ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH ISSUES IN PUBLIC HEALTH - MPH 632 (FALL 2018)

Regulation of new chemicals is desperately needed if we are committed to preserving our planet and ecosystem. As mentioned, in the short video Persistent Organic Pollutants, by one of the natives of Nunavut, Canada, we are introducing pollutants into our ecosystem and it’s going to destroy it. We are seeing daily evidence of this with pesticides and personal care products. So many chemicals are going into the market without the consumer understanding the harm it has to their health. The films “Vanishing of the Bees” and “Dirt” are additional evidence that pesticides are harming our ecosystem and posing a problem in the health and well-being of farmers in India. The regulation of toxic chemicals is important to public health we want to prevent the deterioration of health caused by toxic chemicals and there is existing evidence in the harm of the chemicals in our foods and the exposure over time, in this case, all three forms of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides.  ...

The Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals is a platform to create a safe and healthy environment by providing fundamental reform to current chemical policies needed to protect to protect children, workers, communities, and the environment. Any reform must “Act on Early Warnings” this is to prevent harm when there is credible evidence that harm is happening or will happen, even when there is not enough evidence to prove the exact nature or level of harm. Background Paper #4 outlines two conditions to establish the threshold for protective action in the presence of scientific uncertainty: 1.      Credible evidence that a synthetic chemical can cause biological changes that are known to result in unintended harmful outcomes to human health or the environment in some cases. 2.      The presence of such a chemical where it does not belong and where it can cause damage to biological systems (such as human bodies). Thi...

My dinner last night included small red potatoes, cheese, onions, green California pepper, and corn tortillas. In the potatoes alone, there are 35 pesticide residues. Human Health Effects:  6 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 12 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 7 — Neurotoxins 6 — Developmental or Reproductive Toxins Environmental Effects: 9 — Honeybee Toxins This information is alarming, I was expecting some residue but not to this extent. All of these are concerning in terms of public health, they impact our health making us vulnerable to many health risks. 

Homelessness is a growing problem globally. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual homeless report to Congress reports that on a single night in January 2017, there were 553,742 people experiencing homelessness in the United States (2017). While most (65% or 360,867 people) were staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs, 35% (192,875 people) were staying in unsheltered locations (HUD, 2017). At a local level, the city officials have an oversight in the growing population of unhoused individuals. Additionally, the department of public health and social services agency oversees health and human services to provide aid to this population to begin a pathway to permanent housing. There is a gap in services and the systems are very difficult to navigate creating additional barriers to access supports. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a federal agency that oversees homelessness data and funds housing programs and co...

The Council on Environmental Quality oversees the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA was signed by President Nixon into law as the first major environmental law in the United States. NEPA is the basic charted for environment protection, it sets policy, goals, and provides resources to implement policy. It also has a specific section that makes sure federal agencies act according to the letter and spirit of the Act. CEQ provides guidance and interprets regulations, it also reviews and approves procedures, and compliance. It helps resolve disputes between Federal agencies and with other governmental entities and members of the public. The CEQ also develops and recommends national policies to the President that promote the improvement of environmental quality. It is also responsible for other statutes and Executive Orders, including overseeing the Office of Federal Sustainability (OFS).

Alameda County Environmental Health Programs  Clean Water/ Storm Water  This is a program for unincorporated Alameda County. It includes inspection of facilities for compliance with the clean water regulations, facilitates local compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act. Disaster Preparedness  The disaster preparedness program provides information to the public regarding safe storage of emergency food and water supplies as well as the safe disposal of sewage following a catastrophic event. They also provide information for relief in the days after a major catastrophic event. Local Oversight Program (LOP) The LOP oversees the investigation and cleanup of hazardous materials releases to the environment. There are two programs the Leaking Underground Fuel Tank (LUFT) program is specific to unauthorized releases associated with petroleum underground storage tank systems, and the Site Cleanup Program (SCP) oversees the investigation and cleanup of releases from haza...

Living in California, I have many opportunities to access healthy seasonal food. There is a wide variety of vegetables and fruits available in the Fall. With so much variety and relatively short food miles in California, seasonal hospital menus can be a beneficial solution to support local farms, provide healthy options, and continue patient education on the importance of healthy nutrition with local seasonal fruits and vegetables. In the future, I would like to live in Washington state. Washington state also produces a lot of food and I decided to look up their Harvest calendar. This would be a shift if I decided to move there and eat local seasonal food. I would have to learn new and be okay in not eating as much citrus fruit. The article Obesogens, An Environmental Link to Obesity introduced a new explanation that chemicals can also impact our metabolism. There is overwhelming evidence that the cause of obesity is poor nutrition and limited physical activity that it is astonis...