Chapter
15
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Ahead:
Environmental Health Defined
Population Growth and Control
Air Quality and Pollution
Water Quality and Pollution
Solid Waste Pollution
Chemical Pollution and Hazardous Waste
Radiation Pollution
Noise PollutionCopyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.
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Environment: natural and human-made
surroundings in which we spend our lives
Environmental health: collective interactions
of humans with the environment, and the
short-term and long-term health consequences
of those interactions
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World’s population is about 7.3 billion and
increasing at a rate of about 75 million per year
For first time in history, there are more older people
than young children
Rapid expansion of population is responsible
for most of the stress that humans put on the
environment
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Primary factors that may
cap human population:
Food
Available land and water
Energy
Minimum acceptable
standard of living
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Interconnecting factors fuel current population
explosion
High fertility rates
Lack of family planning resources
Lower death rates
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Air Quality Index (AQI): measure of local air
quality and what it means for health
EPA uses AQI to indicate air pollution levels
Key pollutants:
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Particulate matter (PM)
Ground-level ozone
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Fossil fuels: buried deposits of decayed
animals and plants that are converted into
carbon-rich fuels by exposure to heat and
pressure over millions of years; oil, coal, and
natural gas are fossil fuels
Smog: hazy atmospheric conditions resulting
from increased concentrations of ground-level
ozone and other pollutants
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Greenhouse gas:
gas (such as carbon dioxide)
or vapor that traps infrared
radiation instead of allowing
it to escape through the
atmosphere, resulting in a
warming of the earth
(the greenhouse effect)
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Greenhouse effect: warming of the earth
due to a buildup of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere
Global warming: increase in the earth’s
atmospheric temperature when averaged
across seasons and geographical regions;
also called climate change
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Temperature of earth’s atmosphere depends
on a balance between energy the planet
absorbs from the sun and energy radiated back
into space as lower-energy infrared radiation
Key components of temperature regulation:
Carbon dioxide
Water vapor
Methane
Greenhouse gases
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Reradiation causes buildup of heat that raises
the temperature of the lower atmosphere
(the greenhouse effect)
Possible consequences of climate change:
Increased rainfall and flooding
Increased mortality
A poleward shift of 50–350 miles
Drastic melting of the earth’s polar ice caps
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GREENHOUSE GAS SOURCES
Carbon dioxide Fossil fuel and word burning, factory
emissions, car exhaust, deforestation
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Refrigeration and air conditioning, aerosols,
foam products, solvents
Methane Cattle, wetlands, rice paddies, landfills, gas
leaks, coal and gas industries
Nitrous oxide Fertilizers, soil cultivation, deforestation,
animal feedlots and wastes
Ozone and other trace gases Photochemical reactions, car exhaust,
power plant emissions, solvents
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Air pollution is thinning the ozone layer
Ozone layer: layer of ozone molecules in the upper
atmosphere; screens out UV rays
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): chemicals used as
spray-can propellants, refrigerants, and industrial
solvents; implicated in the destruction of the ozone
layer
Without the ozone layer, life on Earth would be
impossible
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Per capita, Americans are the world’s biggest
energy consumers
China is the top energy user among nations
Energy consumption at the root of many
environmental problems
Key strategies for controlling energy use are
conservation and development of nonpolluting,
renewable sources of energy
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Alternative fuels
Ethanol
E85
Biodiesel
Hybrid and electric vehicles
Hybrid vehicles use
two distinct power
sources
All-electric vehicles
use battery packs
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Homes may harbor potentially dangerous
pollutants
Some compounds trigger allergic responses or are
linked to cancer
Common indoor pollutants:
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
Carbon monoxide and combustion by-products
Formaldehyde gas
Biological pollutants
Indoor mold
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Ideas for reducing air pollution:
Cut back on driving
Keep car tuned and well maintained
Buy energy-efficient appliances and use them
only when necessary
Replace incandescent bulbs with LED and
compact fluorescent bulbs
Make sure your home is well insulated
Plant and care for trees
(Continued)
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Ideas for reducing air pollution (continued):
Check that local government removes refrigerants
from a refrigerator, air conditioner, or dehumidifier
prior to disposal
Keep your house ventilated and use houseplants
Keep paints and chemical products sealed
Don’t smoke
Clean and inspect chimneys, furnaces, and other
appliances regularly
Install carbon monoxide detectors
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Water contamination and treatment
Many cities rely on wells that tap local groundwater
Water is subjected to physical and chemical
processes, including screening, filtration, and
disinfection before entering water supply system
Fluoridation: addition of fluoride to the water supply
to reduce tooth decay
CDC estimates 1 million Americans become ill and
900–1,000 die each year from microbial illnesses
from drinking water
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World Health Organization (WHO):
663 million people lack
safe drinking water
▪ Groundwater pumping
and the diversion of water
from lakes and rivers for
irrigation is reducing the
amount of water available
to local communities
2.4 billion people lack access
to basic sanitation
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Prior to the mid-19th century, many people
suffered from diseases caused by poor
sanitation
Septic system: self-contained sewage
disposal system, often used in rural areas, in
which waste material is decomposed by
bacteria
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In urban environments, sewage treatment
centers separate heavy metals collected in the
sludge remaining after treatment
Heavy metal: metal with a high specific gravity,
such as lead, copper, or tin
Contamination from PCBs is a danger
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB): industrial
chemical used as an insulator in electrical
transformers and linked to certain human cancers;
banned worldwide since 1977
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Reducing your water use
Take showers instead of baths
Install sink faucet aerators and water-efficient
showerheads
Purchase a water-saver toilet
Fix leaky faucets
Don’t pour toxic materials down the drain
Don’t flush old medicines down the toilet
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What’s in our garbage?
