Science: 1.3

environmental health

human health issues

morbidity

number of cases of an illness or disease in a population

mortality

the number of deaths in a population

epidemiology

the study of the spread of a disease

hazard

anything that can cause injury, disease, or death to humans

chemical hazard

examples of this type of hazard include lead or mercury

biological hazard

examples of this type of hazard include the flu or covid

physical hazards

examples of this type of hazard include earthquakes or tornados

cultural hazards

examples of this type of hazard include doing drugs or overindulging in bad food

pathogen

an organism that has NO nucleus that can cause disease

parasite

an organism that has a nucleus that can cause a disease

vector

an organism that can move a biological hazard from person to person without themselves getting sick

zoonotic disease

an illness where the cause transfers from animals to humans

neglected tropical diseases

a disease often not known of in the developed world that people in developing nations are often particularly vulnerable to

pollution

a substance in the environment that hurts nature and human health

mutagens

chemicals that cause mutations

teratogens

chemicals that cause birth defects by interfering with the development of the baby in the womb

carcinogen

chemicals that can cause cancer

neurotoxin

chemicals that can damage the nervous system

endocrine disruptors

chemicals that interfere with hormones

toxicity

a measurement of how harmful a chemical is

carbon monoxide

a major indoor air pollutant

risk

the combination of a hazard and how vulnerable you are to it

risk assessment

process that determines how at risk a person might be to a particular hazard based on what the hazard is, and how much and how long you’ve been exposed to it

risk management

putting policies and regulations in place to prevent people from being at risk of a hazard