public health ch 20,25
Toxic Substances Control Act
Estab 1976 EPA is given the ability to track the 75,000 industrial chemicals currently produced or imported into the United States. EPA repeatedly screens these chemicals and can require reporting or testing of those that may pose an environmental or human-health hazard. EPA can ban the manufacture and import of those chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk.
National Toxicology Program
an inter-agency program run by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate, evaluate, and report on toxicology within public agencies. The National Toxicology Program is headquartered at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Absolute safety is impossible. Risks must be balanced against other societal goals (such as economic well being).
Clean Air Act of 1970
comprehensive Federal law that regulates all sources of air emissions. The 1970 CAA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment.
Role of EPA
established in 1970 to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. EPA's mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment—air, water, and land—upon which life depends. For more than 30 years, the EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment.Wikipedia
lead
metal known to harm the brain and nervous system, especially those of children. It also damages red blood cells and kidneys. Lead is believed to be the single most important environmental threat to the health of American children, who may be exposed to it from a variety of sources. Over the past three decades, evidence has accumulated that even low levels of lead can slow a child's development and can cause learning and behavior problems. The federal government recommends that all young children poor enough to be eligible for Medicaid be screened for lead in the blood, and some states have extended the mandate to children of all income levels. Permissible levels of lead have been steadily lowered from 60 micrograms per deciliter of blood in 1970 to 5 micrograms at present.5
which global resources are being depleted
most known being: Aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, pollution or contamination of resources, slash-and-burn agricultural practices, Soil erosion, and overconsumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources.
how is radiation hazardous to environment
natural radioactive material is found in rocks even sunlight, the most essential radiation of all, can be harmful in excessive amounts. Most public attention is given to the category of radiation known as "ionizing radiation." This radiation can disrupt atoms, creating positive ions and negative electrons, and cause biological harm.
when did the state and government start taking more responsibility?
1960s and early 1970s, many new laws set standards for air, water, and waste disposal. The first Earth Day, celebrated in the United States on April 22, 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement with coast-to-coast rallies and teach-ins. that year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established to consolidate federal research, monitoring, standard-setting, and enforcement activities to achieve a cleaner, healthier environment in the United States.
DDT
A colorless odorless water-insoluble crystalline insecticide that tends to accumulate in ecosystems and has toxic effects on many vertebrates; became the most widely used pesticide from WWII to the 1950's; implicated in illnesses and environmental problem; now banned in the US. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
what is climate change
a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
PCBs
synthetic chemicals containing chlorine that are used in the manufacture of plastics and other industrial products, become stored in the tissue of animals, and also persist in the environment
carrying capacity
the largest population that an environment can support at any given time
how does overregulation cause underregulation?
too much effort is expended setting very strict standards for too few substances. By battling to achieve zero exposure to one carcinogen, for example, public health agencies may be neglecting to investigate other chemicals that are potentially more hazardous. Public health may be better served by aiming for looser, more easily achieved standards. This approach would generate less controversy and opposition, allowing for a stepped-up pace of standard setting. The argument is also made that prevention of risk must be balanced against other societal goals, including economic well-being. Until recently, the public health approach has been to ignore economic factors in seeking risk reduction. However, an increasing understanding of the fact that economic factors are significant to people's health and well-being has led to greater willingness on the part of public health advocates to consider costs as well as benefits in evaluating risks. The Republican Congress elected in 1994 tried to roll back all kinds of regulations under the argument that they were irrational and expensive, examples of government interference that had negative economic impacts on business. The fact that most of these initiatives failed demonstrated that most Americans want the government to protect their health and environment. But the initiatives made people ask how regulations could become more rational, less cumbersome, and more balanced. During the Clinton administration, the political debate focused on how to achieve effective environmental protection while minimizing red tape and government intrusiveness. The George W. Bush administration was even more inclined to favor economic and business interests in policy making on environmental and public health issues. President Obama has placed a priority on many environmental issues, especially climate change
Mercury
was recognized in the 19th century to cause neurological damage in workers who made felt hats—the origin of the expression "mad as a hatter" and the inspiration for the character the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The devastating effects of the mercury discharged by a plastics factory into Japan's Minamata Bay in the 1950s caused some 700 deaths and varying degrees of paralysis and brain damage in 9000 other people. The mercury accumulation in fish, which were the staple of the community's diet. Another well-known episode of mercury poisoning occurred in Iraq in 1972, when the substance was used as a fungicide on seed grain. The contaminated wheat was turned into bread, which poisoned more than 6500 people, 459 of whom died.3(Ch.7) In the United States, mercury enters the environment mainly by emissions from coal-burning power plants. The heavy metal falls to earth and becomes a hazard to humans mainly by getting into fish. Because the developing brain is most sensitive to the toxic effects of mercury, pregnant women and women who may become pregnant, as well as nursing mothers and young children, are advised to avoid eating fish species that have the highest average amounts of mercury in their flesh: tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, and shark. Up to 12 ounces per week of other species of fish are considered safe. Mercury is regulated under both the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. People may be exposed to mercury when the liquid metal is spilled, releasing toxic vapors, for example, after a glass thermometer breaks. Mercury may also be found in equipment used in school science labs, and exposure may occur if the equipment breaks or is mishandled. The EPA recommends that mercury-containing products be removed from homes and schools. The sale of mercury-containing fever thermometers is banned in many states; safer alternatives are available. Cleanup of mercury spills requires great caution in order to prevent droplets of the metal from accumulating in small spaces and releasing vapors into the air. The EPA cautions against trying to clean up mercury with a vacuum cleaner or broom, or pouring it down a drain, because these methods are likely to put more of the toxic vapors into the air.4
demographic transition
The process of change in a society's population from a condition of high crude birth and death rates and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low crude birth and death rates, low rate of natural increase, and a higher total population.
climate change issues
Global warming, ozone, greenhouse gases average combined land and ocean temperature had risen by well over one full degree Fahrenheit over the past century, as seen in (FIGURE 25-2). Predictions for the year 2100 range from 3 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today.24 The temperature increase is widespread over the globe and is greatest in the northern arctic region. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 along with former vice president Al Gore, the effects of global warming are already being felt. Sea levels rose during the second half of the 20th century and have continued to rise as glaciers and Arctic ice sheets melt. The IPCC predicts a rise of 1 to 2.7 feet by the end of the 21st century. Shifting precipitation patterns have increased dryness in the southwestern United States, northern Mexico, the Mediterranean region, and sub-Saharan Africa, while increasing wetness in northern North America and northern Europe.23 The California drought that began in 2012 and continued at least through 2015 is due, at least in part, to global warming.25 Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.
POPs
Persistent organic pollutants. Chemical compounds that persist in the environment and retain biological activity for a long time.been used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they don't burn easily and are good insulators. The manufacture of PCBs was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects
what are animal farms and how are they problematic
Thousands of hogs, cattle, and poultry are crowded into confined spaces where they can be fed and tended to by automated systems. The environmental problems caused by this approach to farming are the huge volumes of waste produced by these animals, which must be disposed of on a relatively limited amount of land. According to Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal rescue and protection organization, factory farms, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), produce an estimated one million tons of manure every day, three times the total waste produced by the U.S. human population.40 The farms deal with waste by creating "lagoons" in which the liquids are allowed to evaporate or from which they are sprayed on fields. Lagoons at many of these operations have broken, failed, or overflowed. They emit gases—including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane—that can be toxic to humans and contribute to global warming. People living near CAFOs suffer from symptoms caused by the lagoon gases: headaches, runny noses, sore throats, coughing, respiratory problems, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, burning eyes, depression, and fatigue. Seepage from the lagoons pollutes groundwater that feeds wells used for drinking water. After heavy rains, lagoons may overflow or burst, spilling thousands of gallons of manure into rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries; such spills have caused massive fish kills in at least 10 states. Water polluted by factory farms contains high levels of nitrate, which has been linked to spontaneous abortions and "blue-baby syndrome," which can kill infants.41
asbestos hazards
fibrous mineral valuable for a variety of uses because of its strength and fire resistance. The hazards of asbestos were first recognized in an occupational setting: Inhalation of high concentrations of asbestos dust caused stiffening and scarring of the lungs of miners and other asbestos workers, a condition known as asbestosis, which can be disabling and eventually fatal. Regulations limiting exposure were instituted, but as workers began to live longer, many of them developed cancer. They were especially likely to get lung cancer or mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity that seems to be caused exclusively by inhalation of asbestos. As a result of a succession of lawsuits brought by injured workers and their families in the 1960s and 1970s, the Manville Corporation—the largest asbestos company in the United States—filed for bankruptcy in 1982.9 Once the dangers of asbestos were recognized, many uses of the material were banned, and standards for occupational exposure were tightened. However, asbestos can still be found in brake linings and a number of construction
environmental problems due to population growth
global warming, deforestation and decreasing biodiversity
negative impact of overpopulation
impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. The UNFAO has concluded that 75 percent of the major marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or significantly depleted. Pollution of coastal waters has also contributed to the decline of harvests, especially those of shellfish. On the bright side, the practice of aquaculture is growing rapidly, and by the early 21st century almost half of all fish eaten worldwide was raised on fish farms. Starvation
occupational safety and health act
is a federal law that establishes and promotes workplace safety standards for businesses.1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970.
Arsenic
of poisons," is well known as a common means of homicide through the centuries. It was not recognized as an important environmental toxin until the United Nations Children's Fund inadvertently turned it into one in the 1970s in India and Bangladesh.8 Concerned about epidemics of cholera, dysentery, and other waterborne diseases, the organization led a campaign to drill millions of wells so that the population would no longer need to drink contaminated surface water. However, it soon became apparent that people began to develop symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, pain and swelling in the hands and feet, and skin eruptions. In some cases, symptoms progressed to progressive nervous system deterioration and death. Children of poor nutritional status proved to be especially susceptible to these problems. The well water, while free of disease-causing bacteria, was found to contain very high concentrations of arsenic. With 80 percent of Bangladeshis affected, the World Health Organization has labeled this "the worst mass poisoning in history."8(p.A386) Developing effective strategies for mitigating the effects of arsenic has been called one of the most important environmental health challenges of our time. Studies have shown that, at somewhat lower concentrations, long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water increases risk of diabetes and cancer. In the United States, regulations call for public water systems to contain no more than 10 micrograms per liter of arsenic, well below levels known to cause harm. However, people in some parts of the country who have private wells may be drinking water that contains 50 to 90 micrograms per liter of arsenic. The risks from chronic exposure to these amounts are not known.8
environmental role of local government
provide sewage systems dispose of waste from households handle runoff from land