In 2013, Americans generated 254 million tons of
trash and recycled 87 million tons of materials
Burning reduces the bulk of solid waste but releases
hazardous materials into the air
Manufacturing, mining, and other industries produce
large amounts of potentially dangerous materials that
cannot be dumped
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Disposing of solid waste
Since 1960s, billions of tons of waste buried in
sanitary landfill disposal sites
Sanitary landfill: disposal site where solid wastes
are buried
Biodegradability
Biodegradable: ability of some materials to break
down naturally and disappear back into the
environment
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Recycling: use of waste materials as raw
materials in the production of new products
Discarded technology: e-waste
Fastest growing portion of our waste stream
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Buy products with less packaging
Buy recycled or recyclable products
Avoid foam or paper cups and plastic stirrers
Use reusable containers to store food
Recycle newspapers, glass, and cans
Do not throw away electronic items, batteries,
or fluorescent lights
Start a compost pile for your organic garbage
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ITEM TIME REQUIRED TO BIODEGRADE
Banana peel 2-10 days
Paper 2-5 months
Rope 3-14 months
Orange peel 6 months
Wool sock 1-5 years
Cigarette butt 1-12 years
Plastic-coated milk carton 5 years
Aluminum can 80-100 years
Plastic six-pack holder
ring
450 years
Glass bottle 1 million years
Plastic bottle Forever
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Asbestos
Asbestosis: lung condition caused by inhalation of
microscopic asbestos fibers, which inflame the lung
and can lead to lung cancer
Lead
Lead-based paints are
the chief culprit in lead
poisoning of children
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Pesticides
Pesticides: chemicals used to prevent the spread of
diseases transmitted by insects and to maximize
food production by killing insects that eat crops
Biomagnification: accumulation of a substance in
a food chain
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Mercury
Mercury persists in the environment, and like
pesticides, it is bioaccumulative
Other chemical pollutants
Many cities provide guidelines for approved disposal
methods and have hazardous waste collection days
Endocrine disrupting chemicals: chemicals
that disrupt the hormone systems of organisms
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Take steps to reduce
chemical pollution:
Read product labels and
buy the least toxic ones
Buy organic produce or
local produce
Store pesticides or toxic household products in a
locked place where children and pets can’t get to
them
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Radiation: energy transmitted in the form of
rays, waves, or particles
Radiation sickness: illness caused by excess
radiation exposure, marked by low white blood
cell counts and nausea; possibly fatal
Nuclear weapons and nuclear energy
Nuclear power: use of controlled nuclear reactions
to produce steam to produce electricity
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Medical uses of radiation
Radiation used to diagnose injuries
Should be no such thing as a “routine” X-ray
Radiation in the home and workplace
Many household devices give off forms of radiation
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Avoiding radiation
If physician orders an X-ray, ask if it is a necessity
Follow government recommendations for radon
testing
Find out if there are radioactive sites in your area
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Decibel: expresses relative intensity
of sounds on a scale from 0 to 120
Wear ear protectors when working around noisy
machinery
Keep the volume on headsets below 6
Avoid loud music
Avoid exposure to painfully loud sounds
Avoid repeated exposure to sounds above
80 decibels
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• World Population Growth by Year:
• Year 1 CE: 0.3 billion
• Year 1500: 0.5 billion
• Year 1804: 1 billion
• Year 1927: 2 billion
• Year 1960: 3 billion
• Year 1974: 4 billion
• Year 1987: 5 billion
• Year 1999: 6 billion
• Year 2011: 7 billion
• Year 2025: 8 billion (projected)
• Year 2040: 9 billion (projected)
• Year 2065: 10 billion (projected)
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Rising Temperatures
Environmental Effect Health Effect
Extreme Heat Heat-related illness and death, cardiovascular failure
Severe Weather Injuries, fatalities, mental health impacts
More Extreme Weather
Environmental Effect Health Effect
Air Pollution Asthma, cardiovascular disease
Changes in Vector Ecology Malaria, dengue, encephalitis, hantavirus, Rift
Valley fever, Lyme disease, chikungunya, West
Nile virus
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CONTINUED…
Rising Sea Levels
Environmental Effect Health Effect
Increasing Allergens Respiratory allergies, asthma
Water Quality Impacts Cholera, cryptosporidiosis, campylobacter,
leptospirosis, harmful algal blooms
Increasing Carbon Dioxide Levels
Environmental Effect Health Effect
Water and Food Supply Impacts Malnutrition, diarrheal disease
Environmental Degradation Forced migration, civil conflict, mental health impacts
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