Environmental Health: Thoughts & Reflections

According to the American Lung Association (ALA), pneumoconiosis is any lung disease caused by inhalation of dust that has been deposited into the lungs. It is frequently called “Black Lung Disease” due to it being common among coal miners and also known as an occupational disease. Its symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. Unfortunately, there are currently no specific treatments or medications for this disease. Pneumoconiosis has been publicly known since the 1950s, but it was not well understood. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 provided standards for reduced coal dust and developed the Black Lung Disability Trust. A 1995 publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provided recommendations for acceptable limits for coal dust exposure.  Coal mining has exhibited significant change, evidenced by the notable reduction of deaths from 29,000 people in 1990 to 25,000 in 2013.  Although deaths have been...

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal OSHA) leads several programs including the Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). Required by California law , the IIPP is a written workplace safety program. The elements of this program include: responsibility, compliance, communication, hazard assessment, accident/exposure investigation, hazard correction, training and instruction, and record keeping. The entire staff must be involved, all employee hazards must be identified, address all the identified work hazards, and the entire staff must also be trained. A comprehensive and effective IIPP can help prevent or reduce injuries and illnesses, and thus any related business and/or medical costs. The IIPP is incredibly important to me because it ensures my safety and health at my workplace. I need to know that I will be safe at work in order to be a productive employee, and that if there are hazards involved, I will be appropriately notified about them and p...

There are several types of cleaning products at my workplace, but I opted to research Clorox Scentiva in Lavender. According to the 2015 revision of the safety data sheet (SDS), this product listed as “Clorox Purple” has no known significant health effects or critical hazards with eye contact, skin contact, or ingestion. However, inhalation may cause a health hazard and serious effects may be delayed after exposure. The SDS also noted that this product is non-carcinogenic. Additionally, the SDS recommends that individuals wear personal protective equipment when handling this chemical. This chemical is found in products that are at my workplace, but I have not been provided any official training with chemical exposure or accidents.  Furthermore, the SDS listed titanium dioxide as an ingredient which helped inform my ToxNet search. The database provided more comprehensive information on the chemical’s toxicity. It noted that there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity on hum...

My workplace poses some minor safety issues. Some chemical issues include, cleaning supplies, hand soaps, and lotions, which could be substituted with some environmentally and allergy friendly options. Some biological threats include, viruses and other bacteria that my coworkers might bring into the office. Alternatively, my colleagues could also introduce viral or bacterial strains into the office because they all live with young children, active teens, and/or several pets who are either susceptible or are frequently ill. If they or one of their loved ones were to become ill, it’s possible that they could affect individuals at the office who have weakened immune systems. If illness is severe enough, that person would be advised to work remotely or take a sick week to remove the biological hazard. If not severe enough, the staff will be reminded to be more mindful and be hygienic through frequent hand-washing and using hand sanitizers. Ergonomic issues certainly apply in our typical o...

Both articles discuss the impact of lead poisoning on human health, particularly for low, consistent exposure in young children—a population highly vulnerable to their developmental age. Lead toxicity influences the central nervous system, which can result in impaired learning and social function. Acute lead poisoning in adults can lead to hypertension and even bone demineralization, while children are more susceptible to deficits in cognitive, attentional, and behavioral function. Such developmental deficits have resulted in severe disabilities in children when followed up on in adolescence. Given these health outcomes, it is recommended for children who demonstrate stunted growth, abdominal pain, behavior change, hyperactivity, speech impairments, anemia to be tested for lead poisoning. Lead toxicity was also reduced by limiting exposure from common products like gas and paint. Lead toxicity was also found to be related to artisanal gold ore processing, which caused the death of...

