Environmental Health Risk Assessment

This essay focuses on the concept of acid rain and its impact on the environment and human health. It discusses the causes of acid rain, its effects, and strategies for prevention. The essay also highlights the importance of environmental health risk assessment in reducing the emission of harmful pollutants.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
PICO question............................................................................................................................3
Background................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................3
Methods......................................................................................................................................5
1. Issue Identification..........................................................................................................5
2. Hazard Identification.......................................................................................................6
3. Dose-response assessment..............................................................................................7
4. Exposure Assessment......................................................................................................7
Strategy for risk communication................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

2ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Introduction
The essay focuses on the concept of acid rain that is majorly caused due to certain
environmental pollutant that is released in the environment. The primary environmental
pollutant resulting in acid rain is sulphur dioxide (SO2) that is released majorly from different
industrial processes (Burns et al., 2016). Acid rain is also termed as acid deposition, which
includes different types of precipitation by acidic component like sulphur dioxide or nitrogen
oxide. The mentioned acidic component can affect the environment in either dry or wet form
that comprise of snow, hail, rain, fog and dust, which is acidic in nature. PICO question was
formed that highlighted the relationship between adverse health conditions of the Australian
population due to acid rain that was caused due to release of harmful environmental pollutant
from industrial process and burning of fossil fuels (Black, MacLeod & Smith, 2017). The
essay further highlights the relationship between the environmental pollutant and the health
outcome of the people affected due to the pollutant. The two methods of acid rain prevention
was highlighted that involves clean coal technology, where coal is washed to reduce the
harmful exposure of sulphur dioxide that ultimately result in acid rain and use of renewable
energy sources that mitigate the use of coal. Environmental health risk assessment (EHRA)
was done for the considered environmental pollutant that comprises of issue identification,
hazard identification, exposure assessment and dose-response assessment in order to adopt
the strategy to reduce the emission of harmful emission of pollutant so that the risk of adverse
health condition is reduced (Livingston, 2016). Health promotion strategy is used as the risk
communication strategy to create awareness among the Australian population regarding the
harmful effects of acid rain and different ways that can be adopted to avoid and reduce the
exposure of acid rain (Osterholm et al., 2015).

3ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
PICO question
“Does the use of renewable energy sources in power plant industries are effective in reducing
the emission of sulphur-dioxide preventing acid rain for people of Australia as compared to
washing of coal to remove sulphur”.
Background
In the developing world the rate of harmful gas emission is also increasing that is
effecting the population and leading to sever health condition that is in a way increasing the
mortality rate and affecting the overall health condition of the people. Acid rain is primarily
cause due to emission of harmful gases like nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulphur dioxide (SO2)
that is emitted to the atmosphere and is carried forward through air currents and wind
(Wettestad, 2018). These harmful gases then react with oxygen, water and different
chemicals in order to produce nitric acids and sulphuric acids that mix with rain and release
to the ground in form of acid rain. Two different sources are involved that results in release of
harmful gases namely natural sources like volcanic eruption and man-made sources like
burning of fossil fuels. The essay will focus on the man-made source that involves burning of
fossil fuels particularly coal in power-plant industries (US EPA, 2019). There are two forms
of acid deposition that comprise of wet deposition and dry deposition. Different public and
environment health is effected due to acid rain that significantly affect the aquatic
environment, soil, forests, vegetative plantation, public health, buildings and architecture. An
extensive literature review is conducted to determine the effect acid rain on the health
condition of people that is released through man-made sources (Coralcoe.org.au, 2019).

4ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Literature Review
According to Suarez, Diez & Rubiera (2019), coal is the most frequently used fossil
fuel in domestic and industrial process. The researcher had highlighted the economic benefit
of using coal along with the environmental concern of using coal. Coal is highly responsible
for emitting gases that result in greenhouse effect and how the burning of coal releases
harmful gases that result in adverse health and environmental condition. According to Vega
et al., (2019), coal is considered as one of the most abundant used fossil fuel that is less
expensive as compared to other energy resources. Clean coal technology is used to address
the issue of burning of fossil fuel that releases harmful gases that further effects the
environment and humans. The researcher had highlighted that using clean coal technology
will reduce the emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide that is the major pollutant
affecting the environment and is released from the power plant. According to Azzi, Duc &
Ha (2015), sustainable use of energy is recommended in the future that will focus on energy
generation and consumption side, which includes consumption of large amount of energy.
Energy efficiency was targeted by the researcher that will produce less amount of greenhouse
gases and adopt the use of renewable energy source for reducing the harmful effects of
greenhouse gases. The researcher had also highlighted different global planned priorities such
as affordable, secure and sustainable energy in order to maintain and develop better public
health and economic growth. Different countries like Australia who are suffering from high
amount of greenhouse gases have adapted efficient, clean and reliable energy system that is
crucial for supplying clean energy to different sectors. According to Liu, Lin & Zhang
(2016), large amount of environmental problems takes place due to burning of fossil fuel for
electricity generation. The researchers had focused greenhouse gas emission that results in
climate change and is responsible for local environmental threat polluting the environment
and causing pollution. Different strategies were addressed by the researchers focusing on the

5ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
above issue that include environmental regulation focusing on the impact of emitted
greenhouse gases in society, environment and economy, financial and economic incentives.
Hence, from the above literature review it was evident that burning of fossil fuel especially
coal results in emission of greenhouse gases that effects the environment and public health by
leading to different health condition. Emission of greenhouse gases when mixed with rain
result in acid rain that leads to respiratory disease among human like shortness of breath,
irritation and lung infection (Zheng et al., 2019). The severity of diseases can increase
depending in the rate of emission and exposure.
Methods
Environmental Health risk Assessment (EHRA) is conducted for identifying the severity of
acid rain and emission of sulphur dioxide produce due to burning of fossil fuels. It is defined
as the method of identifying the impact of physical, chemical, psychosocial and
microbiological hazard in the identified human population under specific condition and time
(Department of the Environment and Energy, 2019). Environmental Health risk Assessment
includes different health effects of radiation sources, chemical pollutant, pathogenic
microbiological pollutant, electromagnetic fields and climate change. There are five different
stages included under Environmental Health risk Assessment which are mentioned as follows
(Health.gov.au, 2019):
1. Issue Identification: Issue identification is considered as the first stage of
Environmental Health risk Assessment. The primary drivers of acid rain are burning
of fossil fuel in power plant industry for electricity generation that leads in emission
of greenhouses gases like nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide (Lundgren &
McMakin, 2018). Due to the high alarming rate of acid rain, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted different strategies to reduce the

6ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
emission of these harmful gases like use of renewable energy source for producing
energy rather than burning of fossil fuel. Acid rain is usually caused due to transport
mechanism where the released sulphur dioxide in the air is transported to the land by
rain (Cockerham, 2018). The rain absorbs the gases and forms acid rain that affect the
land and local people in the wet or dry form depending on the transport method. The
causes of acid rain is persistent because of high energy demand that require
combustion of fossil fuel particularly coal that in turn produces harmful gases like
sulphur dioxide, which mixes with rain and leads to acid rain polluting the atmosphere
and affecting the health of population. Large number of people are suffering from
adverse health condition like lung damage and respiratory condition due to acid rain.
Hence, Environmental Health Risk Assessment is conducted for acid rain that affects
large population of people among Australia leading to different respiratory condition
and lung diseases (Frumkin, 2016).
2. Hazard Identification: Hazard identification is considered as the second stage of
Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA). The hazardous effect of burning
coal for energy production is not only seen in human but it also effects the marine
environment as the nature of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide is very acidic that
can be harmful for the ecosystem (Robertson & Hansen, 2015). The onset of harmful
health condition is not immediate but progress with time. In case of human,
continuous exposure to acid rain causes skin irritation and can also result in some
severe skin diseases and in case of marine environment it drifts over the soil as
harmful acidic chemicals in the form of rain is collected in the soil, acidic rain water
will percolate aluminium present in the soil clay elements and then run into lakes and
streams that result death of various marine life (Sandman, 2017). The hazardous
chemicals released due to burning of fossil fuels are interacted with different air

7ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
particles or rain that further result in acid rain that can be either in wet form or in dry
form. It is also noticed that prolonged exposure to acid rain can result in skin cancer
that is due to high acidic content of harmful gases mixed with rain that result in severe
breathing problems and respiratory diseases (Suter, 2016).
3. Dose-response assessment: Dose-response assessment is considered as the third
stage of Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA). The chance of acid rain is
high among extremely polluted regions where large industries are located and these
industries involve the combustion of fossil fuel particularly coal for producing energy.
These industries release smoke that contain harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur dioxide that dissolve in the rain water, which is acidic in nature (Yousefi,
Ghoochani & Mahvi, 2018). The appropriate dose-response assessment is done by
evaluating the release of harmful chemicals after burning or combustion of fossil fuels
in power plant industry for generation of electricity. Since Australia is not highly
polluted the chance of acid rain is low and even the government are taking up
different measures to mitigate the risk of acid rain. Hence, no proper model is used to
explain to determine the dose-response assessment of the factors leading to acid rain
(Trove.nla.gov.au, 2019).
4. Exposure Assessment: Exposure Assessment is considered as the final stage of
Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA) that signifies that continuous
exposure of these harmful chemicals can lead to various health condition in humans
like skin cancer, skin irritation, respiratory problem and shortness of breath (Minolfi
et al., 2018). The harmful effect of acid rain is not only limited to humans but also
effects the marine environment and the historical monuments as these chemicals are
highly acidic in nature and thereby affects the ecosystem. There are various modes of
administration of these greenhouse gases such as in wet form, dry form, present in

8ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
crops and vegetables. The exposure is episodic as it depends on the time of exposure
of the humans, animals or in historical monuments. The continuous exposure can
happen when there is continuous fall of acid rain and almost every alternative day the
ecosystem experience from acid rain (Kammen & Hasssenzahl, 2018).
Strategy for risk communication
In order to identify the strategy for risk communication it is crucial to follow the three
major steps that include risk assessment, risk perception and risk communication strategy. In
risk assessment, the level of risk exposure and the vulnerability of population affected due to
identified risk is noted and used to determine the strategy to create awareness among the
population of Australia (Who.int, 2019). Risk perception is also useful for determining the
strategy to communicate the risk among the population that includes high levels of mortality,
morbidity, disability, property and political loss. In Australia, different strategies is adopted
and used by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reducing the risk
level of acid rain by creating awareness among the Australian population. EPA has developed
Acid rain program for reducing the level of greenhouse gas emission. Large power plants
produce electricity that is consumed by the population in their everyday life. However, power
plant industries also generate large quantities of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide that is
the major pollutants leading to acid rain. Burning of fossil fuels particularly coal produces
energy that is required by the human population. The government of Australia had created
law named as Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Www3.epa.gov, 2019). The above
mentioned law stated that United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should
initiate the Acid Rain Program that will educate the population regarding the harmful effect
of greenhouse gases on human health and well-being. This acid rain program limits the total
amount of sulphur dioxide (SOx) produced by the power plants industry that is released in the
atmospheric air and issues different stipends to the present power plant industry to shield

9ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
their total emission of sulphur dioxide (Lundgren & McMakin, 2018). Public communication
strategy is used that involves different methods like training and health education that provide
an in-depth knowledge regarding the concept of acid rain and the factors that leads to acid
rain. In this public prevention program, the power plant industries are motivated to use
renewable source of energy instead of fossil fuels to produce energy.The renewable source of
energy has many advantages that primarily avoids combustion of fossil fuels particularly coal
as the combustion of fossil fuel will release the harmful gases that will further mix with rain
to produce acid rain (Haer, Botzen & Aerts, 2016). Hence, different community members and
government policies will communicate the risk of using fossil fuel to the industrialist and to
general human population to reduce the harmful or adverse effect of acid rain.
Conclusion
The essay concludes about the concept of acid rain and its effect on human and
environment. Acid rain is also termed as acid deposition, which includes different types of
precipitation by acidic component like sulphur dioxide or nitrogen oxide. The mentioned
acidic component can affect the environment in either dry or wet form that comprise of snow,
hail, rain, fog and dust, which is acidic in nature. The harmful; gases are released form the
power plant industry that is required for the generation of energy. PICO question was formed
that basically focuses on the intervention required to reduce the emission of harmful gases
like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Extensive literature review was conducted in the
essay that gave a background to the concept of acid rain and the possible factors that is
involved in the emission of harmful gases. The essay also involved the environmental health
risk assessment program that involved issue identification, hazard identification, dose-
response assessment and exposure assessment. The essay concludes by highlighting the risk
communication strategy that is required to reduce the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.
In Australia, different strategies is adopted and used by United States Environmental

10ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Protection Agency (EPA) for reducing the risk level of acid rain by creating awareness
among the Australian population. EPA has developed Acid rain program for reducing the
level of greenhouse gas emission.

11ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
References
Azzi, M., Duc, H., & Ha, Q. P. (2015). Toward sustainable energy usage in the power
generation and construction sectors—a case study of Australia. Automation in
Construction, 59, 122-127.
Black, J. L., MacLeod, I. D., & Smith, B. W. (2017). Theoretical effects of industrial
emissions on colour change at rock art sites on Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 12, 457-462.
Burns, D. A., Aherne, J., Gay, D. A., & Lehmann, C. (2016). Acid rain and its environmental
effects: Recent scientific advances. Atmospheric Environment, 146, 1-4.
Cockerham, L. G. (2018). Basic environmental toxicology. Routledge.
Coralcoe.org.au. (2019). The cloud cycle and acid rain. Retrieved from
https://www.coralcoe.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/EEPL_1_acidrain.pdf
Department of the Environment and Energy. (2019). Department of the Environment and
Energy. Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/science/supervising-
scientist/publications/ssr/environmental-risk-assessment-australian-perspective
Frumkin, H. (Ed.). (2016). Environmental health: from global to local. John Wiley & Sons.
Haer, T., Botzen, W. W., & Aerts, J. C. (2016). The effectiveness of flood risk
communication strategies and the influence of social networks—Insights from an
agent-based model. Environmental Science & Policy, 60, 44-52.
Health.gov.au. (2019). Environmental Health Risk assessment. Retrieved from
https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/A12B57E41EC9F326
CA257BF0001F9E7D/$File/Environmental-health-Risk-Assessment.pdf
Kammen, D. M., & Hassenzahl, D. M. (2018). Should we risk it?: Exploring environmental,
health, and technological problem solving. Princeton University Press.

12ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Liu, X., Lin, B., & Zhang, Y. (2016). Sulfur dioxide emission reduction of power plants in
China: current policies and implications. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, 133-
143.
Livingston, R. A. (2016). Acid rain attack on outdoor sculpture in perspective. Atmospheric
environment, 146, 332-345.
Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2018). Risk communication: A handbook for
communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.
Minolfi, G., Albanese, S., Lima, A., Tarvainen, T., Fortelli, A., & De Vivo, B. (2018). A
regional approach to the environmental risk assessment-Human health risk assessment
case study in the Campania region. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 184, 400-
416.
Österholm, P., Virtanen, S., Rosendahl, R., Uusi-Kämppä, J., Ylivainio, K., Yli-Halla, M., ...
& Turtola, E. (2015). Groundwater management of acid sulfate soils using controlled
drainage, by-pass flow prevention, and subsurface irrigation on a boreal farmland.
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B—Soil & Plant Science, 65(sup1), 110-120.
Robertson, L. W., & Hansen, L. G. (Eds.). (2015). PCBs: recent advances in environmental
toxicology and health effects. University Press of Kentucky.
Sandman, P. M. (2017). Environmental risk and the press. Routledge
Suárez-Ruiz, I., Diez, M. A., & Rubiera, F. (2019). Coal. In New Trends in Coal Conversion
(pp. 1-30). Woodhead Publishing.
Suter II, G. W. (2016). Ecological risk assessment. CRC press.
Trove.nla.gov.au. (2019). Acid rain in Europe: counting the cost / edited by Helen ApSimon,
David Pearce, Ece Özdemiroḡlu. - Version details. Retrieved from
https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/24697041?selectedversion=NBD13569415

13ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
US EPA. (2019). What is Acid Rain? | US EPA. Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain
Vega, F., Alonso-Fariñas, B., Baena-Moreno, F. M., Rodríguez, J. A., & Navarrete, B.
(2019). Technologies for control of sulfur and nitrogen compounds and particulates in
coal combustion and gasification. In New Trends in Coal Conversion (pp. 141-173).
Woodhead Publishing.
Wettestad, J. (2018). Clearing the air: European advances in tackling acid rain and
atmospheric pollution. Routledge.
Who.int. (2019). Risk Communication Strategies. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/ch10.pdf
Www3.epa.gov. (2019). Acid Rain Students Site: What is Being Done?. Retrieved from
https://www3.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/beingdone.html
Yousefi, M., Ghoochani, M., & Mahvi, A. H. (2018). Health risk assessment to fluoride in
drinking water of rural residents living in the Poldasht city, Northwest of Iran.
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 148, 426-430.
Zheng, C., Wang, Y., Liu, Y., Yang, Z., Qu, R., Ye, D., ... & Gao, X. (2019). Formation,
transformation, measurement, and control of SO3 in coal-fired power plants. Fuel,
241, 327-346.

14ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT