environmental health

• environmental health - the study of how the environment affects human health
• environmental health - differs from the study of how human affect the environment, because it focuses on people's health
• environmental health - always come back to you and whether the environment you are part of is helping you stay healthy or making you sick
• hazards - things in the environment that are harmful
• hazards - this include things like chemicals, disease-causing bacteria, loud noises, and even stress
• hazards - can be natural or human-made
• seven core concepts of environmental health

  toxicity

  exposure

  dose/response

  individual susceptibility

  risks and benefits

  environmental justice

  community resources and action
• toxic - poisonous or dangerous
• toxicology - study of poisons
• toxicity - measure of how dangerous a chemical is
• the greater a chemical's toxicity, the less it takes to make a person sick or even kill them. true or false

  true
• environmental protection agency - uses scale to rate the toxicity of products commonly used in home
• exposure - the total amount of a hazard that comes in direct contact with your body
• possible sources of hazards

  cars

  industry

  volcanic eruptions
• in order for us to be exposed, however, the hazard has to get from the source to us. to do this, it travels along an environmental pathway
• pathways

  air we breathe

  water we drink

  food we eat

  soil we work, play, and use
• pathways

  air we breathe

  water we drink

  food we eat

  soil we work, play, and use
• three parts of exposure

  the source of hazard (bus exhaust)

  the environmental pathway (air)

  the contact (inhaled fumes)
• inhalation - thru breathing (respiratory lungs)
• ingestion - thru swallowing (usually by eating)
• dermal absorption - absorbing a chemical through any part of the skin
• when chemicals come in contact with the skin, they can sometimes enter the bloodstream through this route of exposure
• inhalation - breath the hazard in
• ingestion - eat or drink it in
• ingestion - eat or drink it in
• dermal absorption - get it directly on your skin or in your eyes
• you can also et it directly into your body through an injection
• three main routes of exposure

  inhalation

  ingestion

  dermal absorption
• dose - depend on how big or small you are
• duration of exposure - how long
• frequency of exposure - how often
• body size - how big or small are you
• dose - amount of hazard that actually enters your body
• the amount someone gets into their body (their dose) depends on many factors, including how long you are exposed, how often you are exposed, and how big or small you are
• individual susceptibility

  pregnant women and their developing babies

  elderly people whose defense mechanisms are less efficient

  infants and children who are still developing

  sick people who have weakened immune system
• individual susceptibility - genetics, body size, age, gender or general health
• environmental justice - everyone has the right to live in an environment that doesn't make them sick, regardless of their race, culture, or income
• community resources and action - plays a vital role in addressing environmental health issues
• community resources include places like the library and city hall
• take action

  ask yourself what you can do to help solve the problem

  ask yourself how you can share what you have learned with others