Environmental health

• Planet supplies us with: food, water, air, and everything that sustains our life
• Groundwater pollution can be caused by waste storage, treatment or disposal facilities, septic systems, pipes, materials transport, and transfer operation
• Water pollution occurs when harmful substances, often chemicals or microorganisms, contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment
• Contaminants in water pollution

  • Toxic chemicals
  • Human and animal excrements
  • Heavy metals
  • Pesticides
  • Silt
  • Fertilizers
• Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical, or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Common sources include household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities, and forest fires. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulates
• Groundwater resources are valuable for their purity, dependability, costs of transportation, and treatment costs
• Recreational waters are the water we fish, boat, play, swim, or wade in. Accidental ingestion of both treated and untreated recreational water can lead to illness from exposure to pathogens or chemical contaminants
• Environmental health

  Encompasses all the interactions of humans with their environment and the health consequences of these interactions
• Causes of water pollution

  • Rapid growth of human population
  • Industrial outputs
• Humans generate large amounts of waste including septic systems, heavy metals like lead and mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), solid waste like garbage, and sanitary landfill
• Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and Polio. Absent, inadequate or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks
• Environmental health focuses on preventing infectious diseases spread by water, air, wastes, foods, and insects
• Sources of water pollution

  • Point sources - Factories, Malls, Ships, Big agricultural land
  • Non-point sources - Household, individual store, small farming land
• Sewage needs to be treated to improve the quality of wastewater so it can be discharged in waterways without seriously disrupting the aquatic environment or causing human health problems. The main goal of wastewater treatment facilities is to protect people and local ecosystems from toxic elements found in wastewater
• Water contaminants

  • Biological: Bacteria, Viruses, Protozoans, Fungi
  • Chemical: Industrial solvents, pesticides, Lead, Nitrates
• Major air pollutants of public health concern

  • Particulate matter
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Ozone
  • Nitrogen dioxide
  • Sulfur dioxide
• Air pollution contributes to

  • Heart disease
  • Lung disease
  • Asthma
  • Lung cancer
• Health effects of land pollution

  • Diseases transmitted from polluted soil
  • Pests attracted by waste
  • Increased susceptibility in children
  • Diseases include cancer, neurological problems, tissue damage, and irritation
  • Respiratory system affected
  • Skin problems linked to land pollution
  • Leading cause of birth defects
• Significant impacts of global air pollution

  • Ozone depletion
  • Global warming
• Air pollution causes

  Respiratory and other diseases and is an important source of morbidity and mortality
• Air pollutants with the greatest impact on health

  • Outdoor: Ozone
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Airborne particles
  • Nitrogen oxides
  • Lead
  • Sulfur oxides
  • Diesel emissions
  • Indoor: Construction
  • Smoking
  • Mold
  • Dust mites
  • Radon gas
  • Wall painting
  • Dusting
  • Burning paper and wood
  • Cooking activities
  • Hydrothermal power plant
  • Volcanic eruption
  • Transportation
  • Automobiles
  • Mining activities
  • Residue burning
  • Industrial activities
  • Forest fire
  • Insect repellent
  • Perfumes
• Noise pollution is an underrated environmental problem as it can't be seen, smelled, or tasted
• World Health Organization: 'Noise must be recognized as a major threat to human well-being'
• Problems related to noise pollution


  • High blood pressure
  • Stress-related illness
  • Sleep disruption
  • Hearing loss
  • Productivity loss
  • Memory loss
  • Severe depression
  • Panic attacks