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Books > Medicine > General issues > Public health & preventive medicine > Personal & public health > Environmental factors
Dramatic changes in the field of environmental health since the
Third Edition was published in 2004 demand a new, radically updated
version of this essential textbook. Based on the recommendations of
advisory bodies and federal agency regulations, as well as a
thorough review of the scientific literature, Moeller's Fourth
Edition is the only fully current text in this burgeoning field. It
features new tables and figures, and revisions of those retained
from previous editions. Environmental Health is also enriched with
the knowledge and insights of professionals who are deeply involved
in "real world" aspects of each subject covered. In eighteen
chapters, students receive a complete but manageable introduction
to the complex nature of the environment, how humans interact with
it, and the mutual impact between people and the environments where
they work or live. This new edition emphasizes the challenges
students will face in the field: the local and global implications
of environmental health initiatives, their short- and long-range
effects, their importance to both developing and developed nations,
and the roles individuals can play in helping to resolve these
problems. Whether discussing toxicology, injury prevention, risk
assessment, and ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, or more
traditional subjects like the management and control of air, water,
and food, Dade Moeller emphasizes the need for a systems approach
to analyzing new projects prior to their construction and
operation. Environmental Health is indispensable reading for
practitioners, students, and anyone considering a career in public
health.
This book surveys state-of-the-art and prospective practices,
methods and technologies in agri-food and forestry sectors to
document the potential measurable improvements in areas of
environmental management, food security, economic growth, social
cohesion and human health at the local and global scale. With a
focus on the ecosystems-resources-climate-food-health nexus as a
framework towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals
applicable in these sectors, the book offers a portfolio of
guidelines and standards that assesses the affordability, potential
profitability and possible unintended consequences of
interventions. The areas of intervention covered in the study
include global and local forest resources management, safe
wastewater reuse for irrigation, sustainable crop and plant
protection (e.g. biopesticides, bioherbicides), carbon
sequestration and emission reduction strategies, and safe
processing methods for food and food waste (e.g. sustainable food
preservatives and healthier food). The book is primarily intended
for academics, professionals, and policymakers. The professional
audience, including enterprises in the forestry, farming, food
processing, healthcare and waste management sectors, will take
advantage of the updated knowledge basis concerning the innovations
in the respective practices, methods and technologies, including
their feasibility, affordability and profitability, and
policymakers will find useful the comprehensive review of these
innovations which could be strategically promoted and deployed in
the next decade, with the aim of achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
The proceedings of the Medical and Global Health Research Symposium
(MoRes) provides a selection of papers resulting from the
conference, either research results or literature review, on
advanced medical technology and environmental health in the era of
industrial revolution 4.0. Nine major subject areas were presented
in the this proceedings volume, comprising halal medicine:
challenges and opportunities; infectious and non-infectious
diseases; drug discoveries and development; community and
occupational health; health policy and health insurance; hospital
and nursing management; disaster relief and management; environment
health and climate change; and digital and health technology. It is
expected that the proceedings will give new insights into knowledge
and practice of medicine and global health. Therefore, parties
involved in medicine and global health such as academics,
practitioners, business leaders, and others will benefit from the
contents of the proceedings.
Our most powerful tool to reverse the global epidemic of chronic
disease, heal the environment, reform politics, and revive
economies is food. What we eat has tremendous implications not just
for our waistlines, but also for the planet, society, and the
global economy. What we do to our bodies, we do to the planet; and
what we do to the planet, we do to our bodies. In Food Fix, New
York Times best-selling author Mark Hyman explains how food and
agriculture policies are corrupted by money and are driving a
global crises: the spread of obesity and food-related chronic
disease, climate change, poverty, violence, educational achievement
gaps, and more. He provides solutions for citizens, businesses, and
policy makers to create a healthier world, society, and planet.
