Question

1. According to “Healthy People 2020”, the environmental health section seeks to promote health for all through a healthy environment. Furthermore, environmental health is a dynamic and evolving field. How would environmental health problems influence our lives?
2. Describe the roles of an environmental health official at the county level.

Answer 1

Ans. Humans interact with the environment constantly. These interactions affect quality of life, years of healthy life lived, and health disparities. The World Health Organization defines environment, as it relates to health, as “all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related behaviors. Environmental health consists of preventing or controlling disease, injury, and disability related to the interactions between people and their environment.

The Healthy People 2020 Environmental Health objectives focus on 6 themes, each of which highlights an element of environmental health:

Outdoor air quality

Surface and ground water quality

Toxic substances and hazardous wastes

Homes and communities

Infrastructure and surveillance

Global environmental health

Creating healthy environments can be complex and relies on continuing to better understand the effects of exposure to environmental hazards on people’s health.

Maintaining a healthy environment is central to increasing quality of life and years of healthy life. all deaths and deaths among children under age 5 are due to preventable environmental factors. Environmental factors are diverse and far reaching.

Exposure to hazardous substances in the air, water, soil, and food

Natural and technological disasters

Climate change

Occupational hazards

The built environment

Poor environmental quality has its greatest impact on people whose health status is already at risk. Therefore, environmental health must address the societal and environmental factors that increase the likelihood of exposure and disease.

Outdoor Air Quality

Poor air quality is linked to premature death, cancer, and long-term damage to respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Progress has been made to reduce unhealthy air. Decreasing air pollution is an important step in creating a healthy environment.

Surface and Ground Water : Surface and ground water quality concerns apply to both drinking water and recreational waters. Contamination by infectious agents or chemicals can cause mild to severe illness. Protecting water sources and minimizing exposure to contaminated water sources are important parts of environmental health.

Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes : The health effects of toxic substances and hazardous wastes are not yet fully understood. Research to better understand how these exposures may impact health is ongoing. Meanwhile, efforts to reduce exposures continue. Reducing exposure to toxic substances and hazardous wastes is fundamental to environmental health.

Homes and Communities : People spend most of their time at home, work, or school. Some of these environments may expose people to:

Indoor air pollution, Inadequate heating and sanitation

Structural problems, Electrical and fire hazards , Lead-based paint hazards

Global Environmental Health : Water quality is an important global challenge. Diseases can be reduced by improving water quality and sanitation and increasing access to adequate water and sanitation facilities.

The Built Environment : Features of the built environment appear to impact human health—influencing behaviors, physical activity patterns, social networks, and access to resources.

Exposure to Unknown Hazards : It is presumed that some of these chemicals may present new, unexpected challenges to human health, and their safety should be evaluated prior to release.

These cross-cutting issues are not yet understood well enough to inform the development of systems for measuring and tracking their impact. Further exploration is warranted. The environmental health landscape will continue to evolve and may present opportunities for additional research, analysis, and monitoring.

Blood Lead Levels : there are approximately million houses or buildings that have children living in them who are potentially being exposed to lead. Since no safe blood lead level have been identified for children, any exposure should be taken seriously. However, since lead exposure often occurs with no obvious signs or symptoms, it often remains unrecognized. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is committed to the Healthy People 2020 goals of eliminating childhood lead exposures and decreasing disparities in the differences in average risk of lead exposure based on race and social class as public health concerns.