I do not have any explicitly learned knowledge of green chemistry, but surely have come across these 12 principles. Take for example, designing safer chemicals and designing for energy efficiency. The hydrogen peroxide replacement of chlorine bleach in paper production leads to polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU) production, which is widely used for indoor airplanes and in underground trains. These non-flammable materials are novel engineering plastic that combines useful environmental, mechanical, and flame-resistant properties. Furthermore, chemical plants can encourage plant growth by waste steam-heating a greenhouse, through which carbon dioxide extrusion is accelerated to feed the growth of plants.  In both examples, hazardous chemicals have been replaced by more sustainable products. The first discusses that plane and train equipment have evolved to be less flammable, which means that if any equipment combusts, they release less toxic chemicals, help minimize air pollution,...

Highly Fluorinated Highly fluorinated materials are man-made, and manufactured into products and disposed into our waterways. Humans are exposed through food, water, and also at some places of work. They can be found in carpets, furnishings, cosmetics, and clothing. These materials can also reach remote locations and are not biodegradable. Fetuses and children are also developmentally vulnerable. Furthermore, all of these materials pose a potential risk and must be avoided. It is recommended for consumers to ask themselves if the convenience is worth the harmful exposure, as well as to ask for products without highly fluorinated chemicals, if possible. Antimicrobials  Found in consumer products, building materials, and personal care products, these products are questionably beneficial. As antimicrobials are often unnecessary, they can actually do more harm than good. Triclosan has reproductive and developmental side effects; it can affect drinking water, food, breast mil...

A chemical policy must identify and define the health problem, then describe an initiative that provides comprehensive solutions that address the presented health and environmental issues. However, it is also important that it highlights limitations of and counterarguments for the solution. For instance, in the consumer right to know policy regarding chemical hazards, several items were listed against the solution. This is significant in creating effective policies because it recognized the limitations of our solutions for public health issues. When we acknowledge that there are fallacies, we can continue to improve our policies and regulations as well as monitoring, and reporting processes. Realizing that policies are imperfect motivates public health professionals to enhance their efforts to refine these processes. Listing potential arguments from dissimilar perspectives opens opportunities for goal-setting. With these public health priorities, we can work to better comprehend the p...

Chemical policies should be widely available and informative to the entire community. If people are unaware of chemicals and other hazardous substances that they are exposed to, they cannot appropriately protect themselves from harm. People have the right to know fo these hazards, but data on these products are either insufficiently disclosed or not disclosed at all. Policies must serve to protect the individual and the population. It is important for reporting regulations to mandate manufacturers’ full disclosure regardless of how hazardous their products may be. These disclosures and other relevant information must be uploaded into a database, where consumers can properly educate themselves and make personal choices based on the provided information. The health information technology field is critical to the implementation of these policies and database updates because the reporting process must be simple, standardized, relevant, and timely in order for manufacturers to actually fol...

Using the “What’s on my food” website, I searched the general food items which comprised the previous night’s dinner: chicken breast, rice, green beans, and water. My search began with mild results, but became progressively worse as I went to the next food item. Chicken breast was found to have 7 pesticide residues; 2 presenting with developmental or reproductive toxins. Rice was found to have 15 residues, with 10 suspected hormone disruptors. Green beans had 44 residues; 21 of which were suspected hormone disruptors and 11 were neurotoxins. For water, there were 14 suspected hormone disruptors and 9 developmental or reproductive toxins among the 59 residues found. These findings are nothing to be proud of, but it made me realize how our diet greatly impacts our overall health. Although the general population may be working towards a well-balanced diet, the food items they consume—no matter how “healthy”—are actually causing internal chaos as the pesticide residues wrea...

My literature review will center on the impact of air pollution on fetal development. For the purposes of this blog, I looked into the following:  Placer County Air Pollution District (PCAPD) The PCAPD’s vision is to achieve and maintain clean air standards throughout Placer County by reducing air pollutants and recognizing air pollutants’ impact on health. To this end, PCAPD aims to regulate air pollutant emissions from stationary sources; reduce air pollutants released within the county; investigate noncompliant sources of air pollution to better enforce regulations; collaborate with other groups with similar goals; promote the PCAPD’s positive impacts on the county’s air quality; and develop emission reduction strategies and initiatives. CDPH Environmental Health Branch (CDPH EHB) In accordance with Healthy People 2020, the CDPH EHB aims to improve environmental health by addressing outdoor air quality, surface and ground water quality, toxic substances and hazardou...

