pollution and human health - apes

Risk

• refers to the possibility of suffering harm from a hazard that can cause injury, disease, death, economic loss, or environmental damage

Risk assessment

•  is the scientific process of estimating how much harm a particular hazard can cause to human health or the environment

Risk management

• involves deciding whether or how to reduce a particular risk to a certain level and at what cost

Harm comes from 4 main categories of hazards:

• Biological

• Chemical

• Physical

• Cultural

Biological Hazards

• – pathogens that are infectious

  • Viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.

Chemical Hazards

• – harmful chemicals in the air, water, soil, and food

  • Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, POPs, etc.

Physical Hazards

•  – fires, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes

Cultural Hazards

• – choices that we make that are hazardous to our health

  • Smoking, poor diet, drug use, drinking, unsafe sex, poverty, etc.

NONTRANSMISSIBLE DISEASE

• A disease that is not caused by living organisms and does not spread from one person to another

• Examples include asthma, emphysema, and cardiovascular disorders

TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASE

• A disease that is caused by getting infected by a pathogen and can be spread from one person to another

Plague

•  disease carried by organisms carrying the plague bacteria

• This disease is transferred to humans via the bite of an infected organism or through contact with contaminated fluids or tissues

TUBERCULOSIS

• Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that typically attacks the lungs

  • Coughing up blood is a common symptom

• It is transmitted by breathing in the bacteria from the body fluids of an infected person

  • Respiratory droplets

MALARIA

• Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by bites from infected Anopheles mosquitos

  • It is caused by a protist known as Plasmodium

• It is most common in sub-Saharan Africa

  • The Anopheles mosquito has evolved resistance to some pesticides that have been utilized to control the spread of malaria

WEST NILE VIRUS

• West Nile Virus is transmitted to humans via bites from infected mosquitoes

• West Nile Virus did not occur in the United States until 1999

SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)

• SARS is a form of pneumonia caused by a virus

• It is transmitted by inhaling or touching infected fluids

  • Respiratory droplets

MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME
(MERS)

• MERS is a viral respiratory illness that is transmitted from to humans from an animal

  • Camels are known hosts of MERS

ZIKA

• Zika is a viral disease caused by bites from an infected Aedes mosquito

  • It can also be transmitted through sexual contact

• Most cases result in no symptoms, but a few can produce joint pain and rash

  • Pregnant women infected with Zika have a higher risk of their unborn child developing microcephaly

CHOLERA

• Cholera is a bacterial disease that is contracted by drinking infected water or eating contaminated food

• It causes severe diarrhea and dehydration

toxic chemical

•  can cause temporary or permanent harm or even death to humans or other animals

Also known as a toxin or poison

hazardous chemical hazardous chemical

• can harm humans or other animals because it is flammable, explosive, or irritating

3 major types of toxins

mutgens, teratogens, carcinogens

Toxicology

• is the science that examines the effects of harmful chemicals on humans, wildlife, and ecosystems

Toxicity

• is a measure of how harmful a substance is and it depends on several different factors…

DOSE

 the amount of the substance a person has come into contact with

FREQUENCY

• a measure of how often a person was exposed

GENETIC MAKEUP

•  some people are genetically more susceptible than others to certain chemicals

EFFECTIVENES OF DETOX SYSTEMS

• – age of the person and how well their detox system (kidneys & liver) work can determine how a chemical affects a person

Solubility

•  – toxins that are water-soluble can readily move through the environment while fat-soluble toxins can accumulate in tissues more easily since they are able to penetrate cell membranes

Persistence

– toxins/substances that are persistent do not break down easily and stay in the environment for long periods of time, such as DDT

Bioaccumulation

• – refers to the specific organ or tissue in which a toxin is stored at higher than normal levels

Biomagnification

• – refers to how the levels of a toxin become higher as they pass through trophic levels in a food chain/food web

Chemical Interactions

• – the harmful effects of toxins can be amplified if they come into contact with other toxins, a phenomenon known as syngergism

LD₅₀

• dose of a chemical that is lethal to 50% of the population of a particular species

• LD₅₀ experiments are often used to determine the toxicity of a particular substance or chemical

LC₅₀

• concentrations of a substance, usually dissolved in water or air, that will kill 50% of the population of a particular species.

• usually refers to aquatic toxins.

dose response curve

• describes the effect on an organism or the mortality rate in a population based on the dose of a particular toxin or drug

• often used to help determine the LD₅₀ of certain substances and are useful in toxicology experiments

Dysentery

•  caused by untreated sewage in rivers and streams

  • Maybe be caused by viruses, bacteria, or protists in the sewage

MESOTHELIOMA

• type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos

  • The cancer is caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers and can cause the growth of malignant tumors in the lungs, heart, or abdomen