Environmental health
Environmental health is the prevention of diseases as a result of controlling and eliminating
environmental factors that are effective in the transmission and production of diseases.
The relationship between environmental health and human health is very high, and every
living being is subject to two factors, heredity and environment .
In terms of health, the environment consists of three series of factors:
1- Physical and chemical environment such as water, soil, air, noise, gas, poison, etc
2- The biological environment includes all living or dead animal, insect, microorganism
and plant organisms
3- The social environment includes the economic situation, culture, population density,
etc.,
each of these factors interferes in health with the occurrence of diseases, such as the physical
pathogenic environment through high noise, high humidity or heat, low or high pressure, the
chemical pathogenic environment such as work radiation with lead or toxins in the biological
environment, such as all microbial diseases that may be transmitted through contaminated
water or food, or transmitted by living organisms such as mosquitoes. Malnutrition, poverty,
lack of food, lack of suitable housing, population density, illiteracy are among the social
pathogenic factors that affect health .
Environmental health activities
The set of activities that are carried out for the implementation of environmental health is
called health engineering. In other words, health engineering is the control of natural forces
for human health.
The main environmental health activity
1- Provision of water and healthy food
2- Purification and sanitary disposal of wastewater
3- Disposal and purification of solid waste materials
4- Reducing air, water, food and noise pollution
5- Controlling hazardous factors in the work
Food
Food hygiene mainly examines the methods of production, preparation and storage of food
in order to maintain their quality. Food is one of the important factors that transmit disease
to humans.
In the chain of production, distribution and consumption, failure to comply with health
standards may cause food spoilage
Factors of food contamination and spoilage
1- Bacteria
2- humidity
3- oxygen
4- Molds
5- Proximity and addition of materials
6- insects
7- Parasites
8- Enzymes
9- heat
Different ways of food contamination
Primary infection of plants
Contamination of food by animals
Contamination of food by contaminated water and other stuff
Contamination of food by soil
Contamination of food by air
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Water
Healthy water is water that does not pose any risk to the consumer in the long run.
Contaminated water is water that contains infectious or parasitic pathogens, toxic chemicals,
domestic and industrial waste and sewage.
Characteristics of healthy water
1- free of living pathogens.
2- Free from harmful chemicals.
3- It is colorless and odorless and has a pleasant taste.
4- Can be used for home use.
Water resources:
Surface water: the amount of water that remains on the surface of the earth after all its
penetration, such as water in lakes, rivers, streams and water behind dams.
Groundwater: is the amount of water that penetrates into the soil and flows or collects in the
underground, such as springs, wells and cisterns
Waterborne diseases
Non-microbial diseases: chemical pollutants including non-microbial water pollution.
Microbial diseases: Some viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa are biological agents
microbial diseases
(A) Bacteria: cholera, typhoid, bacillary dysentery
(b) Viruses: Polio, hepatitis
(c) protozoa: amebiasis, toxoplasmosis, Giardiasis
d) Parasitic worms: Ascaris, hookworms, Trichocephalus .
Non-microbial diseases:
Hard water that contains a lot of calcium, magnesium, nitrite, nitrates and sulfates is not
suitable for drinking. Washing with it dries the skin and drinking it causes digestive disorders .
The normal amount of fluorine in water is 0.7 to 1.5 mg/liter. Less than this condition causes
tooth decay, more than 1.5 to 2 causes fluorosis and browning of teeth, and more than 2.5 to
5 or 6 causes softening of teeth in addition to browning.
The presence of lead more than half a milligram per liter of water causes lead poisoning.
Iodine deficiency: enlarged thyroid gland and endemic goiter
Sources of water pollution
1-Municipal wastewater
2- Industrial wastewater
3- Agricultural wastewater
Disinfection methods of water
1- Boiling water for 5 to 20 minutes destroys pathogenic microbes and reduces water
hardness
2- The sunlight is a natural means of disinfection, the violet wavelengths of which destroy
microorganisms. The use of special ultraviolet lamps is less useful due to the high cost.
3- Chemical way: bromide, ozone, chlorine are disinfectants. chlorine and its compounds are
more common due to the cheapness and reliability
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Wastewater
Wastewater is used water that cannot be reused for its own use. Domestic sewage, Industrial
wastewater, surface wastewater
Wastewater treatment methods
Primary treatment (preliminaries) separate part of the floating materials and suspended solid
materials that can be settled in the wastewater (garbage collector, Garbage shredder, Sand
pits, Sedimentation ponds).
Secondary treatment (biological) The wastewater that has passed through all the primary
treatment parts is treated biologically (Biological treatment of wastewater by activated
sludge method, The method of trickling filters).
The advanced treatment(third) separates the polluting substances that have not been
separated in the two methods of the primary and secondary treatment stages from the
wastewater.
solid waste
The term solid waste refers to the collection of materials resulting from human and animal
activities that are usually solid and are thrown away as unwanted or unusable.
Classification of solid waste
1- Urban waste
2- Industrial waste
3-Hazardous waste
4-Hospital waste
Dangers of unsanitary waste disposal
Flies and other insects
rodents
water pollution
air pollution
Waste disposal methods
stockpile
Sanitary waste disposal
Burning garbage
Preparation of manure and compost
Manure pits
to bury
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Air pollution and the problems caused by it
Any substance that enters the air and its quantity is such that it causes human discomfort or
damage to plants and even objects and appliances is called a pollutant.
The main sources of air pollution are natural sources and artificial sources
1. Natural resources are often without the direct intervention of humans like dust
2. Artificial resources, are created by humans, and the resulting pollution is the result of
human activities like smoke, aerosol and gas.
Classification of air pollutants
1- Gases and vapors
2- Airborne substances
3- Aerosol
4- dust
5- fog
6- smoke
7- Fume
Adverse effects of important air pollutants on humans
Carbon monoxide:
Decreased acuity and intelligence, mild and severe headache, weakness, nausea, rapid
heartbeat or intermittent convulsions and in high concentrations and for a long time causes
death.
Sulfuric anhydride gas:
Increasing the heart rate and speed of breathing movements, decreasing the current
respiratory capacity, disrupting DNA synthesis, preventing the growth of lymphocytes,
changing the mode of inheritance
Nitrogen oxides:
It has a direct and indirect effect. Their intoxicating effect depends on the type of acid because
nitrogen dioxide is more harmful than its monoxide. The indirect effect of nitrogen oxides on
humans is through the production of photochemical oxidizers (PAN), which is an important
factor in the formation of oxidizing smog. Pan causes eye irritation, cough, watery eyes,
suffocation, headache and extreme fatigue
ozone:
It has an indirect effect on humans. Depletion of ozone increases the effect of sunlight on
humans, increasing the intensity of sunlight increases the rate of skin cancer.
Hydrocarbons:
Regarding the direct effects of these compounds, we can mention the irritating effect such as
aldehydes on the eyes and the carcinogenic properties of compounds such as benzopyrene.
Radioactive material:
The genetic effects of radiation cause sudden changes in the DNA. Also has physical effects
causing injuries in lung tissues, causing cataracts, superficial inflammations or deep wounds
in the skin, skin cancer, causing changes in blood composition