PubHealth chapter 8

unaltered environment

the natural environment

altered environment

the impact of chemicals, radiation, and biological products that humans introduce to the environment

built environment

the physical environment constructed by human beings

risk assessment

a process used in environmental health to formally assess the potential harm due to a hazard, taking in the factors of likelihood, timing and duration

public health assessment

a formal assessment that incorporates risk assessment but also includes data on the actual exposure of population to a hazard

ecological assessment

an assessment of the impact of an alteration of the physical environment on plants and animals

interaction analysis

an approach to environmental health that looks at the consequences of 2 or more exposures

hazard

a measure of the inherent capability of a substance to produce harm

multiplicative interaction

a type of interaction between 2 or more exposures such that the overall risk when 2 or more exposures are present is best estimated by multiplying the relative risk of each of the exposures

intentional injuries

injuries that are brought about on purpose, whether the injury was self inflicted or meant for others

unintentional injuries

injuries that occur not on purpose, such as motor vehicle collisions, drowning, falls, fires and poisoning

all hazards approach

approach to public health preparedness that uses the same approach to preparing many types of disasters including use of surveillance systems, communication systems, evacuations and an organized healthcare response

4 step risk approach

hazard identification, dose-response relationship. exposure assessment, risk characterization

hazard identification

what health effects are caused by the pollutant

dose-response relationship

what are the health problems at different exposures

exposure assessment

how much of the pollutant are people exposed to during a specific time period, how many people are exposed to it

risk characterization

what is the extra risk of health problems in the exposed population