Pesticides in the Natural Environment: Sources, Health Risks, and Remediation presents the direct and indirect impacts of the use of pesticides on the environment, human health, and agriculture. The book explores sustainable alternatives to pesticide use, along with policies for regulations and remediation techniques. Bridging the gap between regulations and the tangible environmental threat, the book proposes practical solutions while also providing important context on the hazards of pesticides. It highlights the influence on climate change, offering a holistic perspective for researchers in environmental science, policymakers, and land managers. The book introduces pesticides and their applications, then goes on to cover their impact on various ecosystems in the natural environment. Health risks are covered, followed by various remediation techniques, such as biological processes, phytoremediation, and chemical treatments.

During recent decades, millions of tonnes of man-made chemicals have been produced and released into the environment, with very little safety testing. Many of these chemical substances have been found to interfere with the endocrine system and modulate its function. This book not only overviews the effects of endocrine/disrupting substances on human health, but also addresses the regulatory problems from the point of view of international organisations, including the WHO, the EU, and the European Chlorine Industry. This volume contains the proceedings of a workshop held at the International Hippocrates Foundation on Kos Island, Greece, in September 1999. The workshop was part of the activities of the ASPIS project, which aims at raising awareness of environmental health impacts among multidisciplinary groups. The contributions to this volume are the result of the interaction of participants at the workshop. As such, it addresses the issue of endocrine disrupters from many different points of view and allows the subject to be approached by a multidisciplinary readership, including: decision makers, medical doctors, environmental experts, post/and undergraduate students, lawyers, engineers, and journalists.

The 1990s have seen a growing interest in the role of local ecological knowledge in the context of sustainable development, and particularly in providing a set of responses to which populations may resort in times of political, economic and environmental instability. The period 1996-2003 in island southeast Asia represents a critical test case for understanding how this might work. The key issues to be explored in this book will be the creation, erosion and transmission of ecological knowledge, and hybridization between traditional and scientifically-based knowledge, amongst populations facing environmental stress (e.g. 1997 El Nino), political conflict and economic hazards. The book will also evaluate positive examples of how traditional knowledge has enabled local populations to cope with these kinds of insecurity.

One Health: Challenges for the 21st Century is a transdisciplinary approach to health, considering the interdependency of human, animal, and environmental health. This approach to health promotion and disease prevention calls for integrative and interdisciplinary cooperation. From zoonotic diseases to environmental degradation, this book introduces core concepts of the One Health approach by presenting focal key challenges. The objective of this book is not centered solely on epidemiologic interactions of infectious diseases but also on the environmental and ecological implications of current major threats. Written by international experts, the ten chapters provide a comprehensive approach consisting of core concepts, practical examples, and applications that align with key challenges to public health. Therefore, this book is a valuable resource for public health professionals, veterinarians, physicians, environmental researchers, policymakers, and other professionals who seek to understand the overarching complexities of health.

Climate change impacts the wellbeing of societies across the entire globe. By utilizing innovative technologies, public health can be better protected in the years to come. Utilizing Innovative Technologies to Address the Public Health Impact of Climate Change: Emerging Research and Opportunities presents an ambitious examination on the implementation of technology to mitigate and create resilience against the impacts of climate change. Highlighting a range of topics such as water management, vulnerable populations, and disaster risk analysis, this book is ideally designed for academics, students, researchers, and professionals interested in emerging progress in climate change protection.

In 1984, the Conference on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation convened a series of panel meetings to discuss long-term environmental issues. "Environmental Impacts on Human Health" is the result of that prestigious conference. Drawing on contributions from nationally recognized scientists and experts from industry and government, this collection of papers will help to redirect long-term environmental research and development.

As society has become increasingly concerned with the protection and preservation of the environment, many industries have been pushed to comply with new policies and social demands for more environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices and products. However, the textile dyeing industry remains a significant source of complex environmental issues with legislative requirements that often vary in detail and severity concerning the exposure and hazards of potentially harmful chemicals and other associated materials. It is vital that the industry sector involved in the application of dyes continues to be sensitive to potential adverse effects on the environment in its widest sense and respond accordingly. Impact of Textile Dyes on Public Health and the Environment is an essential reference source that focuses on the environmental impact and social responsibility of the dyeing industry. While highlighting topics such as toxicology, bleaching, and greenhouse gases, this publication is ideally designed for chemists, industrialists, non-governmental organization members, environmentalists, fashion designers, clothes manufacturers, scientists, academicians, researchers, students, and practitioners seeking current research on dyeing's potentially adverse effects on the environment and strategic, effective responses.

