Environmental Health Hazards

1. Environmental Health Hazards Harun Al Rasyid

2. What is environmental hazard? 'Environmental hazard'is a generic term for any situation or state of events which poses a threat to the surrounding environment. This term incorporates topics like pollution andnatural hazardssuch as storms and earthquakes.

3. HAZARDS AND RISKS Hazard: Is “a factor or exposure that may adversely affect health” it is a qualitative term expressing the potential of an environmental agent to harm the health of certain individuals if the exposure level is high enough and/or if other conditions apply. Risk Is “the probability that an event will occur, the probability of unfavorable outcome e.g that an individual will become ill or die within a stated period of time or age. It is the quantitative probability that a health effect will occur after an individual has been exposed to a specified amount of a hazard.

4. Contamination Contamination-- Introduction into water, air, and soil of microorganisms, chemicals, toxic substances, wastes, or wastewater in a concentration that makes the medium unfit for its next intended use. Also applies to surfaces of objects, buildings, and various household and agricultural use products.

5. Pollution Pollutionis the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to theecosystemi.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form ofchemical substances, orenergy, such as noise, heat, or light energy.

6. Pollutant • A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil. Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: • its chemical nature, • the concentration and • the persistence

7. Pollution & Contamination • "Pollution" is generally used when you're talking about something big, like a whole environment, or an entire river, or something else really large. • "Contamination" can refer to very small quantities of something • contaminated food, medicine, drinking water supply; it can also mean a very small amount of foreign or harmful material, such as bacterial contamination, or a toxin, especially when it's not readily visible or noticeable. For instance, a surgical suite could be contaminated simply because someone walks into it when they're not sterile, and it would be completely invisible.

8. What are the environmental Health Hazards? ANY external factor that negatively affects your health can be considered an environmental health “hazard."

9. Types of EH Hazards Traditional Hazards • Disease Vectors • Infectious agents • Housing and Shelter • Drinking Water & Sanitation • Indoor air Pollution • Dietary Deficiencies • Reproduction • Injury hazards Modern Hazards • Tobacco smoking • Alcohol and drugs • Transport hazards • Environmental pollution • Outdoor air pollution • Chemical hazards • Occupational Hazards • Unbalanced Diet • Stress

10. Routes of Entry of EH Hazards • Inhalation • airborne contaminants • Absorption • penetration through the skin • Ingestion • eating • drinking

11. Types of Exposure to EH Hazards • Acute • Short term period between exposure and onset of symptoms • Chronic • Long time period between exposure to an agent and the onset of symptoms

12. Main Types of EH Hazards There are five types of environmental hazards: Chemical Physical Mechanical Biological Psychosocial

13. Chemical Hazards Pesticides Acids and Bases Metal fumes Solvents Gases

15. Biological Hazards • Insects • Rodents • Animals • Microorganisms: • Bacteria • Viruses • Parasites • Yeasts • Molds

16. PHYSICAL HAZARDS Noise and Vibration Ionizing Radiation Non-ionizing Radiation Light, Lasers Pressure Extremes of Temperature

17. PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS Uncertainty Anxiety Lack of feeling of control over one own life Homesickness Isolation

18. What is stress? • Stress is a human response to stressors • Stress is a specific event or situation that causes a mental or psychological reaction. • Stress is a process resulting from the interaction between humans and the environment. • Stress process consists of 2 stages: • Deciding whether or not an event (stressor) poses a hazard • Appraising the possibilities of dealing with the situation.

19. What are the Health Effects of Stress? • Cardiovascular diseases • Hypertension • Ischemic heart diseases • Increase heart rate • Peptic ulcer • Bronchial asthma

20. What kinds of environmental hazards should you be concerned about? • Air pollutants • Indoor air pollutants • Outdoor air pollutants • Water shortage and pollutants • Food hazards • Housing hazards • Occupational Hazards • Insect and Rodents’ Hazards • Pesticides • Global Environmental hazards

21. Air Pollutants and their Health Effects

22. What is air pollution? Addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere resulting in damage to the environment, human health and quality of life Can occur indoor or outdoor, in cities and across continents and even globally Air pollutants consist of: gaseous pollutants, odors, suspended particle matter (dust, fumes, mist and smoke)

24. In door air pollution Indoor air can be defined as any non-industrial indoor space where a person spends a period of an hour or more in any day. This can include the air space in the office, classroom, motor vehicle, shopping centre, hospital and home.

