconomic outcomes available only from sample surveys by combining them with information from auxiliary sources (census). A model is used to explain common trades across areas and a random effect structure is applied to explain the observed extra heterogeneity. SAE models predicting health, nutrition and poverty outcomes excluding and including contextual environmental variables on natural hazards vulnerability, forest cover, climate, and agricultural production are compared. Results are mapped at regional and district levels to spatially assess the impacts of environmental variation on the outcomes. Inter and intra-regional inequalities are also estimated to examine the efficacy of health/socioeconomic policy targeting based on geographic location. Preliminary results suggest that localised environmental factors have considerable impacts on the indicators estimated and should

29 CFR 1926.65 - Hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Section 1926.65 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls § 1926.65 Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. (a) Scope...

Fine-Scale Environmental Indicators of Public Health and Well ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Urban ecosystem services contribute to public health and well-being by buffering natural and man-made hazards, and by promoting healthful lifestyles that include physical activity, social interaction, and engagement with nature. As part of the EnviroAtlas online mapping tool, EPA and its research partners have identified urban environmental features that have been linked in the scientific literature to specific aspects of public health and well-being. Examples of these features include tree cover along walkable roads, overall neighborhood green space, green window views, and proximity to parks. Associated aspects of health and well-being include physical fitness, social capital, school performance, and longevity. In many previous studies, stronger associations were observed in disproportionately vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those of lower socioeconomic status.EnviroAtlas researchers have estimated and mapped a suite of urban environmental features by synthesizing newly-generated one-meter resolution landcover data, downscaled census population data, and existing datasets such as roads and waterways. Resulting geospatial metrics represent health-related indicators of urban ecosystem services supply and demand at the census block-group and finer. They have been developed using consistent methods to facilitate comparisons between neighborhoods and across multiple U.S. communities. Demographic overlays, also available in EnviroAtl

Using hazard maps to identify and eliminate workplace hazards: a union-led health and safety training program.

PubMed

Anderson, Joe; Collins, Michele; Devlin, John; Renner, Paul

2012-01-01

The Institute for Sustainable Work and Environment and the Utility Workers Union of America worked with a professional evaluator to design, implement, and evaluate the results of a union-led system of safety-based hazard identification program that trained workers to use hazard maps to identify workplace hazards and target them for elimination. The evaluation documented program implementation and impact using data collected from both qualitative interviews and an on-line survey from worker trainers, plant managers, and health and safety staff. Managers and workers reported that not only were many dangerous hazards eliminated as a result of hazard mapping, some of which were long-standing, difficult-to-resolve issues, but the evaluation also documented improved communication between union members and management that both workers and managers agreed resulted in better, more sustainable hazard elimination.

An evaluation of a risk-based environmental regulation in Brazil: Limitations to risk management of hazardous installations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naime, Andre, E-mail: andre.naime.ibama@gmail.com

The environmental regulation of hazardous projects with risk-based decision-making processes can lead to a deficient management of human exposure to technological hazards. Such an approach for regulation is criticized for simplifying the complexity of decisions involving the economic, social, and environmental aspects of the installation and operation of hazardous facilities in urban areas. Results of a Brazilian case study indicate that oil and gas transmission pipelines may represent a threat to diverse communities if the relationship between such linear projects and human populations is overlooked by regulatory bodies. Results also corroborate known challenges to the implementation of EIA processes andmore » outline limitations to an effective environmental and risk management. Two preliminary topics are discussed to strengthen similar regulatory practices. Firstly, an effective integration between social impact assessment and risk assessment in EIA processes to have a more comprehensive understanding of the social fabric. Secondly, the advancement of traditional management practices for hazardous installations to pursue a strong transition from assessment and evaluation to management and control and to promote an effective interaction between land-use planning and environmental regulation.« less

An Approach to Developing Local Climate Change Environmental Public Health Indicators in a Rural District

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Climate change represents a significant and growing threat to population health. Rural areas face unique challenges, such as high rates of vulnerable populations; economic uncertainty due to their reliance on industries that are vulnerable to climate change; less resilient infrastructure; and lower levels of access to community and emergency services than urban areas. This article fills a gap in public health practice by developing climate and health environmental public health indicators for a local public health department in a rural area. We adapted the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network's framework for climate and health indicators to a seven-county health department in Western Kentucky. Using a three-step review process, we identified primary climate-related environmental public health hazards for the region (extreme heat, drought, and flooding) and a suite of related exposure, health outcome, population vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability indicators. Indicators that performed more poorly at the county level than at the state and national level were defined as “high vulnerability.” Six to eight high vulnerability indicators were identified for each county. The local health department plans to use the results to enhance three key areas of existing services: epidemiology, public health preparedness, and community health assessment. PMID:28352286

Warning Triggers in Environmental Hazards: Who Should Be Warned to Do What and When?

PubMed

Cova, Thomas J; Dennison, Philip E; Li, Dapeng; Drews, Frank A; Siebeneck, Laura K; Lindell, Michael K

2017-04-01

Determining the most effective public warnings to issue during a hazardous environmental event is a complex problem. Three primary questions need to be answered: Who should take protective action? What is the best action? and When should this action be initiated? Warning triggers provide a proactive means for emergency managers to simultaneously answer these questions by recommending that a target group take a specified protective action if a preset environmental trigger condition occurs (e.g., warn a community to evacuate if a wildfire crosses a proximal ridgeline). Triggers are used to warn the public across a wide variety of environmental hazards, and an improved understanding of their nature and role promises to: (1) advance protective action theory by unifying the natural, built, and social themes in hazards research into one framework, (2) reveal important information about emergency managers' risk perception, situational awareness, and threat assessment regarding threat behavior and public response, and (3) advance spatiotemporal models for representing the geography and timing of disaster warning and response (i.e., a coupled natural-built-social system). We provide an overview and research agenda designed to advance our understanding and modeling of warning triggers. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

40 CFR 264.93 - Hazardous constituents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 264.93 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES Releases... the ground-water quality; (vii) The potential for health risks caused by human exposure to waste...

40 CFR 264.93 - Hazardous constituents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 264.93 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES Releases... the ground-water quality; (vii) The potential for health risks caused by human exposure to waste...

Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA-81-083-933, Salem Area Family Counseling Service, Salem, Oregon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Apol, A.G.

In November 1980, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request for a Health Hazard Evaluation from the Salem Area Family Counseling Service to determine the cause of the adverse health responses (headache, dizziness, irritation of the eyes and throat, dry and sore throat, fatigue, and lethargy) experienced by six of the seven employees in the office. NIOSH conducted an environmental survey on December 29-30, 1980. Due to the persistence of symptoms after the carpets and drapes were steamed cleaned, and the ventilation system cleaned, the firm relocated in another office building. Two months after relocation,more » the symptoms appeared to have disappeared.« less

Health Effects of Environmental Exposures, Occupational Hazards and Climate Change in Ethiopia: Synthesis of Situational Analysis, Needs Assessment and the Way Forward.