Accurate assessment of environmental hazards and related risks is a primary prerequisite for effective environmental health protection, at both the individual and collective level. National and regional policies on environmental health need to be guided by knowledge about the risks to the populations involved; as the Environmental Action Plan for Europe notes, 'priority setting requires the comparative assessment of risks to health of different environmental factors against the cost of controlling them.' In recent years this has assumed particular importance, for with the encouragement of the World Health Organisation (WHO), all countries in Europe are committed to producing National Environmental Health Action Plans (NEHAPs), which will define priorities and targets for environmental health and the actions needed to achieve them. Reliable information on risks is clearly fundamantal to this process. Individual risk assessment is no less important in this context. Much of the responsibility and capacity to improve public health lies ultimately in the choices (e.g. about diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, sexual activities, sporting activities, travel mode, place of residence and occupation) which we make as individuals. If we are to improve and protect our own health, therefore, and in so doing play our personal role in achieving the targets set by these Plans, we need to be guided by a clear understanding of the risks involved.

In myriad ways, humans have gradually tailored their world to meet immediate material needs. In so doing, we have, in the minds of many, systematically altered a formerly hospitable environment into one more ambiguous in its effect on the human organism. Just as environments have adapted in response to human activity, so too is the human body now, in turn, forced to adapt to these altered conditions. Today, mysterious illnesses, from chronic fatigue to Gulf War Syndrome, meet us at every turn. Yet even as an increasing number of people attribute ailments to environmental problems, the suspected relationships between illness and environment remain unclear.

Illness and the Environment examines how sick people and their allies struggle to achieve public recognition of somatic complaints and disabilities that they contend are related to "manufactured environments." The first of its kind, the anthology considers the political, legal, and medical conflicts arising from these illnesses, and will prove invaluable to researchers, scholars, public policy makers, trial attorneys, and activist organizations.

The new federal guidelines to help employers understand how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to employees with an emotional disorder make it imperative that occupational psychologists and front line managers identify those workers who have an emotional disorder and distinguish them from those workers who are lazy or have a bad attitude. Kantor provides vital clinical information that assists professional consultants and supervisors alike in complying with the new guidelines while distinguishing true disability from behavioral problems which call for administrative action. Avoiding stress-heavy theory and one-size-fits-all approaches to treating occupational disorders, Kantor provides a comprehensive view of factors contributing to workplace traumas and presents an incremental approach to developing correct disgnoses and effective clinical therapies. Kantor describes both the familiar and the less familiar occupational disorders, shows how they develop as a result of dysfunctional interaction between workers and their environment, and suggests case-specific methods for preventing and curing many of the most debilitating workplace traumas. Avoiding stress-heavy theory and one-size-fits-all approaches to treating occupational disorders, the author here provides a comprehensive view of factors contributing to workplace traumas and presents an incremental approach to developing effective clinical therapies. Kantor describes both the familiar and the less familiar occupational disorders, shows how they develop as a result of dysfunctional interaction between workers and their environment, and suggests case-specific methods for preventing and curing many of the most debilitating workplace traumas.

Humans are exposed daily to low concentrations of metals that are released into the environment by both natural and industrial processes. Environmental Metal Pollutants, Reactive Oxygen Intermediaries and Genotoxicity: Molecular Approaches to Determine Mechanisms of Toxicity examines concerns about the acute and/or chronic exposure of humans to concentrations of these metals that are below the threshold levels established by various federal regulatory agencies. Some of these metals are accumulated in various tissues and over time this may result in the accumulation of a significant body burden. This could increase the risk of developing a variety of diseases later in life, at a time when thresholds for such effects may already be reduced by the processes of aging. Such possibilities could only further compromise the quality of life in the elderly population and could contribute to the rising cost of health care in this country. Studies that have been conducted to determine the possible risks associated with exposure to relatively non-toxic concentrations of environmental metals have been hampered by a lack of appropriate models and a lack of funding. It has also been difficult for researchers to demonstrate a correlation between the exposure of humans or animals to low concentrations of environmental pollutants and disease. This book examines recent technological advances in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, and computer-enhanced image analyses that provide researchers with the tools to begin elucidating the genotoxic effects of environmental metal pollutants and the mechanisms by which these metals cause DNA damage. Environmental Metal Pollutants, Reactive Oxygen Intermediaries and Genotoxicity: Molecular Approaches to Determine Mechanisms of Toxicity presents data that demonstrate that certain environmental metal pollutants are genotoxic. The authors describe the role of reactive oxygen intermediates in causing the DNA damage induced by environmental metal pollutants and discuss their possible role in human disease.

