Question

Environmental Health Issues

You have learned about the various environmental issues, including physical, chemical and biological agents that impact our health.

Based on your understanding of the environmental issues, create a 5- to 6-page Microsoft Word document that includes the answers to the following questions:

Examine the regulatory agencies related to your chosen environmental agent? What is the role of these agencies?

Discuss the environmental standards related to your chosen agent? How will these standards decrease the hazards in your local community?

Analyze the factors (such as physical, cognitive, behavioral, financial, and emotional) that can influence your chosen environmental issue. Describe the impact of your chosen environmental issue on a diverse population. Support using examples.

Evaluate the ways in which the environmental issue will impact the involved staff. Also, discuss how different staff will be involved to deal with the issue.

Issue: Ocean pollution or air pollution

Answer 1

" Fog in air chills but smog in air kills. Air pollution is controllable."

- Dhinesh Anthologist

There are various environmental issues including physical, chemical and biological agent that impact our health. Air pollution contribute a significant share to it. The air pollution occurs when harmful or excessive quantities of substance including gases, particulates and biological molecules are introduced in the earth's atmosphere. These air pollution may be the result of combustion process, smoking, smoke from vehicles and industries, fireworks and explosives, deforestation, increasing populations.

The presence of these harmful gases in the atmosphere has laid serious health impact of people. The mortality rates due to the diseases cause by polluted air is rapidly increasing. A good collaborative team approach by the regulatory agencies and the community itself is important to control this environmental issue.There are many regulatory agencies that tend to function in order to control the rate of air pollution and to control the factors contributing to air pollution. Several acts has been passed by the law inorder to contol air pollution. For example The Clean Air Act requires the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS) for six common air pollutants namely carbon monoxide, ground level ozone, nitrous oxide, lead, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. These agency mainly aims at attaining information on sources of each pollutants, how it effects health and measure to reduce the pollutants. The other regulatory index is North American Air Quality Index . It takes the form of a scale with various threshold, which is used to communicate to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity.Awareness created by these standards will help community to reduce the production of pollutants and thereby reduce the hazards in the community.

Air pollution is not only the result of the various human activities like smoking, burning, cutting trees but the behavior, financial status and cognitive factors also contribute to its impact on health. Unawareness among people regarding the pollutants add up to the issue. The lifestyle adopted by people like smoking not only affects the smoker but also the people surround them. Due to the financial instability especially in the rural areas result in use of commerical methods of cooking, burning of fuels which produces these harmful gases to the atmosphere. Poor understanding of one issue has also lead to creation of another issue. Example: Few years ago, awareness regarding throwing of plastics in the open spaces creates health hazards was circulating in the community. The people inorder to prevent health issues due to throwing of plastics, started burning those plastics which lead to serious consequences. So such incomplete informations, inadequate knowledge and understanding have also led to increase the rate of air pollution.

The impact of air pollution on the population is serious. The incidences of respiratory and malignant diseases of respiratory system have increased. These includes pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, COPD, silicosis,empysema, cystic fibrosis,Lung cancer. It also leads to cardiovascular disorders. The air pollution not only effects the community but it also effects the staff associated in work. Ex: Industrial health hazards,health hazard due to radiation exposure.These staffs who are at risk of developing health hazards are provided with protective aids to prevent exposure to these harmful pollutants.

The air pollution cannot be resolved with the governmental efforts along but the community should also take equal initiative to control these agents that impact the health. The information technology should aim at creating awareness among communities regarding the serious impact of air pollution on health.