25. Common indoor air pollutants • second-hand tobacco smoke; • airborne mold and mildew; • lead-impregnated dust from old paint cockroach shedding; • dust mite particles; • combustion gases released by stoves, heaters, candles and fireplaces; chemicals released by • dry cleaned clothes; • cleaning products; • room deodorizers; • office supplies; • paints and sealers; • new furniture and pressed wood; • personal care products; and • pesticides.

27. Outdoor Air Pollutants Ozone (O3) Particulate Matter (PM) Carbon Monoxide (CO( Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Lead (Pb( Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs( Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs(

28. Sources of air pollution • Transportation (Mobile sources ) • Motor vehicles, rail, shipping, aviation. • Industry sources • Power stations, petroleum refining, chemical manufacturing. • Power Plants • Central heating • Incineration of domestic wastes

29. Health Effects of Air Pollutants Irritation of nose, eye, and throat Respiratory diseases (Bronchitis, Asthma, cough, nausea …etc.) Cardiovascular diseases Toxicity (CO) Decrease of pulmonary function and restricted activities) Cancers (Benzene) Neurological impairments, such as seizures, mental retardation, and behavioral disorders (Pb). kidney/liver damage, CNS disorders (Arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, and chromium) Increased hospital admissions and ER visits. Premature death

32. Air pollution control Reduce emissions (conservation and improved efficiency); e.g., refineries Collect, capture, and retain pollutants before entering the atmosphere; e.g., gas stations Regulating automobile exhaust using catalytic converter, control of sulfur dioxide through scrubbing Varied pollutant-control strategies and new and improved technologies

33. Air pollution control • Regulatory control • Standards (process and emission) • Engineering control • Ventilation (general and local) • Process change • Work practice control • Administrative control • Personnel protective equipment

34. What is Water Health Significance? There are 4 billion cases of diarrhea worldwide each year and 2.2 million avoidable deaths-that's a death every 14 seconds. Most diarrheal deaths occur in the Majority World and just being able to wash one's hands with soap and water can reduce diarrhea by 35%. Insect-related diseases Malaria, is the biggest killer, causing 1-2 million deaths a year. At any given time 100 million people suffer from the disease.

35. What is Water Health Significance? Parasites Intestinal worms infect about 10% of the majority world population. About 200 million people are affected by schistosomiasis (bilharzia), with 200,000 dying each year. After a peak in the late 1980s, guinea-worm infections have been declining as water sources are better monitored.

36. Water Health Significance Every day, diarrheal diseases cause some 6,000 deaths, mostly among children under five: in 2001, 1.96 million people died from infectious diarrheas; 1.3 million were children under five. Diarrheal diseases have killed more children in the past ten years than all the people lost to armed conflict since World War II.

37. Water Health Significance Between 1,085,000 and 2,187,000 deaths due to diarrheal diseases can be attributed to the 'water, sanitation and hygiene' risk factor, 90% of them among children under five. With simple hygiene measures such as washing hands after using the toilet or before preparing food, most of these deaths are preventable.

38. Water Hazards and Health Effects Biological Chemical physical

39. Heavy metals Other inorganic elements Acids/bases Oxidants/reductants Chlorination by-products Combustion by-products Water Hazardous Substances 39 • Volatile organic compounds • Hydrophobic organic compounds • Endocrine disruptors • Petroleum Additives • Pesticides

40. The main water-borne/fecal oral diseases are Typhoid fever Giardia Dysentery Cholera Diarrhea (caused by a variety of pathogens) Hepatitis Polio Worms

41. PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS 41

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43. Water associated Diseases 43

44. Disease Rates and Risk 44

45. Water Pollution Control 45 • Pollution prevention • Minimize pollution • recycling and re-use; treatment; encourage cleaner production technologies; encourage good housekeeping • Disinfection (Chlorination) • Disposal or discharge of waste water • only under specified conditions; precautionary approach; differentiated approach; polluter pays

46. Food Hazards Biological Chemical Physical

47. Types of Food Hazards? Biological: bacteria, viruses, parasites Chemical: heavy metals, natural toxins, sanitizers, pesticides, antibiotics Physical: bone, rocks, metal

48. Biological Hazards in Food Biological = Living Organisms In Meat and Poultry: Salmonella bacteria (poultry and eggs) Trichinellaspiralis parasite (pork) On Fruits and Vegetables: E. coli bacteria (apple juice) Cyclosporaparasite (raspberries) Hepatitis A virus (strawberries)

49. Biological Hazards in Food

50. Biological Hazards in Food