Many Yemenite Jews made their way to Israel in the first half of the century. Later, following the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948, the rest of the community was flown in from the Yemen--an airlift of 50,000 people code-named Magic Carpet. These two groups, the early and late immigrants, afford a rare opportunity to describe the changes in health patterns during development toward a modern society. Using the fascinating but scanty information available from all manner of sources and comparing it with contemporary accounts of life in the Yemen today, Michael Weingarten relates the changes in the physical and psychological health of the Yemenite Jews to the various components of their new environment.

There was no modern medicine available in the Yemen, and most of the older generation of patients described in this study continue to believe in a threefold etiology of disease--magic, fate, and environment. Weingarten describes how traditional healers coexist with modern doctors and how, even when modern medicine is used, magical cures are expected. Although there are several sections dealing with largely medical data which will interest physicians and geneticists, most of the book is readable by anyone taking an interest in health and culture, including ethnologists, anthropologists, sociologists, health workers and planners, students of medical history, as well as all those interested in the study of Yemen, Judaic history, or Israeli culture.

This book focuses on a range of geospatial applications for environmental health research, including environmental justice issues, environmental health disparities, air and water contamination, and infectious diseases. Environmental health research is at an exciting point in its use of geotechnologies, and many researchers are working on innovative approaches. This book is a timely scholarly contribution in updating the key concepts and applications of using GIS and other geospatial methods for environmental health research. Each chapter contains original research which utilizes a geotechnical tool (Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, GPS, etc.) to address an environmental health problem. The book is divided into three sections organized around the following themes: issues in GIS and environmental health research; using GIS to assess environmental health impacts; and geospatial methods for environmental health. Representing diverse case studies and geospatial methods, the book is likely to be of interest to researchers, practitioners and students across the geographic and environmental health sciences. The authors are leading researchers and practitioners in the field of GIS and environmental health.

This book looks at the relationships between the physical-social environment and the elderly in Europe and Latin America, from the Environmental Gerontology perspective and through geographical and psychosocial approaches. It addresses the main environmental issues of population ageing, based on an understanding of the complex relationships, adjustments and adaptations between different environments (home, residence, public spaces, landscapes, neighbourhoods, urban and rural environment) and the quality of life of the ageing population, associated with residential strategies and other aspects related to health and dependency. The different levels of socio-spatial analysis are also explored: macro (urban and rural environments, regions and landscapes), meso (neighbourhood, public space) and micro (personal, home and institution). New theoretical and methodological approaches are proposed to analyse the attributes and functions of the physical-social environment of the elderly, as well as new ways of living the ageing process. All will have to respond to the challenges of urbanisation, globalisation and climate change in the 21st century. Also, the different experiences and challenges of public planning and management professionals involved with the growing ageing population are presented, and will require greater association and collaboration with the academic and scientific fields of Environmental Gerontology.

In this groundbreaking, global analysis of the relationship between climate change and human health, Hans Baer and Merrill Singer inventory and critically analyze the diversity of significant and sometimes devastating health implications of global warming. Using a range of theoretical tools from anthropology, medicine, and environmental sciences, they present ecosyndemics as a new paradigm for understanding the relationship between environmental change and disease. They also go beyond the traditional concept of disease to examine changes in subsistence and settlement patterns, land-use, and lifeways, throwing the sociopolitical and economic dimensions of climate change into stark relief. Revealing the systemic structures of inequality underlying global warming, they also issue a call to action, arguing that fundamental changes in the world system are essential to the mitigation of an array of emerging health crises link to anthropogenic climate and environmental change.

Humans have been adapting to a changing climate throughout history. Whether by innovation or migration we have developed a considerable capacity for "acclimatizing" to our environment. Since the mid 19th century, however, the rate of change has been increasing and the fact that this anthropogenically forced acceleration cannot be sufficiently reduced will have a significant impact on public health in the near and medium future. How severe the impact will be depends largely on our capacity to adapt and its effective deployment. By exploring cases histories in public health, Integration of Public Health with Adaptation to Climate Change: Lessons Learned and New Directions identifies the key adjustments necessary for public health systems to effectively adapt to this accelerated climate change. Taking into consideration the large portion of the global population without access to adequate nutrition, clean drinking water, or a viable public health system, the book examines the added influence of climate-sensitive diseases, their mutation, incubation, and migration, on life expectancy, economic productivity, and quality of life. The new challenge is to develop and deploy a capacity for more rapid social and technological adaptation, and to ensure that this capacity is universally and equitably distributed in the face of global environmental change. The option of the hunter/gatherer to simply pick up and move to more attractive climes is no longer available to today's higher population densities and fixed infrastructures. Effective adaptation to this rapid climate change must come from a conscious, planned, anticipatory approach. To do this we must use what we've learned from the lessons ofour past