Pairing the latest developments in nutritional and environmental
science with an unflinching look at the dark realities of the
global food system and the policies that make it possible, Food Fix
is a passionate call to arms that will change the way you think
about - and eat - food forever. 'If you're overwhelmed by the scale
of the world's problems, and wondering what you can do in your own
life to start, Food Fix is for you. Dr. Hyman deftly connects the
dots between education, health, climate science, and the food we
eat every day, showing that the choices we make about the food we
put on our plates has consequences that ripple around the world.' -
Arianna Huffington
This guide brings together the varied and multiple skills and
activities required of pest control practitioners, including
biology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, sales, logistics,
legal and accounting, presented with a primary emphasis on pest
organisms at its core. This book provides information and tips on
all of these aspects and: explores the business of controlling
pests (including trends in the industry, pest control tools, and
sustainable pest control); covers biological information on each
pest in addition to information on control and management,
monitoring and follow-up; focusses particularly on globally
significant pests with internationally-applicable use and guidance;
and provides practical and hands-on experience, drawing on original
case studies This is a key resource for pest control practitioners,
as well as in-house staff of companies or buildings involved in
household or urban pest control. It is also a valuable reference
for researchers, and sanitation and building managers.
Human health depends on the health of the planet. Earth's natural
systems, the air, the water, the biodiversity, the climate, are our
life support systems. Yet climate change, biodiversity loss,
scarcity of land and freshwater, pollution and other threats are
degrading these systems. The emerging field of planetary health
aims to understand how these changes threaten our health and how to
protect ourselves and the rest of the biosphere. Planetary Health:
Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves provides a readable
introduction to this new paradigm. With an interdisciplinary
approach, the book addresses a wide range of health impacts felt in
the Anthropocene, including food and nutrition, infectious disease,
non-communicable disease, dislocation and conflict, and mental
health. It also presents strategies to combat environmental changes
and its ill-effects, such as controlling toxic exposures, investing
in clean energy, improving urban design, and more. Chapters are
authored by widely recognised experts. The result is a
comprehensive and optimistic overview of a growing field that is
being adopted by researchers and universities around the world.
Students of public health will gain a solid grounding in the new
challenges their profession must confront, while those in the
environmental sciences, agriculture, the design professions, and
other fields will become familiar with the human consequences of
planetary changes. Understanding how our changing environment
affects our health is increasingly critical to a variety of
disciplines and professions. Planetary Health is the definitive
guide to this vital field.
The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation (UNSCEAR) established by the General Assembly in 1955
assesses the levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation
on human health and the environment. This is the first of four
volumes of scientific annexes that presents the supporting
scientific deliberations for the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report to the
United Nations General Assembly. Annex A "Medical exposure to
ionizing radiation" presents a comprehensive global estimate of the
frequencies and doses from medical exposure, their distribution and
trends in medical categories in the 2009-2018 period. The annex
considers four general categories of medical practice using
ionizing radiation: (a) diagnostic radiology, including dental
radiology and computed tomography, (b) interventional radiology
(image-guided interventional procedures), (c) nuclear medicine and
(d) radiation therapy.
This SpringerBrief focuses on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the three
basins in the Witwatersrand, South Africa. It provides a background
to AMD and its impactsfrom a social science perspective.The South
African government and non-governmental organizations' response to
AMD is assessed, as well the socio-economic and developmental
effects of AMD. This volume, which is based on the author's
Master's dissertation at UNISA, involves interviews with a range of
experts in the field from government departments, environmental
organisations (activists), the private sector (mining), tourism
sector and the agricultural sector. The book discusses existing
policy documents on AMD and provides recommendations in response to
the many socio-economic impacts which have not been fully
addressed. A literature review on the global context of AMD is
provided. South Africa's water systems are already severely harmed
by climate change, different forms of pollution, and poorly managed
sanitation systems. For these reasons, the country is becoming
increasingly water-stressed and therefore, water will continue to
become much scarcer in the future. As a result of AMD's continued
impact on South Africa's water systems, as a technical or
scientific matter as well as the policy implications for the mining
sector, water security and socio-economic sustainability has become
a highly contested issue.
Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment Tim Aldrich and Jack
Griffith Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment addresses
the historical development of environmental epidemiology, touching
on recent sensationalized environmental tragedies such as Love
Canal and Chernobyl. Understanding the importance that public
opinion plays in the success or failure of any important regulatory
decision involving human studies, the authors elaborate the issue
of communicating scientific findings to the public. The authors
have employed the material in this book while teaching graduate
courses in epidemiology and in the application of field studies for
environmentally related risk assessment. Environmental Epidemiology
and Risk Assessment is convenient for students to use in
independent study, while instructors can use it as a reference and
background source for classroom lectures. Each chapter contains a
list of specific learning objectives, a detailed narrative
including illustrations and case histories, and instructive
assignments. The authors have also provided a list of recommended
reading which complements the extensive bibliography and selected
glossaries. This comprehensive text provides state-of-the-art
instruction in the methodologic considerations with the design and
conduct of environmental epidemiologic studies. The authors discuss
disease mechanisms, the study of disease clusters, and surveillance
techniques as these topics relate to environmental epidemiology.
Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment is a compilation of
over thirty years of practical experience, university and public
agency instruction, federal agency experiences, and community
investigations, bringing together disparate scientific disciplines
and offering the most comprehensive compendium of information to be
found on the subject. Although this book serves as a reference text
for trained epidemiologists, it places considerably more emphasis
than is commonly found in epidemiologic texts on exposure
monitoring, the use of biomarkers in epidemiologic studies,
laboratory practices for environmental sampling, risk assessment,
risk management, and environmental law. This "how to" book is an
invaluable source for public health professionals with limited
didactic training in epidemiology, but with interests and
professional responsibilities that require a working understanding
of the discipline.
The various safety organizations working on drinking water all warn
about unhealthy constituents, as well as elements that can cause
corrosion or scaling on pipes and installations. However, drinking
water may also provide a substantial portion of the daily mineral
intake, especially for the elderly and children, or those at risk
of deficiencies due to unhealthy eating habits or starvation. Thus,
a holistic approach to drinking water is presented in this book and
the scope is extended from standards for undesirable substances to
the basic mineral composition of water, examining 22 nutrient
elements and ions and 21 toxic substances. The function of the
nutrients in the body, symptoms of deficiency and overload, and
advantages of the minerals from drinking water are presented, as
well as symptoms of toxic elements from drinking water. The authors
also suggest healthy ranges of minerals and mineral ratios for
drinking water. The book offers a valuable resource for the health
evaluation of drinking waters, for private well owners, public
water producers and safety organizations alike.
This book deals with the water policy and management in Canada. It
discusses various problems and risks in the fresh and drinking
water supply in the second largest country in the world. Mohammed
Dore argues that water is underpriced and used wastefully in
Canada. In selected case studies, he illustrates the major threats
from human activity to Canadian freshwaters and drinking water
resources, including manufacturing, mining, oil sands production,
animal farming and agricultural use. Selected case studies include
reviews of even dramatic incidences, e.g. the Walkerton tragedy of
2000, when 7 people were killed and 200 went onto permanent
dialysis treatment because of water contamination with harmful
pathogens. The book warns that wastewater treatment standards are
often not sufficient, so that many drinking water resources are in
peril of wastewater contamination. As most of the water resources
are provincial responsibility, the book discusses the water
management policies in the different provinces separately. Through
a detailed discussion and statistical analyses, it can define water
policy and management lessons that emerge from the investigated
case studies. It ends by contrasting water policy and practice in
Canada with the practice in some European countries.
This interdisciplinary guide offers background, research findings,
and practical strategies for assessing and improving air quality in
hospitals and other healthcare settings. Positing good air quality
as critical to patient and staff well-being, it identifies
disease-carrying microbes, pollutants, and other airborne toxins
and their health risks, and provides localized interventions for
reducing transmission of pathogens. Effective large-scale
approaches to air quality control are also outlined, from green
building materials to hygienic HVAC and air treatment practices.
