PHS 3014 - Environmental Health Test 4

What is air made of?

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide, and other gases

What are the components of air pollution?

Sulfur oxides, particulate matter, oxidants, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides, Lead, VOCs, heavy metals

Anthropogenic (man-made) pollutants:

factories, oil refineries, chemical plants, power plants, incinerators, vehicles

Natural pollutants:

windstorms, salt evaporation, forest fires, volcanos, biological material production

What is AQI?

Used to provide the public with an indication of air quality in a local area and future predictions

What are the EPA standards on air quality?

air quality is regulated by the EPA through the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS)

EPA Air Quality Primary Goal

provides public health protection, including the health of sensitive populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly

EPA Air Quality Secondary Goal

provides public welfare protection, including protection against decreased visibility, damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings

Criteria air pollutants:

Ozone, nitrogen oxides, COm sulfure dioxide, PM, lead

EPA calculates AQI for 5 major pollutants

ground level ozone, CO, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, PM

General impacts of air pollution:

causes property and building damage, reduces visibility, harms forests, lakes, and other bodies of water, injures wildlife and buildings

Temperature inversion:

Atmospheric condition during which a warm layer of air stalls above a layer of cool air that is closer to the surface of the earth. Pollutants build up when they are trapped close to the earth's surface.

Acid rain:

precipitation of acidic compounds formed when components of air pollution interact with other components in the air

PM2.5

fine inhalable airborne particles, associated with cardiovascular and respiratory illness which worsens preexisting conditions

Acute effects of air pollution:

irritation of eyes, nose, and throat. (bronchitis and coughing)

Chronic effects of air pollution:

long term exposure to pollutants can cause lung cancer, heart disease, COPD. (can show an increase in mortality and morbidities)

Foodborne illness:

illnesses acquired by eating contaminated food

Salmonella

peaks in the summer due to high temperatures and wrong food storage

Norovirus

peaks on cruise ships due to close quarters and use of buffets

Biological food hazards:

bacteria, viruses, helminths

Chemical food hazards:

toxins, heavy metals, pesticides

Physical food hazards:

plastic, glass, stones

Nutritional food hazards:

additives, preservatives

Food additives:

substances that become part of a food product when addict during the processing or production of that food

Intentional additives:

nutrients, anti caking, color

Incidental additives:

insects, pesticide residues, substances from packing

Malicious additives:

toxins and poisons

Food preservatives:

to arrest the proliferation of microbes such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds In foods

Antioxidants:

prevents fatty food from becoming rancid

Antimicrobials:

prevents growth of microbes, and used to cure and prevent diseases among animal population

Antimicrobial resistance:

when germs evolve to resist medicines making infections harder to treat

Municipal solid waste:

trash or garbage produced by residents, businesses, institutions

Increased MSW production, some issues arise for the environment

difficulty with disposal, disposal sites filling, end up in water

Incineration

can be used to generate energy while reducing weight and volume of waste

Landfill

waste being sorted into piles and thrown into pits lined with clay layer, a system for collecting leachates, a cover

Recycling

the process of collecting and processing a resource so it can be used again

Composting

aerobic biological decomposition of organic materials to produce a stable humus-like product

Sources of hazardous waste

medical waste, cleaning products/paints, radioactive waste, industrial

Residential septic tanks

onsite method of sewage disposal and treatment