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is a federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents and hazards. Its mission is to drive chemical safety change by conducting investigations that can protect the people and environment. It helps identify causes of safety management deficiencies and provides recommendations to other agencies to ensure that regulations are effective and enforced. To ensure effective public health action, the Board communicates their findings to the public and advocates for safety recommendations. In collaboration with several other federal agencies, the Board can advance safety goals and prevent duplication of efforts. Since 1998, the Board has investigated 804 cases, have closed 636, and have provided 815 recommendations thus far.  Having been active for 20 years, this agency holds great expertise in this field through which they uphold their vision to maintain a chemical disaster-free country. After two decades, the Board has...

For this blog, I reviewed Placer County’s sites for Environmental Health, as well as Environment and Agriculture.  Environmental Health lists restaurant inspection, food safety certification, new home building, community events, and environmental health complaints as some of its popular services. At first glance, I was unsure about the relevance of community events, but as I read the description I realized it was a great service to ensure that people provide safe and sanitary food at events held within the community. On the other hand Environment and Agriculture, lists air quality, conservation efforts, garbage and recycling, green energy financing, sewer services, waste management, and water quality as some of its areas of focus. I was intrigued to find out about their green energy program called mPOWERplacer, which helps property owners finance energy efficiency improvements and water conservation to reduce utility bills.  Overall, I was pleased to discover the varie...

The Seasonal Food Guide provided a great list of seasonal food items available to consumers in California. This is a resource that I anticipate to use moving forward because I want to support the local food systems and reduce food miles. It was great to see some items that I didn’t realize were seasonal. Searching up locally grown foods, I looked closely at the Natural Trading Company, which is only a few miles away from my home. It provided a nice comparison against the seasonal food items list and it’s great that I know exactly where my food is coming from.  It would be a forward-thinking change to encourage hospitals in the area to purchase seasonal and locally grown foods to bring a nutritious variety of meals to patients, which will hopefully not only support the economic system and the environment, but also accelerate their recovery. This innovative idea would also combat the stereotype of “tasteless hospital foods.” The harvest calendar I found was specifically ...

Antibiotic resistant (AR) bacteria is a growing epidemic linked with farming and raising livestock, manufactured products, and a perception shift of what is “dirty” or “unclean.” The approach to raising farmed animals has transformed tremendously and facilities have resorted to antibiotic-laden animal feed in order to more rapidly grow heavier and larger animals, so that they can sell more and better meet the demands of the world’s growing population. However, this practice is causing bacterial mutation and generation of hard-to-fight bacterial, like MRSA. Several actions need to be taken to better protect the health of people, animals, and the environment. Additional research is needed to study the causal effects of high density livestock farming and MRSA in humans. Regulations for tracking and reporting antibiotic use need to be improved. Livestock producers and facilities also need to be well-supported in order to transition from non-therapeutic antibiotic use. As we move away ...

I enjoyed watching both the documentaries on the honeybees and our soil. It’s fascinating that a change in farming practices and the pesticide industry can be powerful enough to eradicate an entire species besides our own. Prior to watching “Vanishing of the Bees,” I didn’t have any knowledge of systemic pesticides killing off bee colonies. However, I did appreciate learning about the honey business and more about the bees’ role in the ecosystem in ensuring that plants grow and bear fruit. On the other hand, I felt that “Dirt!” was inspiring and humbling. It provided a great reminder that we all originate from the dirt and it is a living being that craves for human love, respect, and justice. It was beautiful to see what various community leaders worldwide have been implementing to replenish the earth.  I currently don’t compost, but I’ve composted in the past and know that a few family members also composted previously. After watching the film, I have an urge to begin compost...