Its thoroughness of coverage makes this book a vital resource for
professionals involved in every aspect of health service
facilities, from planning and construction to maintenance and
management. Among the topics covered: Existing guidelines in indoor
air quality: the case study of hospital environments Hospital
environments and epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections
Analysis of microorganisms in hospital environments and potential
risks Legionella indoor air contamination in healthcare
environments HVAC system design in healthcare facilities and
control of aerosol contaminants Assessment of indoor air quality in
inpatient wards Indoor Air Quality in Healthcare Facilities imparts
up-to-date expertise to a variety of professional readers,
including hospitals' technical and management departments,
healthcare facilities' chief medical officers, hospital planners,
sport and thermal building designers, public health departments,
and students of universities and schools of hygiene.
Leading architects, designers, materials scientists, and health
officials reflect on the influence of COVID-19 on buildings and
cities-and propose solutions to safeguard the built environment
from future pandemics. COVID-19 caused a significant global
disruption of human activities with striking consequences for the
built environment, causing an abrupt fear as it relates to
architecture and building design. Buildings became magnifiers of
contagion instead of shelters for protection. Immunizing the built
environment against contagion is a monumental task requiring a
variety of approaches and disciplinary expertise at multiple scales
of inquiry. In this book, 60 of the world's leading architects,
designers, engineers, materials scientists, and public health
experts contribute to an expansive overview of inoculation
strategies for today's world. These approaches are organized
according to the primary sites of exposure, generally arranged by
scale: surface (materials and tactile interfaces), system
(mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and lighting assemblies), space
(interior and exterior environments), and society (cities, regions,
and the general public). This broad collection of perspectives
elucidates the transformations underway in the built environment-
and offers design strategies to limit the severity of subsequent
pandemics. In this way, the book aims to serve both as a
multidisciplinary snapshot of COVID-19's effects and a guidebook
for future-proofing architecture against widespread disease.
Recent developments in air pollution modelling are explored as a
series of contributions from researchers at the forefront of their
field. This newest contribution on air pollution modelling and its
application is focused on local, urban, regional and
intercontinental modelling; data assimilation and air quality
forecasting; model assessment and evaluation; aerosol
transformation. Additionally, this work also examines the
relationship between air quality and human health and the effects
of climate change on air quality. The work derives from a series of
papers presented at the 33rd International Technical Meeting on Air
Pollution Modelling and its Application held in Miami, USA, August
27 - 31, 2013. The book is intended as reference material for
students and professors interested in air pollution modelling at
the graduate level as well as researchers and professionals
involved in developing and utilizing air pollution models.
This book discusses different drinking water treatment technologies
and what contaminants each treatment method can remove, and at what
costs. The production of drinking water requires adequate
management. This book attempts to fill the existing knowlegde gap
about (a) water treatment technologies and their costs, (b) risk
assessment methods, (c) adverse health effects of chemical
contaminants, (d) management protocols, and varying regulatory
practices in different jurisdictions, and what successes are
possible even with small financial outlays. Addressing water
consulting engineers, politicians, water managers, ecosystem and
environmental activists, and water policy researchers, and being
clearly structured through a division in four parts, this book
considers theoretical aspects, technologies, chemical contaminants
and their possible elimination, and illustrates all aspects in
selected international case studies.Source-water protection, water
treatment technology, and the water distribution network are
critically reviewed and discussed. The book suggests improvements
for the management of risks and financial viability of the
treatment infrastructure, as well as ways toward an optimal
management of the distribution network through the risk-based
management of all infrastructure assets.
Advanced Nanostructures for Environmental Health shows how advanced
nanostructures are used to meet the most important challenges of
our age. The book presents examples of how advanced nanostructures
can detect and remove pollutants and other contaminant harmful to
people's health and provides examples of diagnosis tools based on
advanced nanostructures. Treatment possibilities with the use of
nanostructures, such as phototherapeutic applications, radiation
based treatment methods, and drug delivery systems are also
explored.