PubMed

Berhane, Kiros; Kumie, Abera; Samet, Jonathan

2016-01-01

The burden of diseases caused by environmental and occupational health hazards and the effects of global climate change are of growing concerns in Ethiopia. However, no adequate information seems to be available on the current situation. This means there is a critical gap in research, policy framework and implementation in the country. The purpose of this paper was to synthesize evidence from a systematic situational analysis and needs assessment to help establish a hub for research and training on three major themes and their related policy frameworks: air pollution and health, occupational health and safety and climate change and health. The methods used in this work include a systematic review of secondary data from peer-reviewed literature, thesis reports from academia, government and national statistical reports. Limited primary data based on key informant interviews held with major stakeholders were also used as sources of data. Exposures to high levels of indoor and outdoor air pollutants were found to be major sources of public health challenges. Lack of occupational safety and health due to agricultural activities and exposure to industries was found to be substantial. Worse is the growing fear that climate change will pose increasingly significant multidimensional challenges to the environment and public health. Across all three areas of focus, there was a paucity of information on local scientific evidence. There is also very limited trained skilled manpower and physical infrastructure to monitor the environment and enforce regulatory guidelines. Research, policy frameworks and regulatory mechanisms were among the cross-cutting issues that needed urgent attention. Critical gaps were observed in research and training across the three themes. Also, there is a limitation in implementing the link between policy and related regulations in the environment and health.

Seasonal hazards and health risks in lower-income countries: field testing a multi-disciplinary approach.

PubMed

Few, Roger; Lake, Iain; Hunter, Paul R; Tran, Pham Gia; Thien, Vu Trong

2009-12-21

Understanding how risks to human health change as a result of seasonal variations in environmental conditions is likely to become of increasing importance in the context of climatic change, especially in lower-income countries. A multi-disciplinary approach can be a useful tool for improving understanding, particularly in situations where existing data resources are limited but the environmental health implications of seasonal hazards may be high. This short article describes a multi-disciplinary approach combining analysis of changes in levels of environmental contamination, seasonal variations in disease incidence and a social scientific analysis of health behaviour. The methodology was field-tested in a peri-urban environment in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, where poor households face alternate seasonal extremes in the local environment as the water level in the Delta changes from flood to dry season. Low-income households in the research sites rely on river water for domestic uses, including provision of drinking water, and it is commonly perceived that the seasonal changes alter risk from diarrhoeal diseases and other diseases associated with contamination of water. The discussion focuses on the implementation of the methodology in the field, and draws lessons from the research process that can help in refining and developing the approach for application in other locations where seasonal dynamics of disease risk may have important consequences for public health.

Hazardous Health Behaviour among Medical Students: a Study from Turkey.

PubMed

Nacar, Melis; Cetinkaya, Fevziye; Baykan, Zeynep; Yilmazel, Gulay; Elmali, Ferhan

2015-01-01

Hazardous health behaviour in young people is an important factor that affects the individual risk for non-communicable diseases and other disorders later in life. This study aimed to determine the hazardous health behaviour of first and last class medical students of Erciyes University. This descriptive study was carried out with 240 medical students from the first and 130 students from the last (sixth) class. Data were obtained by questionnaire between March-April 2012. In total, 339 students were included with a response rate of 91.6%. Socio-demographic characteristics, school success, self-reported economic difficulties, health perceptions, hazardous health behaviour related to chronic disease, tobacco, alcohol, substance use, body weight, height, traffic, violence and nutrition were assessed in line with the literature. Of the participants; 64.0% were from first and 36.0% were from the last class. Mean ages for the first and last classes were 19.4 ± 1.5 and 24.0 ± 1.5 years, respectively. In the current study, males exhibited more hazardous behaviour than females. Sime 19.8% of the students in the study group used alcohol, 35.4% used a waterpipe, and 24.8% used tobacco at least once. These rates increased in both genders in the last class and the increase in males was significant. Some 3.8% of the students in the current study used pleasure-inducing illegal substances at least once. All the students participating in the current study were single, the number of males reported not using condoms (8.6%) was 4.56 times higher compared to females. Some 64.0% of the students did not perform physical activity lasting at least 30 minutes for five times a week, 13.0% did not sleep for mean 7-8 hours daily, males having a 2.9 times higher risk. More than 1/3 of the students did not consume cooked vegetable dishes and 1/4 did not consume fresh fruits and salads, the rates were higher among males. In the current study, hazardous health behaviour was prevalent among

A qualitative analysis of environmental policy and children's health in Mexico

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Since Mexico's joining the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1994, it has witnessed rapid industrialization. A byproduct of this industrialization is increasing population exposure to environmental pollutants, of which some have been associated with childhood disease. We therefore identified and assessed the adequacy of existing international and Mexican governance instruments and policy tools to protect children from environmental hazards. Methods We first systematically reviewed PubMed, the Mexican legal code and the websites of the United Nations, World Health Organization, NAFTA and OECD as of July 2007 to identify the relevant governance instruments, and analyzed the approach these instruments took to preventing childhood diseases of environmental origin. Secondly, we interviewed a purposive sample of high-level government officials, researchers and non-governmental organization representatives, to identify their opinions and attitudes towards children's environmental health and potential barriers to child-specific protective legislation and implementation. Results We identified only one policy tool describing specific measures to reduce developmental neurotoxicity and other children's health effects from lead. Other governance instruments mention children's unique vulnerability to ozone, particulate matter and carbon monoxide, but do not provide further details. Most interviewees were aware of Mexican environmental policy tools addressing children's health needs, but agreed that, with few exceptions, environmental policies do not address the specific health needs of children and pregnant women. Interviewees also cited state centralization of power, communication barriers and political resistance as reasons for the absence of a strong regulatory platform. Conclusions The Mexican government has not sufficiently accounted for children's unique vulnerability to

A paradigm of international environmental law: the case for controlling the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes.

PubMed

Asante-Duah, K; Nagy, I V

2001-06-01

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of "acceptable" waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community-and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.

Environmental pollution and health hazards from distillery wastewater and treatment approaches to combat the environmental threats: A review.

PubMed

Chowdhary, Pankaj; Raj, Abhay; Bharagava, Ram Naresh

2018-03-01

Distillery industries are the key contributor to the world's economy, but these are also one of the major sources of environmental pollution due to the discharge of a huge volume of dark colored wastewater. This dark colored wastewater contains very high biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total solids, sulfate, phosphate, phenolics and various toxic metals. Distillery wastewater also contains a mixture of organic and inorganic pollutants such as melanoidins, di-n-octyl phthalate, di-butyl phthalate, benzenepropanoic acid and 2-hydroxysocaproic acid and toxic metals, which are well reported as genotoxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and endocrine disrupting in nature. In aquatic resources, it causes serious environmental problems by reducing the penetration power of sunlight, photosynthetic activities and dissolved oxygen content. On other hand, in agricultural land, it causes inhibition of seed germination and depletion of vegetation by reducing the soil alkalinity and manganese availability, if discharged without adequate treatment. Thus, this review article provides a comprehensive knowledge on the distillery wastewater pollutants, various techniques used for their analysis as well as its toxicological effects on environments, human and animal health. In addition, various physico-chemicals, biological as well as emerging treatment methods have been also discussed for the protection of environment, human and animal health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coal hydrogenation and environmental health.

PubMed Central

Wadden, R A

1976-01-01

Planning of coal hydrogenation processes, such as liquifaction and gasification, requires consideration of public health implications. Commercial plants will require coal quantities greater than or equal to 20,000 tons/day and the large size of these plants calls for careful consideration of the potential health hazards from the wastes and products of such processes. Analysis of pollution potential can roughly be divided into three categories: raw material structure and constituents, process design, and mode of plant operation. Identifiable pollutants include hydrogen cyanide, phenols, cresols, carbonyl and hydrogen sulfides, ammonia, mercaptans, thiocyanides, aniline, arsenic, trace metals and various polycyclic hydrocarbons. One study of workers in a hydrogenation process has revealed an incidence of skin cancer 16-37 times that expected in the chemical industry. In addition, a number of high boiling point liquid products were identified as being carcinogenic, and air concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene up to 18,000 mug/1000 m3 were reported. Health statistics on occupational groups in other coal conversion industries have shown significantly higher lung cancer rates, relative to groups without such occupational exposures. These data suggest that coal hydrogenation plants must be carefully planned and controlled to avoid harm to environmentally and occupationally exposed populations. PMID:789066

A Case Study of Environmental, Health and Safety Issues Involving the Burlington, Massachusetts Public School System. "Tips, Suggestions, and Resources for Investigating and Resolving EHS Issues in Schools."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dresser, Todd H.