Despite advances in the long-range electrostatic double-layer force, which depends strongly on ionic strength in water by using theoretical models such as DLVO (Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek), the structure of confined water in air still remains widely unknown and has led to a variety of unexplained phenomena. This book bridges that gap by introducing a newly developed scanning probe miscroscopy (SPM) approach, which enables one to probe confined water at the molecular and atomic scale. Written by the developer of SPM, this book covers this new approach, as well as original approaches to addressing general interfacial water issues. It also introduces the cantilever-based optical interfacial force microscope (COIFM), which was invented by the author along with the methodology. The improved understanding will contribute to liquid-based nano- and bio-technologies such as lab-on-a-chip technologies, nanofluidic devices, dip-pen nanolithography, nano-oxidation, water-based granular interactions, liquid-based nanolubricants, hydration layers in biopolymers, manipulation of biomolecules, protein folding, stability of colloid suspensions, enzyme activity, swelling in clays, development of bioactive surfaces, water columns and ion channeling in membranes and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). It will also contribute to the improved performance of moving components in silicon-based micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, where water plays a key role in interfacial interactions.

While serving as a physician overseas in resource-poor countries, Dr. James Chambers recognized the need for a practical, portable reference for non-specialist healthcare providers to orient them to common issues when serving in new situations, whether due to geography, austere environments, or complex humanitarian disasters. Field Guide to Global Health and Disaster Medicine draws on the experience, training, and perspectives of committed healthcare providers from diverse nations and backgrounds to provide the most essential information for maximum utility in the field-whether in a refugee camp, operating room, disaster response scene, or other demanding environment. Helps providers prepare for service overseas, organize data to develop differential diagnoses, assimilate information on infectious and environmental diseases, and effectively serve the patients they will encounter. Provides concise, easy-to-read coverage of how to approach a differential diagnosis for infectious diseases overseas; nutritional, sexual, and environmental conditions; surgical and anesthesia care; long-term and short-term systems-based challenges, and more. Covers key topics such as Approach to Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Medical Response to Disasters, Mental Health in War and Crisis Regions, and Considerations for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Acknowledges the wide variance of different cultures, motives, resources, and limitations in the global health arena, and helps readers understand the factors which impact the efficacy and sustainability of care strategies. Enhanced eBook version included with purchase, which allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

Heat Exposure and Human Health in the Context of Climate Change introduces the effects of heat on human health, especially in the context of climate change. The book utilizes case studies in addition to foundational knowledge and theory to demonstrate the epidemiological impact of heat, also presenting solutions for addressing this important public health issue. It is clearly organized to aid in understanding key questions such as why and how heat exposure impacts health, who are most vulnerable to heat exposure, and how to reduce the impacts of heat exposure. Providing guidance on public policy development as well as individual protection, this book is an interdisciplinary resource for researchers and policymakers in both public health and environmental science fields.

Environmental illness is a concept of growing concern to all health professionals. Patients with problems presumably caused by sick buildings, electromagnetic fields and hypersensitivity to chemicals--to name a few--are often referred to psychologists, psychiatrists, and other counselors. The battery worker with fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain and an elevated lead level...the assembly worker with pain and numbness in her hand and delayed median nerve conduction...the patient who develops typical contact dermatitis after working with epoxies..., these are straightforward cases. But they are in the minority. In many cases, needy, demanding, and difficult patients present complex and challenging psychological issues. Practitioners often lack the training or wisdom to handle these issues effectively.
We know that exposure to lead, mercury, and PCBs affect psychological development and behavior; we know much less about the effects of thousands of other chemicals in the environment. In addition, global climate change, social disruption, and the spread of infections will--in the near future--expose people to novel environmental threats. Symptoms caused by toxins can overlap those caused by fear, stress, and depression, and the clinical picture can mimic a variety of other mental disorders.
On the other hand, the natural environment can also be a healer. Research shows that hospital stays are shortened and the need for pain medication reduced for patients exposed to nature, even in images, or to the company of animals. Nursing home patients live longer if allowed to keep pets, and one controlled study shows that caring for animals reduces disruptive behavior in even the most difficult ADD children.
This book offers the first overview of the many ways the environment can affect mental health and illness. It will prove to be an important and valuable resource for physicians in psychiatry, public health, and environmental medicine; for clinical and counseling psychologists and social workers; and for environmental researchers and advocates worldwide.

Environmental pollution as a consequence of diverse human activities has become a global concern. Urbanization, mining, industrial revolution, burning of fossil fuels/firewood and poor agricultural practices, in addition to improper dumping of waste products, are largely responsible for the undesirable change in the environment composition. Environmental pollution is mainly classified as air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution, light pollution, and plastic pollution. Nowadays, it has been realized that with the increasing environmental pollution, impurities may accumulate in plants, which are required for basic human uses such as for food, clothing, medicine, and so on. Environmental pollution has tremendous impacts on phenological events, structural patterns, physiological phenomena, biochemical status, and the cellular and molecular features of plants. Exposure to environmental pollution induces acute or chronic injury depending on the pollutant concentration, exposure duration, season and plant species. Moreover, the global rise of greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane, chlorofluorocarbons and ozone in the atmosphere is among the major threats to the biodiversity. They have also shown visible impacts on life cycles and distribution of various plant species. Anthropogenic activities, including the fossil-fuel combustion in particular, are responsible for steady increases in the atmospheric greenhouse gases concentrations. This phenomenon accelerates the global heating. Studies have suggested that the changes in carbon dioxide concentrations, rainfall and temperature have greatly influenced the plant physiological and metabolic activities including the formation of biologically active ingredients. Taken together, plants interact with pollutants, and cause adverse ecological and economic outcomes. Therefore, plant response to pollutants requires more investigation in terms of damage detection, adaptation, tolerance, and the physiological and molecular responses. The complex interplay among other emerging pollutants, namely, radioisotopes, cell-phone radiation, nanoparticles, nanocomposites, heavy metals etc. and their impact on plant adaptation strategies, and possibility to recover, mitigation, phytoremediation, etc., also needs to be explored. Further, it is necessary to elucidate better the process of the pollutant's uptake by plant and accumulation in the food chain, and the plant resistance capability against the various kinds of environmental pollutants. In this context, the identification of tolerance mechanisms in plants against pollutants can help in developing eco-friendly technologies, which requires molecular approaches to increase plant tolerance to pollutants, such as plant transformation and genetic modifications. Pollutant-induced overproduction of reactive oxygen species that cause DNA damage and apoptosis-related alterations, has also been examined. They also trigger changes at the levels of transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, which has been discussed in this book.

The Causes and Behavioral Consequences of Disasters brings a public health perspective to the literature, reflecting the increasing importance of the field in both disaster preparedness and disaster response. Arguing that a disaster is not only the event but its aftermath as well, the authors apply salient local content to the study of scenarios ranging from the Cuzco, Peru, earthquake of 1950 to the Columbine school shooting, the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9/11. These case studies form the basis for models of vulnerabilities to disasters and population behavior following disasters, illustrating how careful pre-event planning and coordinated post-event response strategies can minimize the initial damage and negative aftereffects. The Causes and Behavioral Consequences of Disasters will further professional discussion and understanding among a wide range of professionals and students across public health, mental health, education, health administration and policy, social work, and the social sciences.

In fact, with the control and containment of most infectious conditions and diseases of the past millennium having been achieved in most developed countries, and with the resultant increase in life expectancies, much more attention seems to have shifted to degenerative health problems. Many of the degenerative health conditions have been linked to thousands of chemicals regularly encountered in human living and occupational/work environments. It is important, therefore, that human health risk assessments are undertaken on a consistent basis - in order to determine the potential impacts of the target chemicals on public health.

The development of a field or an area of inquiry is often marked by changes in measurement techniques, shifts in analytic emphasis, and disputes over the best ways of doing research. In many areas of psychology, a number of issues have characterized methodological evolution of the discipline, including questions regarding context and reductionism, or laboratory versus field research. For some of the newer areas in psychology, such as environment or health psychology, this is not an issue of either/or. Although there has been some debate about these trade-offs, it is generally regarded by people in this field that some combination of the two approaches is essential. Depending on the question being studied this balance may change. However, the questions asked are less likely to inquire 'which way is better' and concentrate on how both may be used. This observation serves to illustrate the fact that different research endeavours have different methodological issues. Originally published in 1985, this volume explores some of the issues characterizing work on health, environment, and behavior.