Environmental Health Report: Definition, Hazards, and Control Methods

This report provides a comprehensive overview of environmental health, beginning with its definition and scope, emphasizing the impact of environmental factors on human well-being. It details various environmental hazards, including physical, chemical, biological, and cultural factors. The report examines control methods, highlighting the importance of air quality, water sanitation, and the management of toxic substances and hazardous wastes. It also explores environmental epidemiology, discussing the study of the effects of environmental exposures on health and disease in the population. The report includes references to relevant literature and emphasizes the role of environmental health in public health sciences, offering insights into the impact of environmental factors and providing a valuable resource for students studying this field.

Environmental Health

Definition
• Environment directly or indirectly impacts on
the well being and health of human being.
• The various aspects of human health are
determined by physical, chemical, biological,
social and psychosocial factors in the
environment.

Importance of Environmental health
• Exposure to hazardous substances in the air,
water, soil, and food
• Natural and technological disasters
• Climate change
• Occupational hazards
• The built environment

Scope of Environmental health
• Air Quality
• Climate Change
• Emergency Management
• Toxic chemical exposure-

Scope of Environmental health
• Safe drinking water control
• Radiological health
• Noise pollution control
• Vector Control (Kreuter, et al.,
2004)

Core concepts of Environmental health

U.S. environmental health organizations and their roles
• National Centre for Environmental
Health
• National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health
• The National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences
• Environmental Protection Agency

Types of Environmental
health hazards
• Physical Hazards
• Chemical hazards
• Biological hazards
• Cultural hazards

Control Methods

Environmental health events
• NEHA Fully Endorses Environmental
Health Workforce Act
• NEHA Proudly Celebrates World Food
Safety Day
• NEHA proudly Supports National Helathy
Schools day

Environmental epidemiology
• The study of the effect on human health of
physical, biologic, and chemical factors in the
external environment.
• Epidemiology is the study of the distribution
and determinants of disease in the population
• Environmental epidemiology studies the effects
of environmental exposures on health and
disease in the population (Bhaskaran, et al.,
2013)

Environmental health is important in the
public health sciences
• Air Quality
• Water and Sanitation
• Toxic Substances and Hazardous
Wastes
• Homes and Communities
• Infrastructure and Surveillance

Improve Environmental health
• Use reusable bags
• Do not print a lot
• Recycle
• Save water
(Collins, et al., 2008)

Reference
• Collins, F. S., Gray, G. M., & Bucher, J. R. (2008). Transforming
environmental health protection. Science, 319(5865), 906-907.
• Bhaskaran, K., Gasparrini, A., Hajat, S., Smeeth, L., & Armstrong, B.
(2013). Time series regression studies in environmental
epidemiology. International journal of epidemiology, 42(4), 1187-
1195.
• Kreuter, M. W., De Rosa, C., Howze, E. H., & Baldwin, G. T. (2004).
Understanding wicked problems: a key to advancing environmental
health promotion. Health education & behavior, 31(4), 441-454.
• Myers, J. P., Zoeller, R. T., & vom Saal, F. S. (2009). A clash of old and
new scientific concepts in toxicity, with important implications
for public health. Environmental health perspectives, 117(11), 1652-
1655.