An investigation was initiated concerning the environmental health within the Burlington, Massachusetts public school system to determine what specific environmental hazards were present and determine ways of eliminating them. This report presents 20 case studies that detail the environmental health issues involved, the approaches taken in…

A Novel Look at Racial Health Disparities: The Interaction Between Social Disadvantage and Environmental Health

PubMed Central

Gee, Gilbert C.; Morenoff, Jeffrey; Connell, Cathleen M; Snow, Rachel C.; Hu, Howard

2012-01-01

Objectives. We explored the notion that social disadvantage increases vulnerability to the health effects of environmental hazards. Specifically, we examined (1) whether race modifies the association between blood lead and blood pressure and (2) whether socioeconomic status (SES) plays a role in this modifying effect. Methods. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001–2008) and linear regression, we estimated the association between blood lead and blood pressure. Using interactions among race, SES, and lead, we estimated this association by levels of social disadvantage. Results. Black men and women showed a 2.8 (P < .001) and 4.0 (P < .001) millimeters mercury increase in SBP, respectively, for each doubling of blood lead. White adults showed no association. This lead–SBP association exhibited by Blacks was primarily isolated to Blacks of low SES. For example, poor but not nonpoor Black men showed a 4.8 millimeters mercury (P < .001) increase in SBP for each doubling of blood lead. Conclusions. Our results suggest that social disadvantage exacerbates the deleterious health effects of lead. Our work provides evidence that social and environmental factors must be addressed together to eliminate health disparities. PMID:23078461

Division of Environmental Health

Science.gov Websites

Environmental Conservation Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Environmental Health Pesticides Applicator Certification & Training Product Registration Pesticide-Use Permits Factsheets & You are here: DEC / Division of Environmental Health All DEC offices will be closed to the public on

Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative: A Successful Model for Integrating Environmental Health into Pediatric Health Care

PubMed Central

Rogers, Bonnie; McCurdy, Leyla Erk; Slavin, Katie; Grubb, Kimberly; Roberts, James R.

2009-01-01

Background Pediatric medical and nursing education lack the environmental health content needed to properly prepare health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental exposure–related diseases. The need for improvements in health care professionals’ environmental health knowledge has been expressed by leading institutions. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of programs that incorporate pediatric environmental health (PEH) into curricula and practice. Objective We evaluated the effectiveness of the National Environmental Education Foundation’s (NEEF) Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative, which is designed to build environmental health capacity among pediatric health care professionals. Methods Twenty-eight pediatric health care professionals participated in a train-the-trainer workshop, in which they were educated to train other health care professionals in PEH and integrate identified PEH competencies into medical and nursing practice and curricula. We evaluated the program using a workshop evaluation tool, action plan, pre- and posttests, baseline and progress assessments, and telephone interviews. Results During the 12 months following the workshop, the faculty champions’ average pretest score of 52% was significantly elevated (p < 0.0001) to 65.5% on the first posttest and to 71.5% on the second posttest, showing an increase and retention of environmental health knowledge. Faculty champions trained 1,559 health care professionals in PEH, exceeding the goal of 280 health care professionals trained. Ninety percent of faculty champions reported that PEH had been integrated into the curricula at their institution. Conclusion The initiative was highly effective in achieving its goal of building environmental health capacity among health care professionals. The faculty champions model is a successful method and can be replicated in other arenas. PMID:19478972

A European perspective on alternatives to animal testing for environmental hazard identification and risk assessment.

PubMed

Scholz, Stefan; Sela, Erika; Blaha, Ludek; Braunbeck, Thomas; Galay-Burgos, Malyka; García-Franco, Mauricio; Guinea, Joaquin; Klüver, Nils; Schirmer, Kristin; Tanneberger, Katrin; Tobor-Kapłon, Marysia; Witters, Hilda; Belanger, Scott; Benfenati, Emilio; Creton, Stuart; Cronin, Mark T D; Eggen, Rik I L; Embry, Michelle; Ekman, Drew; Gourmelon, Anne; Halder, Marlies; Hardy, Barry; Hartung, Thomas; Hubesch, Bruno; Jungmann, Dirk; Lampi, Mark A; Lee, Lucy; Léonard, Marc; Küster, Eberhard; Lillicrap, Adam; Luckenbach, Till; Murk, Albertinka J; Navas, José M; Peijnenburg, Willie; Repetto, Guillermo; Salinas, Edward; Schüürmann, Gerrit; Spielmann, Horst; Tollefsen, Knut Erik; Walter-Rohde, Susanne; Whale, Graham; Wheeler, James R; Winter, Matthew J

2013-12-01

Tests with vertebrates are an integral part of environmental hazard identification and risk assessment of chemicals, plant protection products, pharmaceuticals, biocides, feed additives and effluents. These tests raise ethical and economic concerns and are considered as inappropriate for assessing all of the substances and effluents that require regulatory testing. Hence, there is a strong demand for replacement, reduction and refinement strategies and methods. However, until now alternative approaches have only rarely been used in regulatory settings. This review provides an overview on current regulations of chemicals and the requirements for animal tests in environmental hazard and risk assessment. It aims to highlight the potential areas for alternative approaches in environmental hazard identification and risk assessment. Perspectives and limitations of alternative approaches to animal tests using vertebrates in environmental toxicology, i.e. mainly fish and amphibians, are discussed. Free access to existing (proprietary) animal test data, availability of validated alternative methods and a practical implementation of conceptual approaches such as the Adverse Outcome Pathways and Integrated Testing Strategies were identified as major requirements towards the successful development and implementation of alternative approaches. Although this article focusses on European regulations, its considerations and conclusions are of global relevance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Occupational health hazards related to informal recycling of E-waste in India: An overview.

PubMed

Annamalai, Jayapradha

2015-01-01

The innovation in science and technology coupled with the change in lifestyle of an individual has made an incredible change in the electronic industry show casing an assorted range of new products every day to the world. India too has been impacted by this digital revolution where consumption of electronics goods grows at a rapid rate producing a large amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment. This substantial generation of electronic waste referred to as e-waste accompanied with the lack of stringent environmental laws and regulations for handling the hazardous e-waste has resulted in the cropping of number of informal sectors. Over 95% of the e-waste is treated and processed in the majority of urban slums of the country, where untrained workers carry out the dangerous procedures without personal protective equipment, which are detrimental not only to their health but also to the environment. This paper focuses on the occupational health hazards due to the informal recycling of e-waste and then proceeds to show the safe disposal methods for handling the large quantities of e-waste generated in this electronic era and thus finds a sustainable solution for the formal processing of e-waste.

A public health hazard mitigation planning process.