Infectious Diseases: Selected Entries from the Encyclopedia of
Sustainability Science and Technology presents authoritative,
peer-reviewed contributions from leading experts on a wide range of
major infectious diseases of global importance. Infectious diseases
account for more than 17 million deaths each year worldwide. While
modern medicine and technology have diminished the threat of many
of these pathogens in high-income countries, the ever present
threats of re-emerging infections, population mobility, natural
disasters, and pathogen genetic variability are but some of the
reasons for the dynamic threat of this broad category of risks to
human health. An indispensable resource for students and
scientists, the volume also covers some of the new technologies
currently under development for infectious disease prevention,
treatment, and eradication. The greater part of the infectious
disease burden remains in the tropics, where low and middle-income
countries lack the resources, infrastructure, and health systems to
mount or sustain control efforts. Many contributions describe the
efforts of the scientific research community and international
donor agencies to achieve the integrated goals of vigilant
surveillance, improved and cost-effective diagnostics, and
treatment for sustainable disease control.
This volume throws light on the Sick Building Syndrome in
Libraries and other public buildings, and the extent to which it is
influenced by the internal environment of libraries. One of the
signs of this disease is that the person suffers from a set of
symptoms closely related to his/her presence in the building,
without the identification of any clear causes, and his/her relief
of these symptoms when he/she are out of the building. Hence, the
book sheds on the extent to which the interior environment impacts
upon the health of the people, and the extent to which this is
reflected in their performance. The book can be used for teaching,
research, and professional reference. It concludes with the
recommendation that is essential to observe environmental
dimensions when designing library and public buildings, taking into
consideration the expected impact of SBS in library and public
buildings on people. The significance of the book derives from the
fact that it is the first of its kind to examine the issue of the
interior environment and SBS of library and public building
worldwide.
There are now compelling human epidemiological and animal
experimental data that indicate the risk of developing adult-onset
complex diseases and neurological disorders are influenced by
persistent epigenetic adaptations in response to prenatal and early
postnatal exposures to environmental factors. Epigenetics refers to
heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in
the sequence of the DNA. The main components of the epigenetic code
are DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs.
The epigenetic programs are established as stem cell differentiate
during embryogenesis, and they are normally faithfully reproduced
during mitosis. Moreover, they can also be maintained during
meiosis, resulting in epigenetic transgenerational disease
inheritance, and also potentially introducing phenotypic variation
that is selected for in the evolution of new species. The objective
of this book is to provide evidence that environmental exposures
during early development can alter the risk of developing medical
conditions, such as asthma, autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, obesity, and schizophrenia later in life by modifying the
epigenome.
Environmental Causes and Prevention Measures for Alzheimer's
Disease examines the increased incidence of the disease in
developed countries and aims to educate neuroscientists, medical
practitioners and other educated individuals on new insights into
environmental causation, primarily metals. This book looks into the
web of evidence around the hypothesis of copper toxicity and the
additional role that a high fat diet plays in disease progression
and cognition loss. The data and its implications are discussed,
along with potential prevention measures. This book will generate
excitement and interest among neuroscientists, medical
practitioners and other biomedical researchers.
The concern over the entry of agrochemicals and other xenobiotics
into drinking water resources and over the general quality of
drinking water is increasing. The topic of water quality and water
supply will continue to be of great interest during the next two
decades in developed as well as in developing countries. The new
volume discusses in an authoritative way the key issues of drinking
water and its often necessary treatment.
This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The rate of
identification of children with neurobiological disabilities has
been on the increase in recent years. Millions of dollars in
research are being spent to understand the factors influencing
these increases. The articles within this compendium shed vital
light on this issue, confirming that various "ordinary" chemical
hazards-of the sort encountered by countless children in their
everyday lives-are having serious impacts on development. This
volume investigates the impact of exposure to tobacco smoke,
household chemicals, lead, agricultural toxins, and flame
retardants.
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