Name:______ ______________
Chapter 9 Notes – Sections 1-3 – Environmental Health
SLIDE #1 – Types of Environmental Health Hazards
Environmental health hazards can be biological, social, chemical, physical. Can you think of any environmental health hazards that
exist here in Latrobe, PA?
• ______________________: Viruses, bacteria, and other organisms that cause disease
• ______________________: Lifestyle choices that endanger health
• ______________________: Harmful artificial and natural chemicals in the environment
• ______________________: Natural disasters and ongoing natural phenomena, such as UV radiation, that can
cause health problems
SLIDE #2 – Epidemiology and Toxicology
Identifying hazards in the environment is just one part of environmental health. Scientists also want to
understand how these hazards affect people.
•
The study of ______________________ in human
populations—how and where they occur and
how they can be controlled. Often involves
studying large groups over long periods. Can
determine statistical associations between
health hazards and effects, but can’t
_______________ the hazards actually caused the
effects
•
•
•
The study of how ________________________
substances affect an organism’s health
____________________________ is a measure of
how harmful a substance is.
Toxicologists look at toxicity by
determining _______________________________
____________________________________________.
SLIDE #3 – Individual Responses
• People respond differently to environmental _________________________________ making it difficult to predict
with certainty how hazards may affect specific people.
• Sensitivity to hazards varies with ___________________, sex, ___________________, and immune system health.
– People with health issues like asthma, compromised immune systems are more sensitive.
• Many diseases have genetic as well as _______________________________________________factors.
– Much research has proven that breast cancer can be caused by either environmental or genetic
factors…and if caught early can be curable.
SLIDE #4 – Risk Assessment
Scientists try to determine how likely it is that a given hazard will cause harm. With chemical hazards, scientists determine toxicity,
human exposure, frequency of exposure, concentration of exposure, etc.
SLIDE #5 – Infectious Disease
• Caused by _____________________________________________
• Spread by human and animal contact and through contaminated ___________________ and _________________
• Cause of almost ______________________________________________deaths in _____________________________________
nations
• Covering your mouth when you cough, washing your hands often, and staying home from school if you’re
sick help prevent the spread of infectious disease.
SLIDE #6 – Emerging Diseases
• Diseases appearing in the human population for the _________________ time or suddenly beginning to
________________________ rapidly
• Humans have little or no ________________________________, and no vaccines have been developed.
• Facilitated by increasing human ___________________________________, growing
_____________________________________resistance, and ____________________________________________ changes
SLIDE #7 – Responding to Emerging Diseases
• World Health Organization (___________________): Monitors health events worldwide and
coordinates international responses to _________________________________________ diseases
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (_______________): Responds to emerging diseases in the
_________________________________________________; the CDC developed __________________________________ plans to
deal with the spread of the H1N1 flu virus.
SLIDE #8 – Social Hazards
• Some social hazards are easier to avoid than others.
• Examples of social hazards include _______________________________, being exposed to secondhand ____________,
living near an old toxic waste site, working with harmful chemicals, and eating fatty foods.
SLIDE #9 – Chemical Hazards
• Any chemical can be harmful in ___________________________ enough amounts.
• A ______________________________ is something released into the environment that has some harmful impact on
people and other organisms.
• Chemical hazards are __________ necessarily pollutants, and pollutants are not necessarily chemical hazards.
SLIDE #10 – Types of Hazards
• _____________________________: Cancer-causing chemicals
• __________________________________: Chemicals that cause genetic mutations
• ________________________________: Chemicals that harm embryos and fetuses
• _______________________________: Chemicals that affect the nervous system
• _________________________________________: Chemicals that interfere with the endocrine system
• _______________________________________: Chemicals that over-activate the immune system
SLIDE #11 – Indoor Chemical Hazards
List examples here: __________________________________________________________________________________________________
SLIDE #12 – Sources of Outdoor Chemical Hazards
• In the _____________: Natural sources, such as volcanic eruptions, or human sources, such as pesticides
• In the _______________: Pesticide use, improper disposal of electronics, etc.
• In the ______________________________ Chemical runoff from land or direct drainage of toxic substances into
water
SLIDE #13 – Physical Hazards
• Physical hazards in the environment can pose health risks to humans.
• Earthquakes, __________________________, storms, and avalanches are just some examples of natural disasters
that can create environmental hazards.
• We see biological hazards, chemical hazards, and social hazards result from natural disasters when they
strike.
• Although we cannot prevent these disasters, we can decrease our vulnerability to them.
SLIDE #14
• ____________________________________: The buildup of toxic substances in the bodies of organisms
• ____________________________________: The increased concentration of toxic substances with each step in a
food chain
• Persistent organic __________________________________________ are biomagnified and stay in the environment for
long periods of time and over long distances.
SLIDE #15 – Review Questions – Please answer on a separate piece of paper and place with your notes.
1. What are the 4 types of environmental hazards?
2. What is the difference between epidemiology and toxicology?
3. Does everyone respond to environmental hazards in the same way? Why or why not?
4. How does the health of the environment influence biological hazards such as infectious disease?
5. How are social hazards linked to environmental impacts?
6. Make a chart listing each of the chemical hazard categories. Locate a specific example for each. ie:
carcinogen example = xxxx
7. Find an example of something that is a bioaccumulator in humans and in the environment.
8. Explain the relationship between the health of the environment and the health of humans on the planet.
Are they linked?