PubMed

Griffith, Jennifer M; Kay Carpender, S; Crouch, Jill Artzberger; Quiram, Barbara J

2014-01-01

The Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, a member of the Training and Education Collaborative System Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (TECS-PERLC), has long-standing partnerships with 2 Health Service Regions (Regions) in Texas. TECS-PERLC was contracted by these Regions to address 2 challenges identified in meeting requirements outlined by the Risk-Based Funding Project. First, within Metropolitan Statistical Areas, there is not a formal authoritative structure. Second, preexisting tools and processes did not adequately satisfy requirements to assess public health, medical, and mental health needs and link mitigation strategies to the Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, which provide guidance to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health incidents. TECS-PERLC, with its partners, developed a framework to interpret and apply results from the Texas Public Health Risk Assessment Tool (TxPHRAT). The 3-phase community engagement-based TxPHRAT Mitigation Planning Process (Mitigation Planning Process) and associated tools facilitated the development of mitigation plans. Tools included (1) profiles interpreting TxPHRAT results and identifying, ranking, and prioritizing hazards and capability gaps; (2) a catalog of intervention strategies and activities linked to hazards and capabilities; and (3) a template to plan, evaluate, and report mitigation planning efforts. The Mitigation Planning Process provided a framework for Regions to successfully address all funding requirements. TECS-PERLC developed more than 60 profiles, cataloged and linked 195 intervention strategies, and developed a template resulting in 20 submitted mitigation plans. A public health-focused, community engagement-based mitigation planning process was developed by TECS-PERLC and successfully implemented by the Regions. The outcomes met all requirements and reinforce the effectiveness of academic practice partnerships and importance of

Low Wages as Occupational Health Hazards.

PubMed

Leigh, J Paul; De Vogli, Roberto

2016-05-01

The history of occupational medicine has been characterized by ever-widening recognition of hazards, from fires in 1911 to asbestos in the 1960s, to job strain in the 1990s. In this essay, we argue for broadening the recognition further to include low wages. We first review possible mechanisms explaining the effects of wages on health or health behaviors. Mechanisms involve self-esteem, job satisfaction, deprivation, social rank, the "full" price of bad health, patience, and the ability to purchase health-producing goods and services. Second, we discuss empirical studies that rely on large, typically national, data sets and statistical models that use either instrumental variables or natural experiments and also account for other family income. Finally, we draw implications for laws governing minimum wages and labor unions.

Are Computers Hazardous to Your Child's Health?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Personal Computing, 1981

1981-01-01

Two potential health hazards have been suggested in relation to long-term use of computer video monitors: radiation and vision problems (fatigue, eyestrain, eye damage). This article examines some available evidence on these issues. Journal availability: Hayden Publishing Company, 50 Essex Street, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662. (SJL)

Which moral hazard? Health care reform under the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

PubMed

Mendoza, Roger Lee

2016-06-20

Purpose - Moral hazard is a concept that is central to risk and insurance management. It refers to change in economic behavior when individuals are protected or insured against certain risks and losses whose costs are borne by another party. It asserts that the presence of an insurance contract increases the probability of a claim and the size of a claim. Through the US Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, this study seeks to examine the validity and relevance of moral hazard in health care reform and determine how welfare losses or inefficiencies could be mitigated. Design/methodology/approach - This study is divided into three sections. The first contrasts conventional moral hazard from an emerging or alternative theory. The second analyzes moral hazard in terms of the evolution, organization, management, and marketing of health insurance in the USA. The third explains why and how salient reform measures under the ACA might induce health care consumption and production in ways that could either promote or restrict personal health and safety as well as social welfare maximization. Findings - Insurance generally induces health care (over) consumption. However, not every additional consumption, with or without adverse selection, can be considered wasteful or risky, even if it might cost insurers more in the short run. Moral hazard can generate welfare and equity gains. These gains might vary depending on which ACA provisions, insured population, covered illnesses, treatments, and services, as well as health outcomes are taken into account, and because of the relative ambiguities surrounding definitions of "health." Actuarial risk models can nonetheless benefit from incorporating welfare and equity gains into their basic assumptions and estimations. Originality/value - This is the first study which examines the ACA in the context of the new or alternative theory of moral hazard. It suggests that containing inefficient moral hazard, and encouraging its desirable

An assessment of health hazard/health risk appraisal.

PubMed Central

Wagner, E H; Beery, W L; Schoenbach, V J; Graham, R M

1982-01-01

A state-of-the-art review of a widely-used health promotion technique, the health hazard/health risk appraisal (HHA/HRA), was conducted. The review included preparing a 212-item annotated bibliography, compiling an inventory of 217 programs that have used HHA/HRA, holding discussions with HHA/HRA developers and users, conducting formal site visits to 15 HHA/HRA programs, and consultation with experts on epidemiology, biostatistics, and behavioral science as well as developers and users of HHA/HRA. Programs use HHA/HRA primarily as a promotional device, as a tool for structuring education about health-related behaviors, and as a motivational device for stimulating behavioral change. The scientific basis for HHA/HRA risk predictions is problematic, but their arithmetic imprecision is of less concern than insufficiency of the scientific evidence for certain behavioral recommendations, and inaccuracies in client-supplied data. Widely-held beliefs in HHA/HRA's efficacy for motivating behavioral change cannot be substantiated from available evidence, nor can the assumed absence of adverse effects. The importance of this particular health promotion technique appears to have been exaggerated. PMID:7065313

Workplace health hazards: Analysis of hotline calls over a six-year period

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Quint, J.; Handley, M.; Cummings, K.

1990-02-01

Between 1981-1986 a state-based occupational health telephone hotline received more than 8,000 inquiries on over 3,000 hazardous agents. Major caller groups were employees (37%), employers (20%), health care providers, primarily physicians (19%), government agencies (12%), and labor unions (6%). Employees were the fastest growing caller group. Callers inquired about general health hazards of chemicals (65%), the relation of symptoms to work (22%), and risks to pregnancy (13%).

Role of local government in responding to environmental health challenges: a case study of Chungnam

PubMed Central

Lee, Hoo-Young

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to introduce the establishment process, policy target, and projects for “Chungnam’s master plan on environmental health policy (2017-2020)” as the local government’s role in addressing local environmental health challenges. We first analyzed existing studies and social issues on the media related to “Chungnam’s master plan” to understand Chungnam’s environmental health status and discussed domestic and international policy trends and related plans. An environmental health perception questionnaire survey and a Delphi expert questionnaire survey were conducted among provincial residents to collect various actors’ opinions on Chungnam’s environmental health issues and policy. An expert advisory panel was launched, and a residents’ voice workshop and cities-and-guns-policy-suggestion workshop were held. The vision of Chungnam’s environmental health policy is minimizing environmental hazards. We finally selected “Pleasant environment, healthy people, happy Chungnam” to represent the will to shape a pleasant environment and prevent and manage health damages for a happy Chungnam. We selected five strategies based on status analysis and a review of domestic and international policy trends and related plans and identified 2 targets (policy objectives) to accomplish the strategies. The strategies to achieve the first target, “Leader in environmental health policy: Chungnam,” include ‘Empowering active provincial capabilities,’ ‘Setting up province-specific systems for environmental health surveys and research,’ and ‘Preventing and managing newly emerging pollutants.’ The strategies for the second target, “Everyone is healthy: Chungnam,” include ‘Relieving health inequalities among vulnerable regions and residents’ and ‘Enlarging the resident-friendly environmental health policy.’ We developed 29 projects in total, according to these strategies. The establishment of “Chungnam’s master

Integrated Geo Hazard Management System in Cloud Computing Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanifah, M. I. M.; Omar, R. C.; Khalid, N. H. N.; Ismail, A.; Mustapha, I. S.; Baharuddin, I. N. Z.; Roslan, R.; Zalam, W. M. Z.

