Environmental Health I. Introduction

Shu-Chi Chang, Ph.D., P.E., P.A.Assistant Professor1 and Division Chief2

1Department of Environmental Engineering2Division of Occupational Safety and Health,

Center for Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety and Health

National Chung Hsing University

Outline

Instructor’s background Course overview and grading policy

Overview of this course Grading policy References

Introduction of Environmental Health

Instructor’s background Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan at Ann

Arbor, U.S.A. (among the top 5 graduate programs in U.S. News ranking)

Award Government Scholarship: Sole grantee in Environmental

Engineering in year 2000. Professional qualification

PE, Environmental Engineering (1989) PE, Industrial Safety Engineering (1997) CPA, ISO 14000 (1996, Naville & Clark) CPA, ISO 9000 (1997, Mercedes-Benz)

Professional Expertise Environmental microbiology and nanobiotechnology (8

years) Bioremediation of contaminated soils and groundwater (6

years) Integrated quality, environmental, safety, and health

management ( 5 year)

Dissertational Research

Rapid detection and enumeration of mycobacteria in metalworking fluids: technology development and validation

Tools Flow cytometry Fluorescent antibody and nucleic acid dyes Functionalized magnetic nanoparticle Statistical data analysis

Contributions Shortened test time by more than 95% Single colony-forming-unit sensitivity ~98% specificity Good correlation over 4 orders of magnitude Can effectively reduce health hazards and

environmental burdens

Extended Research

Nano-emulsion: novel industrial fluid formulations, groundwater remediation enhancer, etc.

Ultrafine magnetic nanoparticles (~1 nm) Flow-Genomics™: an ultrasensitive and high-

throughput single molecule detection platform Instantaneous characterization of microbial

ecosystems: simultaneous identification of structural and functional roles of numerous microorganisms in a microbial ecosystem

Peptide Nucleic Acid Probes

Dioxin Study

University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES)

Soil, blood, dust, and questionnaire Data analysis

Modeling Pattern analysis Exposure pathway modeling

Conclusion Age, sex, and BMI account for 50% of the variation in serum

dioxins Fish and game consumption, river activity, and specific

occupation account for 1-6 % of the variation in serum dioxins Living on the contaminated lands, living within Midland and

Saginaw counties account for 0.2~1.0% of the variation in serum dioxins

Overview of this course (1)

Teaching goals To equip students with fundamental

knowledge in environmental health and enhance their comprehension of current environmental health issues.

To help students be familiar with the links between environmental pollution sources and their endpoints.

Overview of this course (2)

Main topics Chemical and toxicology Biological agents and epidemiology Workplace hazards Environmental hazards Law and policy Risk assessment Others: Energy and disaster response

Overview of this course (3)

Style Fact and Engineering oriented

Understanding and memorization Quantification and calculation

Group learning Finish a group term project together

Grading policy

1. All lectures, assignments and tests will be given in English. However, questions, term paper, and homework are allowed to be finished in Chinese or English.

2. Homework will be handed out every 2 to 3 weeks and a term paper will be assigned to each group of students, usually 2 students in a group. Late homework or term paper submission is not acceptable. Discussion is allowed but no copying (will get significant loss of points).

3. Composition of final score Midterm (30%, close-book, 90 minutes); Final (35%, open-book, 90

minutes) Homework (20%); Term paper (15%) Participation (5%)

4. Term paper requirements: Font in size 12 and double space. 7 pages minimum and 10 pages maximum, not including references. References should be no less than 7 citations as journal articles, preferably in English. (Again, no copying or plagiarism. )

Group Term Paper

Why Promotion of group learning and

interaction Chance to investigate the topic you are

most interested in within environmental health realm

Getting familiar with the format of typical journal article writing

Environmental professionals need better communication skills than any other engineering professionals

ScheduleWeek Topic

1 Introduction and scope

2 Basic toxicology

3 Epidemiology and workplace

4 Ambient air quality and air pollution

5 Food

6 Drinking water

7 Liquid waste

8 Solid waste

9 Midterm

10 Rodents and insects

11 Injury Control

12 Electromagnetic radiation

13 Environmental law

14 Monitoring and auditing

15 Risk assessment and management system

16 Energy

17 Disaster response

18 Final examination

Textbook and references

Textbook (not required): Moeller, D.W., 2005. Environmental Health. Harvard

University Press, 3rd edition (A copy will be available on reserve desk in NCHU library).

References: Bassett, W.H. Clay’s handbook of environmental health.

19th ed.; Spon Press, 2004. New York. (Electronic resource, NCHU Library)

Worthington, David. Dictionary of environmental health; Spon Press, 2003. New York. (Electronic resource, NCHU Library)

For lecturing slides, please refer to http://web.nchu.edu.tw/pweb/users/shucc

Office hours and others

Office hours: Wednesday: 11AM (noon) ~ 12PM Other time: by appointment

Guest speakers (TBA)

Introduction

Definition “In its broader sense, environmental health

(EH) is the segment of public health that is concerned with assessing, understanding, and controlling the impacts of people on their environment and the impacts of environment on them.” –Moeller, D.W., 1997.

For human well-being, interactions are important

Defined more by the problems than by the approaches

Subtle differences between EH professionals and Public health professionals

Defining the environment (I)

Inner versus outer environment Principle protective barriers

Skin Gastrointestinal tract Lung membrane

Defining the environment (II)

Personal versus ambient environment

Personal environment: have control

ambient environment: have no control

Defining the environment (III)

Gaseous, liquid, and solid environments Gaseous: particulates and gases Liquid: discharged into water Solid: solid wastes, esp. plastics and

toxic chemicals

Defining the environment (IV)

Four aspects that affect people’s health Chemical Biological Physical Socioeconomic

Assessing the problems

Population growth and urban environments

Steps to assess the problems Determining the sources of contaminants

and nature of them How and pathway of contact Measuring the effects Applying controls

Need an interdisciplinary team Need to recognize technological advent

in analytical instrumentation

Cancer and the personal environment

Tobacco use Physical activity Weight maintenance Healthy diet Alcohol

Systems approach

Pollution may only change into different forms

Examples Incineration Air-cleaning systems Chemical treatment of liquid waste Discharge of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides Discharge of chlorofluorocarbons Discharge of carbon dioxides

Intervention and control

Three different intervention models Clinical Public health Environmental

stewardship

Outlook

Recognition of the problems and capability to control them. However, “greatest good” is important.

Take system approach and avoid exchange of problems

Sustainable development makes sense