Chapter 14, Problem 1TYC

To determine

The four major type of health hazards that are examined by practitioners of environmental health.

Answer to Problem 1TYC

The four environmental health hazards are; physical (UV light, floods), chemical (pesticides, pharmaceuticals), biological (illness from virus, bacteria), and cultural (smoking, drinking).

Explanation of Solution

The hazards that take place due to poor sanitation and shelter as well as agricultural and industrial contamination of air, water, food, and land are known as environmental health hazards.

Environmental health hazard impacts include both the indirect effects of industrial disruption of adequate food and housing as well as the degradation of global systems on which the health of the planet depends.

The four major type of health hazards are:

(1) Physical hazards: They arise from processes that occur naturally in our environment and pose risks to human life or health. For example: Ultra violet radiations damages DNA in cells and leads to skin cancer, cataracts, and immune suppression.

(2) Chemical hazards: They arise from many of the synthetic chemicals that human manufactures such as pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, and pesticides.

(3) Biological hazards: They are the result of ecological interactions among organisms. Example: Infectious disease. But the impact of infection can be reduced by monitoring, sanitation, and medical treatment.

(4) Cultural hazards: They result from our place of residence or from the circumstances of our socioeconomic, our occupation, and our behavioral choices. Example: choosing to smoke cigarettes.