2016-11-01

Geo hazard can result in reducing of environmental health and huge economic losses especially in mountainous area. In order to mitigate geo-hazard effectively, cloud computer technology are introduce for managing geo hazard database. Cloud computing technology and it services capable to provide stakeholder's with geo hazards information in near to real time for an effective environmental management and decision-making. UNITEN Integrated Geo Hazard Management System consist of the network management and operation to monitor geo-hazard disaster especially landslide in our study area at Kelantan River Basin and boundary between Hulu Kelantan and Hulu Terengganu. The system will provide easily manage flexible measuring system with data management operates autonomously and can be controlled by commands to collects and controls remotely by using “cloud” system computing. This paper aims to document the above relationship by identifying the special features and needs associated with effective geohazard database management using “cloud system”. This system later will use as part of the development activities and result in minimizing the frequency of the geo-hazard and risk at that research area.

Environmental Health Research and the Observer’s Dilemma

PubMed Central

Resnik, David B.

2009-01-01

Background Environmental health researchers frequently study people in occupational, educational, recreational, or domestic settings who are exposed to hazardous agents. Objective/discussion Deciding whether—and how—to inform research subjects about risks they face in their environment can be a challenging task for investigators. Because legal rules and professional guidelines do not cover this topic, investigators must carefully consider their ethical obligations in light of the facts and circumstances. Conclusion To navigate through this dilemma, investigators should consider the evidence for the risks, the nature of the risks, the usefulness of risk information to the subjects, and the effects on the study and community of informing subjects about risks. PMID:19672396

The Theory-based Influence of Map Features on Risk Beliefs: Self-reports of What is Seen and Understood for Maps Depicting an Environmental Health Hazard

PubMed Central

Vatovec, Christine

2013-01-01

Theory-based research is needed to understand how maps of environmental health risk information influence risk beliefs and protective behavior. Using theoretical concepts from multiple fields of study including visual cognition, semiotics, health behavior, and learning and memory supports a comprehensive assessment of this influence. We report results from thirteen cognitive interviews that provide theory-based insights into how visual features influenced what participants saw and the meaning of what they saw as they viewed three formats of water test results for private wells (choropleth map, dot map, and a table). The unit of perception, color, proximity to hazards, geographic distribution, and visual salience had substantial influences on what participants saw and their resulting risk beliefs. These influences are explained by theoretical factors that shape what is seen, properties of features that shape cognition (pre-attentive, symbolic, visual salience), information processing (top-down and bottom-up), and the strength of concrete compared to abstract information. Personal relevance guided top-down attention to proximal and larger hazards that shaped stronger risk beliefs. Meaning was more local for small perceptual units and global for large units. Three aspects of color were important: pre-attentive “incremental risk” meaning of sequential shading, symbolic safety meaning of stoplight colors, and visual salience that drew attention. The lack of imagery, geographic information, and color diminished interest in table information. Numeracy and prior beliefs influenced comprehension for some participants. Results guided the creation of an integrated conceptual framework for application to future studies. Ethics should guide the selection of map features that support appropriate communication goals. PMID:22715919

The theory-based influence of map features on risk beliefs: self-reports of what is seen and understood for maps depicting an environmental health hazard.

PubMed

Severtson, Dolores J; Vatovec, Christine

2012-08-01

Theory-based research is needed to understand how maps of environmental health risk information influence risk beliefs and protective behavior. Using theoretical concepts from multiple fields of study including visual cognition, semiotics, health behavior, and learning and memory supports a comprehensive assessment of this influence. The authors report results from 13 cognitive interviews that provide theory-based insights into how visual features influenced what participants saw and the meaning of what they saw as they viewed 3 formats of water test results for private wells (choropleth map, dot map, and a table). The unit of perception, color, proximity to hazards, geographic distribution, and visual salience had substantial influences on what participants saw and their resulting risk beliefs. These influences are explained by theoretical factors that shape what is seen, properties of features that shape cognition (preattentive, symbolic, visual salience), information processing (top-down and bottom-up), and the strength of concrete compared with abstract information. Personal relevance guided top-down attention to proximal and larger hazards that shaped stronger risk beliefs. Meaning was more local for small perceptual units and global for large units. Three aspects of color were important: preattentive "incremental risk" meaning of sequential shading, symbolic safety meaning of stoplight colors, and visual salience that drew attention. The lack of imagery, geographic information, and color diminished interest in table information. Numeracy and prior beliefs influenced comprehension for some participants. Results guided the creation of an integrated conceptual framework for application to future studies. Ethics should guide the selection of map features that support appropriate communication goals.

The impact measure of solid waste management on health: the hazard index.

PubMed

Musmeci, Loredana; Bellino, Mirella; Cicero, Maria Rita; Falleni, Fabrizio; Piccardi, Augusta; Trinca, Stefania

2010-01-01

The risk associated with waste exposure depends on the level of emissions arising from waste disposal and from the effects of these emissions on human health (dose-response). In 2007 an epidemiological study was conducted in two Italian provinces of the Campania Region, namely Naples and Caserta, with the aim of assessing the health effects deriving from exposure to waste. In these studies, the important aspect is the population exposure assessment, in relation to the different types of waste disposal. The Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA Campania) has identified and characterized the various authorized/unauthorized dumping sites in the provinces of Naples and Caserta. Most of the waste disposal used are illegal and invisible (sunken or buried); thus, the toxic substances therein contained are unknown and difficult to identify. In order to locate the possible areas exposed to a higher waste-related health risk, a synthetical "hazard index" (at the municipality level) was designed. By means of GIS, the number of waste impact areas was identified for each of the 196 municipalities in the two provinces; then, Census data (ISTAT 2001) was used to estimate the proportion of the population living in the impact areas. The synthetical hazard index at municipality level accounts for three elements: a) the intrinsic characterization of the waste disposal, determining the way in which the pollutant is released; b) the impact area of the dumping site (within 1 km radius), same areas are influenced by more than one site; c) the density of the population living in the "impact area" surrounding the waste disposal site.

Environmental Health: Health Care Reform's Missing Pieces.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fadope, Cece Modupe; And Others

1994-01-01

A series of articles that examine environmental health and discuss health care reform; connections between chlorine, chlorinated pesticides, and dioxins and reproductive disorders and cancers; the rise in asthma; connections between poverty and environmental health problems; and organizations for health care professionals who want to address…

Health and environmental implications of rural female entrepreneurship practices in osun state Nigeria.

PubMed

Akinbami, Catherine A O; Momodu, Abiodun S

2013-09-01

In rural Nigeria, food processing is mostly engaged in by women and children. Most of these processes are done using outdated technologies that make use of traditional woodstoves. This article presents the health and environmental implications of the rural female entrepreneurs involved in food processing and proffer means of bettering the lot of these women to handle these hazards. A partially structured questionnaire and focus group discussion was used to capture data from respondents. The study revealed that about 73 % of women involved in direct production of garri and palm oil processing could be at risk of early death or disability-adjusted life years from the mentioned diseases. The article concludes that the rural female entrepreneur needs to be better positioned to handle these hazards, for her health, that of her children, as well as for the environment.

Workplace health hazards: analysis of hotline calls over a six-year period.

