General overview
These are the three aspects of Environmental Health and Safety
What is unaltered "natural" environment, altered environment, and built environment.
What are the 6 stages of the Air Quality Index
1. Good, 2. Moderate, 3. Unhealthy for sensitive groups, 4. Unhealthy, 5. Very unhealthy, 6. Hazardous
Describe risk assessment and what it takes into account
Risk assessment aims to measure the potential impact of known hazards. It takes into account the inherent danger of the exposure as well as the route, timing, and quantity.
Give a few examples of Environmental health careers
Toxicology, Food safety, Water Surveillance, Air Quality Surveillance, Disaster Prepardness.
How many deaths per year are due to injuries in occupational settings?
Around 5,000 deaths per year are due to injuries in occupational settings plus morbidities. Could include hearing loss, back pain, lung disease, cancers of lung, bladder, and White Blood Cells.
This assessment examines the impacts of contaminants on ecological systems ranging from chemicals to radiation to genetically altered crops
What is the ecological risk assessment?
What makes measuring the impact of the environment on health difficult?
The exposures may have long-term and subtle impacts.
What ways are we exposed to the physical environment? (4 ways)
1. Skin, 2. Respiratory tract, 3. Digestive tract, 4. Genital-Urinary tract
Describe the public health Assessment
The Public health assessment goes beyond a risk assessment and includes data on actual exposure in a community. Addresses risks to large numbers of individuals and often to the population as a whole. Can be controversial.
What has the greatest impact on environmental health?
Air pollution
What four assessments are used to address interactions between humans and the physical environment?
1. Risk, 2. Public health, 3. Ecological, 4. Interaction Analysis
What approach to environmental disease believes it is necessary to take into account the effect of two or more exposures?
What is the difference between intentional and unintentional injuries?
Intentional is produced on purpose (like suicide, homicide, bioterrorism). Unintentional are not on purpose (Motor vehicle collisions, drownings, fires, unintentional poisonings)
What is the value of the Hazardous level of the AQI?
301 and higher.
This assessment has four steps. Name them all
1. Hazard identification, 2. Dose-response relationship, 3. Exposure assessment. 4. Risk characterization.