Environmental Hazards and their Health Effects

Environmental Hazards and their Health Effects (Part 1)

Although you might have heard or read a great deal about the environmental consequences of global warming or climate change, individuals will be most likely affected through famine or drought before the health of a community or country as a whole is affected to a serious degree by the temperature change.

However, the increasing extremes of temperature, that is extreme hotness and coldness, as a result of climatic change, could result in increased deaths even in temperate climates.

Noise and other physical hazards may also present a nuisance to many inhabitants, and impair their general well-being.

Environmental noise does not usually contribute to deafness but notable exceptions may include noisy discotheques and "personal stereos".

Electromagnetic radiation ranges from low frequency, relatively low energy, radiation such as radio and microwaves through to infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. These last as well as other forms of radioactivity such as high energy subatomic particles (e.g. electrons - Beta rays) can cause intracellular ionisation and are therefore called ionising radiation.

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation carries an increased risk of skin cancer such as melanoma, and of cataracts which are to an extent exposure related.

Some pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants or in aerosol propellants or in the manufacture of certain plastics can damage the "ozone layer" in the higher atmosphere (stratosphere) and thus allow more UV light to reach us, and harm us directly.

Ultraviolet light may also cause harm indirectly by contributing to an increase in ozone in the troposphere (the air we breathe). 

(To be continued) 

NAHIMAT