PubMed Central

Quint, J; Handley, M; Cummings, K

1990-01-01

Between 1981-1986 a state-based occupational health telephone hotline received more than 8,000 inquiries on over 3,000 hazardous agents. Major caller groups were employees (37%), employers (20%), health care providers, primarily physicians (19%), government agencies (12%), and labor unions (6%). Employees were the fastest growing caller group. Callers inquired about general health hazards of chemicals (65%), the relation of symptoms to work (22%), and risks to pregnancy (13%). PMID:2297067

Environmental justice implications of industrial hazardous waste generation in India: a national scale analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Pratyusha; Chakraborty, Jayajit

2016-12-01

While rising air and water pollution have become issues of widespread public concern in India, the relationship between spatial distribution of environmental pollution and social disadvantage has received less attention. This lack of attention becomes particularly relevant in the context of industrial pollution, as India continues to pursue industrial development policies without sufficient regard to its adverse social impacts. This letter examines industrial pollution in India from an environmental justice (EJ) perspective by presenting a national scale study of social inequities in the distribution of industrial hazardous waste generation. Our analysis connects district-level data from the 2009 National Inventory of Hazardous Waste Generating Industries with variables representing urbanization, social disadvantage, and socioeconomic status from the 2011 Census of India. Our results indicate that more urbanized and densely populated districts with a higher proportion of socially and economically disadvantaged residents are significantly more likely to generate hazardous waste. The quantity of hazardous waste generated is significantly higher in more urbanized but sparsely populated districts with a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged households, after accounting for other relevant explanatory factors such as literacy and social disadvantage. These findings underscore the growing need to incorporate EJ considerations in future industrial development and waste management in India.

DETERMINING INHALATION RISK -- TOOLS FOR ASSESSING HAZARD.

EPA Science Inventory

The Clean Air Act focuses on reduction of the potential for specific air pollutants to cause adverse health effects. Implementation of standards to control release of the 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the healt...

Environmental Hazard and General Labeling for Pyrethroid and Synergized Pyrethrins Non-Agricultural Outdoor Products

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA approved certain optional modifications to the “Environmental Hazard Statements” and general “Directions for Use” for pyrethroid and pyrethrins non-agricultural outdoor products. Find out about these changes.

Acute hazardous substance releases resulting in adverse health consequences in children: Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance system, 1996-2003.

PubMed

Wattigney, Wendy A; Kaye, Wendy E; Orr, Maureen F

2007-11-01

Because of their small size and ongoing organ development, children may be more susceptible than adults to the harmful effects of toxic chemicals. The objective of the study reported here was to identify frequent locations, released substances, and factors contributing to short-term chemical exposures associated with adverse health consequences experienced by children. The study examined the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system data from 1996-2003. Eligible events involved the acute release of a hazardous substance associated with at least one child being injured. The study found that injured children were predominantly at school, home, or a recreational center when events took place. School-related events were associated with the accidental release of acids and the release of pepper spray by pranksters. Carbon monoxide poisonings occurring in the home, retail stores, entertainment facilities, and hotels were responsible for about 10 percent of events involving child victims. Chlorine was one of the top chemicals harmful to children, particularly at public swimming pools. Although human error contributed to the majority of releases involving child victims, equipment failure was responsible for most chlorine and ammonia releases. The authors conclude that chemical releases resulting in injury to children occur mostly in schools, homes, and recreational areas. Surveillance of acute hazardous chemical releases helped identify contributing causes and can guide the development of prevention outreach activities. Chemical accidents cannot be entirely prevented, but efforts can be taken to provide safer environments in which children can live, learn, and play. Wide dissemination of safety recommendations and education programs is required to protect children from needless environmental dangers.

Environmental, Safety, and Health Considerations: Composite Materials in the Aerospace Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Huai-Pu (Compiler)

1994-01-01

The Aerospace Industries Association, Suppliers of Advanced Composite Materials Association, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration co-sponsored a conference on 'Environmental, Safety, and Health Considerations--Composite Materials in the Aerospace Industry.' The conference was held in Mesa, Arizona, on October 20-21, 1994. Seventeen papers were presented in four sessions including general information, safety, waste, and emissions from composites. Topics range from product stewardship, best work practice, biotransformation of uncured composite materials, to hazardous waste determination and offgassing of composite materials.

29 CFR 1926.65 - Hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. 1926.65 Section 1926.65 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls § 1926.65...

29 CFR 1926.65 - Hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. 1926.65 Section 1926.65 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls § 1926.65...

29 CFR 1926.65 - Hazardous waste operations and emergency response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Hazardous waste operations and emergency response. 1926.65 Section 1926.65 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Occupational Health and Environmental Controls § 1926.65...

The Video Display Terminal Health Hazard Debate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Carolyn A.

A study was conducted to identify the potential health hazards of visual display terminals for employees and then to develop a list of recommendations for improving the physical conditions of the workplace. Data were collected by questionnaires from 55 employees in 10 word processing departments in Topeka, Kansas. A majority of the employees…

[Impact on environmental factors on the reproductive system and fetal development].

PubMed

Dulskiene, Virginija; Maroziene, Ligita

2002-01-01

A literature review discusses the effect of selected environmental factors on women reproductive system, fetal development and growth. According to recent reports, 2-3% of newborns have congenital malformations. These malformations are caused by interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Exposure of paternal or maternal organisms to environmental hazards may damage germ cells or interfere fetal development, resulting in malformation of various organ systems. Since environmental hazards exposures are complex, it is difficult to establish the primary effect of single factor. Factors, that are known to increase the risk of congenital malformations, preterm delivery or spontaneous abortion, are classified into five groups--psychological, social, biological, physical and chemical factors. The governments of most counties recognize the effect of hazardous environmental factors on public health as global problem. World Health Organization encourages researches, aimed at evaluation of various environmental factors impact on health of pregnant women and their offsprings.

Recognizing Job Safety Hazards. Module SH-09. Safety and Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

This student module on recognizing job safety hazards is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module details employee and employer responsibilities in correcting and monitoring safety hazards. Following the introduction, 10 objectives (each keyed to a page in the text) the student is expected to accomplish are listed (e.g.,…

National Environmental Policy Act Hazards Assessment for the TREAT Alternative

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyd D. Christensen; Annette L. Schafer

2013-11-01

This document provides an assessment of hazards as required by the National Environmental Policy Act for the alternative of restarting the reactor at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility by the Resumption of Transient Testing Program. Potential hazards have been identified and screening level calculations have been conducted to provide estimates of unmitigated dose consequences that could be incurred through this alternative. Consequences considered include those related to use of the TREAT Reactor, experiment assembly handling, and combined events involving both the reactor and experiments. In addition, potential safety structures, systems, and components for processes associated with operating TREAT andmore » onsite handling of nuclear fuels and experiments are listed. If this alternative is selected, a safety basis will be prepared in accordance with 10 CFR 830, “Nuclear Safety Management,” Subpart B, “Safety Basis Requirements.”« less

National Environmental Policy Act Hazards Assessment for the TREAT Alternative

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, Boyd D.; Schafer, Annette L.

2014-02-01

This document provides an assessment of hazards as required by the National Environmental Policy Act for the alternative of restarting the reactor at the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility by the Resumption of Transient Testing Program. Potential hazards have been identified and screening level calculations have been conducted to provide estimates of unmitigated dose consequences that could be incurred through this alternative. Consequences considered include those related to use of the TREAT Reactor, experiment assembly handling, and combined events involving both the reactor and experiments. In addition, potential safety structures, systems, and components for processes associated with operating TREAT andmore » onsite handling of nuclear fuels and experiments are listed. If this alternative is selected, a safety basis will be prepared in accordance with 10 CFR 830, “Nuclear Safety Management,” Subpart B, “Safety Basis Requirements.”« less

Neighborhood Comparisons of Dog-Related Health Hazards and Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meade, Melinda

1984-01-01

Undergraduate students increase their understanding of human geography and become aware of their community's health ecology by examining the degree and geographical pattern of dog-associated health hazards in Athens, Georgia, and by studying the behavioral patterns and attitudes of Athens's residents that might be causally related to these health…

Risk assessment and optimization (ALARA) analysis for the environmental remediation of Brookhaven National Laboratory`s hazardous waste management facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dionne, B.J.; Morris, S.C. III; Baum, J.W.

