Environmental Health Report: An Overview of Key Concepts and Events

This report provides a comprehensive overview of environmental health. It begins with a definition of environmental health according to WHO, emphasizing its role in evaluating, controlling, and correcting psychosocial and biological factors. The report outlines five major environmental health disciplines: industrial and occupational hygiene, epidemiology, exposure science, medicine, and toxicology. It then lists several U.S. environmental health organizations, including the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report categorizes environmental health hazards into physical, biological, chemical, biomechanical/ergonomic, psychosocial, and safety hazards. It also highlights major environmental health events, such as the establishment of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Noise Control Act, and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The report discusses environmental epidemiology, its role in identifying and quantifying risks, and its importance in informing risk assessments. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of environmental health in controlling exposures, maintaining safety, reducing pollution, discovering disease mechanisms, and addressing environmental inequalities and climate change impacts. The report concludes with a list of references.

Environmental Health
Name:
Institution:
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Definition of environmental health
According to WHO it is the practice and theory for
evaluating, controlling, correcting, psychosocial and
biological factors.
It is a component of public health that comprises of important
human health aspects such as quality of life that depends on
the psychosocial, biological and chemical environmental
factors.
Five major environmental health disciplines: industrial and
occupational hygiene, epidemiology, exposure science,
medicine and toxicology

U.S. environmental health organizations
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR):
It conducts health investigations, assessments, disease and
exposure registry, toxicological profiles, emergency response,
applied research and health education
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): providing
direction and leadership in the control and prevention of diseases.
National Environmental Health Association (NEHA): to
enhance a healthy environment by advancing professional
environmental health and protection.
Department of Energy (DOE): Promoting technological and
scientific innovation to promote cleanup of the environment
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Developing
regulations, laws and guidance to protect the environment and
human health

Environmental health professionals hazards
Physical Hazards: E.g. light pollution, floods, vibrations,
earthquakes, temperature, extreme pressure, magnetif fields
(Al-Sharqi, 2017).
Biological: E.g. Bacteria, viruses, plants, insects, human and
animals
Chemical: toxic chemicals
Biomechanical/Ergonomic: unappropriated repetitive
movements or improperly set workplace
Psychosocial: Violence, work fatigue, stress
Safety: Tripping or slipping, equipment malfunction,
improper machine guarding

Major Environmental Health Events
1969: Establishment of the National Environmental Policy
Act.
 It requires that all government branches and institutions
make comprehensive environmental considerations
before undertaking a major federal activity that has a
significant effect on the environment
1970: Passing of the landmark Clean Air Act by the
congress.
 EPA was given the authority to regulate vehicle pollution

Major Environmental Health Events
1972: Establishment of the Noise Control Act.
 It marked the establishment standards for noise emission
and the effective coordination of federal activities and
research.
1982: Passing of Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA).
 Supported the evaluation and selection of geologic
repository sites to ensure safe radioactive waste disposal.

Environmental Epidemiology
Branch of epidemiology that explores the role of the
environment in the protection of illnesses, injuries, disabilities,
growth disorders and death.
Involves exploring the external factors that influence
prevalence, incidence and geographic occurrence of health
conditions.
Role:
 to identify and quantify the risk and exposure to environmental
contaminants to understand the chemical, biologic, economic,
physical and social determinants of health.
 To inform the assessments of risks, standards development and

Environmental health is important
Control and prevention of environmental exposures that may
result in the health conditions
Maintenance of food and drink safety
 Reduction of noise, air and water
Discovery of disease mechanisms that result from
environmental exposures
Treatment of toxic wastes and solids, prevention of
workplace hazards
Investigating the impact of environmental inequalities ad
climate change on safety and health

References
 Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (2019). Federal
Agencies. Retrieved from https://envirn.org/resources/federal-
agencies/
 Al-Sharqi, A. H. (2017). Environmental Hazards and Human Health.
2nd International Conference on Environmental Health & Global
Climate Change. Occupational Medicine and Health Affairs, 5(2). doi:
10.4172/2329-6879-C1-032
 Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (n.d). Environmental
Health. Retrieved from https://deohs.washington.edu/environmental-
health
 National Environmental Health association (2019). About NEHA.
Retrieved from https://www.neha.org/about-neha
 OMICS International (2019). Epidemiology. Retrieved from
https://www.omicsonline.org/epidemiology-open-access.php
 Schultz, P. R., & Salazar, M. K. (1996). Nursing, health, & the
environment: Strengthening the relationship to improve the public's
health. Image-the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 28(1).

References
Thompson, M. R., & Schwartz Barcott, D. (2017). The concept
of exposure in environmental health for nursing. Journal of
advanced nursing, 73(6), 1315–1330. doi:10.1111/jan.13246
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2018). Laws
and Executive Orders. Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-
orders
Wallace, S. (2014). Hazard Identification and Control.
Retrieved from
https://www.wcbsask.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Hazard
-Vs.-Risk.pdf

Questions?
The end
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