ENVR430: Health Effects of Environmental Agents
Course director, L.M. Ball [email protected], 6-7306 Office Rosenau 158
Where: Hooker Research Center 0003www.unc.edu/courses/2008fall/envr/430/001/
When: Monday Wednesday Friday, 1 to 1:50 pm
Why:
ASPH CompetenciesI. Discipline-specific Competencies: Environmental Health SciencesDescribe the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and
occupational agentsDescribe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes
following exposure to environmental hazards.Describe federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control environmental
health issuesSpecify current environmental risk assessment methods. Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to
human health and safety.Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental
exposures.Discuss various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of
environmental justice and equity. Develop a testable model of environmental insult.
Environmental HealthEnvironmental Health comprises those
aspects of human health, including quality of life, that are determined by interactions with physical, chemical, biological and social factors in the
environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting,
controlling and preventing those factors in the environment that may adversely affect the health of present and future
generations.Pew Environmental Health Commission
Environmental Agents
• Microbial• Chemical• Physical
Textbooks
Textbooks
Review
Physical Hazards
• Heat• Cold• Trauma
• Radiation– Ionizing radiation
(radioactivity)– Non-ionizing radiation
• X-rays• UV• Infrared• Microwave• Radio• Electromagnetic
Chemicals
“Naturally-Occurring”
“Anthropogenic”
Naturally-Occurring Chemicals
Microbial toxinsBacterial toxins (Often complex
polypeptides)Botulinus toxin (Clostridium
botulinum )Shigatoxin (Shigella dysenteriae )
Fungal toxins (mycotoxins)Ergot alkaloids (Claviceps purpurea)Aflatoxins (Aspergillus spps)NH
HN
http://foodsafetyinfo.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5312
N
CH3
O CO
H
HH
OH
Plant Constituents
• Alkaloids– Atropine– Solanine
• Pigments• Methane• Terpenes• Urushiol Atropine
Animal Constituents
• Alkaloids• Snake venom• Ciguatoxin
Combustion Products
• Gases• Hydrocarbons• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Phenanthrene
Benzanthracene
Benzo[a]pyrene
Minerals• Dust (e.g. Ca, Al, Si)• Leaching into groundwater
– Selenium– Arsenic
Anthropogenic Chemicals
• Inadvertent introduction
• Deliberate use
Service station near Wallace, NCAfter Hurricane Floyd, Sept 15, 1999
Inadvertent introduction
• Industrial by-products
• Insulators• Effluents• Wastes • Spills• Improper
disposal
Apex Fire, Oct 2006
Industrial solvents
• Aromatic hydrocarbons
• Chlorinated hydrocarbons
CH3
HC CH2
Benzene Toluene
Styrene
Cl
Cl
ClCl
Cl
Cl
C CCl
ClCl
ClC C
Cl
ClCl
H
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
TetrachloroethylenePCE, Perc
TrichloroethyleneTCE
Drinking water disinfection
by-products• Trihalomethanes– Chloroform CHCl3– Bromodiloromethane CHBrCl2– Dibromochloromethane CHBr2Cl– Bromoform CHBr3
• Haloacetic acids– Trichloroacetic acid CCl3-COOH– Dichloroacetic acid CHCl2-COOH– Dichlorobromoacetic acid CCl2Br-COOH– Dibromoacetic acid CHBr2-COOH– Dibromochloroacetic acid CBr2Cl-COOH– Tribromoacetic acid CBr3-COOH
Combustion products
• Gases: CO, CO2, O3, peroxyacyl nitrates, nitrogen oxides (NOX: N2O, NO, NO2), sulfur oxides (SOX: SO2, SO3)
• Particulate matter (PM)• Hydrocarbons• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Deliberate use
• Pesticides• Fertilizers• Food additives• Plasticizers• Pharmaceuticals• Waste disposal
Insecticides
• Chlorinated hydrocarbons• Organophosphates• Carbamates
Herbicides
• Broad-spectrum• Broad-leaf• Grassy-leaf
Fertilizers
• Nitrates• Phosphates
C
SNH
O
O O
Saccharin
Food additives• Anti-oxidants• Anti-microbials• Sweeteners• Other flavoring
agents• Coloring agents• Humectants• Anti-caking agents
Plasticizers
C
C
O
O
OCH3
CH3
O
CH3
CH3
DEHP, Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
Bisphenol A
VIRUS0.1 μm(100 nm)
BACTERIUM
1 x 2 μm
PROTOZOAN5 μm
NANOPARTICLE
<100 nm
Red blood cell