1998-01-01

The Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety, and Health (EH) sought examples of risk-based approaches to environmental restoration to include in their guidance for DOE nuclear facilities. Extensive measurements of radiological contamination in soil and ground water have been made at Brookhaven National Laboratory`s Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) as part of a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) remediation process. This provided an ideal opportunity for a case study. This report provides a risk assessment and an {open_quotes}As Low as Reasonably Achievable{close_quotes} (ALARA) analysis for use at other DOE nuclear facilities as an example ofmore » a risk-based decision technique. This document contains the Appendices for the report.« less

IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES: A FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE APPROACH

EPA Science Inventory

Specific aims of the study are to examine the interactions between exposure to environmental hazards, racial residential segregation and access to care; and the direct and indirect effects of such environmental factors on incidence and delay in diagnosis of breast, cervical...

Utility of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth for Estimating PM2.5 Exposure in Environmental Public Health Surveillance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Limaye, Ashutosh; Rickman, Doug; Quattrochi, Dale; Estes, Maury; Adeniyi, Kafayat; Qualters, Judith; Niskar, Amanda Sue

2006-01-01

As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN) the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX-Atlanta). The goal of developing the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is to improve the health of communities. Currently, few systems exist at the state or national level to concurrently track many of the exposures and health effects that might be associated with environmental hazards. An additional challenge is estimating exposure to environmental hazards such as particulate matter whose aerodynamic diameter is less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM(2.5)) HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of Metropolitan Atlanta, GA (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties). Under HELIX-Atlanta, pilot projects are being conducted to develop methods to characterize exposure; link health and environmental data; analyze the relationship between health and environmental factors; and communicate findings. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) is collaborating with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of PM(2.5) concentrations that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma. From 1999-2000 there were over 9,400 hospitalizations per year in Georgia with asthma as the primary diagnosis. The majority of these hospitalizations occurred in medical facilities in the five most populous Metro-Atlanta counties. Hospital charges resulting from asthma in Georgia are approximately $59 million dollars annually. There is evidence in the research literature that asthmatic persons are at increased risk of developing asthma exacerbations with exposure to environmental factors

Extinction hazards in experimental Daphnia magna populations: effects of genotype diversity and environmental variation

PubMed Central

Robinson, John D; Wares, John P; Drake, John M

2013-01-01

Extinction is ubiquitous in natural systems and the ultimate fate of all biological populations. However, the factors that contribute to population extinction are still poorly understood, particularly genetic diversity and composition. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the influences of environmental variation and genotype diversity on persistence in experimental Daphnia magna populations. Populations were initiated in two blocks with one, two, three, or six randomly selected and equally represented genotypes, fed and checked for extinction daily, and censused twice weekly over a period of 170 days. Our results show no evidence for an effect of the number of genotypes in a population on extinction hazard. Environmental variation had a strong effect on hazards in both experimental blocks, but the direction of the effect differed between blocks. In the first block, variable environments hastened extinction, while in the second block, hazards were reduced under variable food input. This occurred despite greater fluctuations in population size in variable environments in the second block of our experiment. Our results conflict with previous studies, where environmental variation consistently increased extinction risk. They are also at odds with previous studies in other systems that documented significant effects of genetic diversity on population persistence. We speculate that the lack of sexual reproduction, or the phenotypic similarity among our experimental lines, might underlie the lack of a significant effect of genotype diversity in our study. PMID:23467276

A human health assessment of hazardous air pollutants in Portland, OR.

PubMed

Tam, B N; Neumann, C M

2004-11-01

Ambient air samples collected from five monitoring sites in Portland, OR during July 1999 to August 2000 were analyzed for 43 hazardous air pollutants (HAP). HAP concentrations were compared to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic benchmark levels. Carcinogenic benchmark concentrations were set at a risk level of one-in-one-million (1x10(-6)). Hazard ratios of 1.0 were used when comparing HAP concentrations to non-carcinogenic benchmarks. Emission sources (point, area, and mobile) were identified and a cumulative cancer risk and total hazard index were calculated for HAPs exceeding these health benchmark levels. Seventeen HAPs exceeded a cancer risk level of 1x10(-6) at all five monitoring sites. Nineteen HAPs exceeded this level at one or more site. Carbon tetrachloride, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane contributed more than 50% to the upper-bound lifetime cumulative cancer risk of 2.47x10(-4). Acrolein was the only non-carcinogenic HAP with hazard ratios that exceeded 1.0 at all five sites. Mobile sources contributed the greatest percentage (68%) of HAP emissions. Additional monitoring and health assessments for HAPs in Portland, OR are warranted, including addressing issues that may have overestimated or underestimated risks in this study. Abatement strategies for HAPs that exceeded health benchmarks should be implemented to reduce potential adverse health risks.

Hazardous waste management system design under population and environmental impact considerations.

PubMed

Yilmaz, Ozge; Kara, Bahar Y; Yetis, Ulku

2017-12-01

This paper presents a multi objective mixed integer location/routing model that aims to minimize transportation cost and risks for large-scale hazardous waste management systems (HWMSs). Risks induced by hazardous wastes (HWs) on both public and the environment are addressed. For this purpose, a new environmental impact definition is proposed that considers the environmentally vulnerable elements including water bodies, agricultural areas, coastal regions and forestlands located within a certain bandwidth around transportation routes. The solution procedure yields to Pareto optimal curve for two conflicting objectives. The conceptual model developed prior to mathematical formulation addresses waste-to-technology compatibility and HW processing residues to assure applicability of the model to real-life HWMSs. The suggested model was used in a case study targeting HWMS in Turkey. Based on the proposed solution, it was possible to identify not only the transportation routes but also a set of information on HW handling facilities including the types, locations, capacities, and investment/operational cost. The HWMS of this study can be utilized both by public authorities and private sector investors for planning purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Science Collaboration with Environmental Health.

PubMed

Hoover, Elizabeth; Renauld, Mia; Edelstein, Michael R; Brown, Phil

2015-11-01

Social science research has been central in documenting and analyzing community discovery of environmental exposure and consequential processes. Collaboration with environmental health science through team projects has advanced and improved our understanding of environmental health and justice. We sought to identify diverse methods and topics in which social scientists have expanded environmental health understandings at multiple levels, to examine how transdisciplinary environmental health research fosters better science, and to learn how these partnerships have been able to flourish because of the support from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). We analyzed various types of social science research to investigate how social science contributes to environmental health. We also examined NIEHS programs that foster social science. In addition, we developed a case study of a community-based participation research project in Akwesasne in order to demonstrate how social science has enhanced environmental health science. Social science has informed environmental health science through ethnographic studies of contaminated communities, analysis of spatial distribution of environmental injustice, psychological experience of contamination, social construction of risk and risk perception, and social impacts of disasters. Social science-environmental health team science has altered the way scientists traditionally explore exposure by pressing for cumulative exposure approaches and providing research data for policy applications. A transdisciplinary approach for environmental health practice has emerged that engages the social sciences to paint a full picture of the consequences of contamination so that policy makers, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders can better ameliorate impacts and prevent future exposure. Hoover E, Renauld M, Edelstein MR, Brown P. 2015. Social science collaboration with environmental health. Environ Health

JPSS Data Product Applications for Monitoring Severe Weather and Environmental Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Zhou, L.; Divakarla, M. G.; Atkins, T.

2016-12-01

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) next-generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) is the first satellite in the JPSS series. One of the JPSS supported key mission areas is to reduce the loss of life from high-impact weather events while improving efficient economies through environmental information. Combining with the sensors on other polar and geostationary satellite platforms, JPSS observations provided much enhanced capabilities for the Nation's essential products and services, including forecasting severe weather like hurricanes, potential tornadic outbreaks, and blizzards days in advance, and assessing environmental hazards such as droughts, floods, forest fires, poor air quality and harmful coastal waters. Sensor and Environmental Data Records (SDRs/EDRs) derived from S-NPP and follow-on JPSS satellites provide critical data for environmental assessments, forecasts and warnings. This paper demonstrates the use of S-NPP science data products towards analysis events of severe weather and environmental hazards, such as Paraguay Flooding, Hurricane Iselle, the record-breaking winter storm system that impacted the US East Coast area early this year, and Fort McMurray wildfire. A brief description of these examples and a detailed discussion of the winter storm event are presented in this paper. VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) and ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) SDR/EDR products collected from multiple days of S-NPP observations are analyzed to study the progression of the winter storm and illustrate how JPSS products captured the storm system. The products used for this study included VIIRS day/night band (DNB) and true color images, ocean turbidity images, snow cover fraction, and the multi-sensor snowfall rates. Quantitative evaluation of the ATMS derived snowfall rates with the

The current status of hazardous solid waste management.

PubMed Central

Kaufman, H B

1978-01-01

Growth of the population and of industrialization, and substandard disposal of the increased waste products thus generated, have resulted in numerous documented cases of harm to human, plant, and animal health. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976), its stated goals, and its intended means of implementation, are discussed relative to hazardous waste problems. Subtitle C of this Act, and the authority granted by it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are explained. Standards and regulations have been imposed upon those responsible for generating and transporting hazardous wastes, to ensure the ultimate safe disposal of such wastes in environmentally suitable, properly licensed facilities. PMID:738237

Environmental hazard mapping using GIS and AHP - A case study of Dong Trieu District in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anh, N. K.; Phonekeo, V.; My, V. C.; Duong, N. D.; Dat, P. T.

2014-02-01

In recent years, Vietnamese economy has been growing up rapidly and caused serious environmental quality plunging, especially in industrial and mining areas. It brings an enormous threat to a socially sustainable development and the health of human beings. Environmental quality assessment and protection are complex and dynamic processes, since it involves spatial information from multi-sector, multi-region and multi-field sources and needs complicated data processing. Therefore, an effective environmental protection information system is needed, in which considerable factors hidden in the complex relationships will become clear and visible. In this paper, the authors present the methodology which was used to generate environmental hazard maps which are applied to the integration of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information system (GIS). We demonstrate the results that were obtained from the study area in Dong Trieu district. This research study has contributed an overall perspective of environmental quality and identified the devastated areas where the administration urgently needs to establish an appropriate policy to improve and protect the environment.

An Assessment of Environmental Health Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macatangay, Ariel V.

2013-01-01

Environmental health fundamentally addresses the physical, chemical, and biological risks external to the human body that can impact the health of a person by assessing and controlling these risks in order to generate and maintain a health-supportive environment. In manned spacecraft, environmental health risks are mitigated by a multi-disciplinary effort, employing several measures including active and passive controls, by establishing environmental standards (SMACs, SWEGs, microbial and acoustics limits), and through environmental monitoring. Human Health and Performance (HHP) scientists and Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) engineers consider environmental monitoring a vital component to an environmental health management strategy for maintaining a healthy crew and achieving mission success. ECLS engineers use environmental monitoring data to monitor and confirm the health of ECLS systems, whereas HHP scientists use the data to manage the health of the human system. Because risks can vary between missions and change over time, environmental monitoring is critical. Crew health risks associated with the environment were reviewed by agency experts with the goal of determining risk-based environmental monitoring needs for future NASA manned missions. Once determined, gaps in environmental health knowledge and technology, required to address those risks, were identified for various types of exploration missions. This agency-wide assessment of environmental health needs will help guide the activities/hardware development efforts to close those gaps and advance the knowledge required to meet NASA manned space exploration objectives. Details of the roadmap development and findings are presented in this paper.

Occupational health hazards related to informal recycling of E-waste in India: An overview

PubMed Central

Annamalai, Jayapradha

2015-01-01

The innovation in science and technology coupled with the change in lifestyle of an individual has made an incredible change in the electronic industry show casing an assorted range of new products every day to the world. India too has been impacted by this digital revolution where consumption of electronics goods grows at a rapid rate producing a large amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment. This substantial generation of electronic waste referred to as e-waste accompanied with the lack of stringent environmental laws and regulations for handling the hazardous e-waste has resulted in the cropping of number of informal sectors. Over 95% of the e-waste is treated and processed in the majority of urban slums of the country, where untrained workers carry out the dangerous procedures without personal protective equipment, which are detrimental not only to their health but also to the environment. This paper focuses on the occupational health hazards due to the informal recycling of e-waste and then proceeds to show the safe disposal methods for handling the large quantities of e-waste generated in this electronic era and thus finds a sustainable solution for the formal processing of e-waste. PMID:26023273

Data to Action: Using Environmental Public Health Tracking to Inform Decision Making

PubMed Central

Qualters, Judith R; Strosnider, Heather M; Bell, Rosalyn

2017-01-01

Context Public health surveillance includes dissemination of data and information to those who need it to take action to prevent or control disease. The concept of data to action is explicit in the mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program). CDC has built a National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) to integrate health and environmental data to drive public health action (PHA) to improve communities’ health. Objective To assess the utility of the Tracking Program and its Network in environmental public health practice and policy-making. Design We analyzed information on how Tracking has been used to drive PHAs within funded states and cities (grantees). Two case studies illustrate such use. Setting Analyses included all grantees funded between 2005 and 2013. Participants The number of grantees varied from 17 for 2006–2008 to 24 for 2010–2013. Main Outcome Measures We categorized each PHA reported to determine how grantees became involved, their role, the problems addressed, and the overall action. Results Tracking grantees reported 178 PHAs from 2006–2013. The most common overall action was “provided information in response to concern” (n=42) followed by “improved a public health program, intervention, or response plan” (n=35). Tracking’s role was most often to enhance surveillance (24%) or to analyze data (23%). In 47% of PHAs, the underlying problem was a concern about possible elevated rates of a health outcome, a potential exposure, or a potential association between a hazard and health. PHAs were started by a request for assistance (48%), in response to an emergency (8%), and though routine work by Tracking programs (43%). Conclusion Our review shows that the data, expertise, technical infrastructure, and other resources of the Tracking Program and its Network are driving state and local PHAs. PMID:25621441

Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 86-348-1756, J'Leen Ltd. , Boulder, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gunter, B.J.

1986-12-01

In response to a request from the owner of J'Leen, Ltd., Boulder, Colorado, an evaluation of exposures to lead in the copper and lead glazing art studio was carried out. Breathing-zone and general air samples were analyzed by NIOSH Method P and CAM 173, blood lead was measured by voltammetry, and free-erythrocyte protoporphyrin was measured photofluorometrically. Ventilation was found to be inadequate for removing airborne lead resulting from use of lead dust and furnaces. The author concludes that the high environmental lead levels present a health hazard, and recommends improved exhaust ventilation, continued use of ultrafilter respiratory protection, and educationmore » of new employees on clean work habits.« less

Health hazards to children in agriculture.