1. Environmental Hazards and Human Health
Chapter 18
Environmental Hazards and Human Health

2. Chapter Overview Questions
What types of hazards do people face?
What types of disease (biological hazards) threaten people in developing countries and developed countries?
What chemical hazards do people face?
How can risks be estimated and recognized?

3. Updates Online
The latest references for topics covered in this section can be found at the book companion website. Log in to the book’s e-resources page at to access InfoTrac articles.
InfoTrac: Report Shows 2005 to Be 'Least Bad Year' of AIDS Epidemic. Lawrence K. Altman. The New York Times, May 31, 2006 pA6(L).
InfoTrac: Concern Grows Over Increase In Diabetes Around World. Marc Santora. The New York Times, June 11, 2006 pA27(L).
InfoTrac: Push for New Tactics as War on Malaria Falters. Celia W. Dugger. The New York Times, June 28, 2006 pA1(L).
The National Academies: Genetically Altered Bacteria Could Block Malaria Transmission
Science Daily: Study Shows Promise For Simplified Treatment Of HIV Infection
The Gates Foundation

4. Core Case Study: The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2005 about 42 million people worldwide (1.1 million in the U.S.) were infected with HIV.
There is no vaccine for HIV – if you get AIDS, you will eventually die from it.
Drugs help some infected people live longer, but only a tiny fraction can afford them.

5. Video: Aids Conference in Brazil
PLAY
VIDEO
From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.

6. Animation: HIV Replication
PLAY
ANIMATION

7. Core Case Study: The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic
AIDS has reduced the life expectancy of sub-Saharan Africa from 62 to 47 years – 40 years in the seven countries most severely affected by AIDS.
Projected age structure of Botswana's population in 2020.
Figure 18-2

8. Core Case Study: The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic
The virus itself is not deadly, but it cripples the immune system, leaving the body susceptible to infections such as Kaposi’s sarcoma (above).
Figure 18-1

9. RISKS AND HAZARDS
Risk is a measure of the likelihood that you will suffer harm from a hazard.
We can suffer from:
Biological hazards: from more than 1,400 pathogens.
Chemical hazards: in air, water, soil, and food.
Physical hazards: such as fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption…
Cultural hazards: such as smoking, poor diet, unsafe sex, drugs, unsafe working conditions, and poverty.

10. Video: Germs in Pakistan
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VIDEO
From ABC News, Human Biology in the Headlines, 2006 DVD.

11. BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS: DISEASE IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Diseases not caused by living organisms cannot spread from one person to another (nontransmissible disease), while those caused by living organisms such as bacteria and viruses can spread from person to person (transmissible or infectious)

12. Video: Polio Scare
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VIDEO
From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.

13. Transmissible Disease
Pathway for infectious disease in humans.
Figure 18-4

14. Transmissible Disease
WHO estimates that each year the world’s seven deadliest infections kill 13.6 million people – most of them the poor in developing countries.
Figure 18-5

15. Case Study: Growing Germ Resistance to Antibiotics
Rabidly producing infectious bacteria are becoming genetically resistant to widely used antibiotics due to:
Genetic resistance: Spread of bacteria around the globe by humans, overuse of pesticides which produce pesticide resistant insects that carry bacteria.
Overuse of antibiotics: A 2000 study found that half of the antibiotics used to treat humans were prescribed unnecessarily.

16. Video: The Problem with Pork
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VIDEO
From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.

17. Case Study: The Growing Global Threat from Tuberculosis
The highly infectious tuberculosis (TB) kills 1.7 million people per year and could kill 25 million people 2020.
Recent increases in TB are due to:
Lack of TB screening and control programs especially in developing countries due to expenses.
Genetic resistance to the most effective antibiotics.

18. Viral Diseases
Flu, HIV, and hepatitis B viruses infect and kill many more people each year then highly publicized West Nile and SARS viruses.
The influenza virus is the biggest killer virus worldwide.
Pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese are the major reservoirs of flu. As they move from one species to another, they can mutate and exchange genetic material with other viruses.

19. Video: Bird Flu
PLAY
VIDEO
From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.

20. Video: Mask of Technology
PLAY
VIDEO
From ABC News, Human Biology in the Headlines, 2006 DVD.

21. Viral Diseases
HIV is the second biggest killer virus worldwide. Five major priorities to slow the spread of the disease are:
Quickly reduce the number of new infections to prevent further spread.
Concentrate on groups in a society that are likely to spread the disease.
Provide free HIV testing and pressure people to get tested.
Implement educational programs.
Provide free or low-cost drugs to slow disease progress.

22. How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main menu for Living in the Environment.
Should developed and developing nations mount an urgent global campaign to reduce the spread of HIV and to help countries afflicted by the disease?
a. No. A global AIDS campaign could divert attention and resources from efforts to combat other serious threats.
b. Yes. The disease is decimating the populations and destroying the economies of many developing countries.

23. Case Study: Malaria – Death by Mosquito
Malaria kills about 2 million people per year and has probably killed more than all of the wars ever fought.
Figure 18-7

24. Stepped Art Female mosquito bites infected human,
ingesting blood that contains Plasmodium
gametocytes
Merozoites enter blood-stream and develop into gametocytes causing malaria and making
infected person a new reservoir
Plasmodium
develops in
mosquito
Sporozoites penetrate liver
and develop into merozoites
Female mosquito injects Plasmodium sporozoites into human host
Stepped Art
Fig. 18-7, p. 423

25. Case Study: Malaria – Death by Mosquito
Economists estimate that spending $2-3 billion on malaria treatment may save more than 1 million lives per year.
Figure 18-6

26. Case Study: Malaria – Death by Mosquito
Spraying insides of homes with low concentrations of the pesticide DDT greatly reduces the number of malaria cases.
Under international treaty enacted in 2002, DDT is being phased out in developing countries.

27. Animation: Life Cycle of Plasmodium
PLAY
ANIMATION

28. Solutions
Infectious Diseases
Increase research on tropical diseases and vaccines
Reduce poverty
Decrease malnutrition
Improve drinking water quality
Reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics
Educate people to take all of an antibiotic prescription
Reduce antibiotic use to promote livestock growth
Figure 18.8
Solutions: ways to prevent or reduce the incidence of infectious diseases, especially in developing countries. QUESTION: Which three of these approaches do you think are the most important?
Careful hand washing by all medical personnel
Immunize children against major viral diseases
Oral rehydration for diarrhea victims
Global campaign to reduce HIV/AIDS
Fig. 18-8, p. 424

29. Ecological Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Mostly because of human activities, infectious diseases are moving at increasing rates from one animal species to another (including humans).
Ecological (or conservation) medicine is devoted to tracking down these connections between wildlife and humans to determine ways to slow and prevent disease spread.

30. CHEMICAL HAZARDS
A toxic chemical can cause temporary or permanent harm or death.
Mutagens are chemicals or forms of radiation that cause or increase the frequency of mutations in DNA.
Teratogens are chemicals that cause harm or birth defects to a fetus or embryo.
Carcinogens are chemicals or types of radiation that can cause or promote cancer.

31. CHEMICAL HAZARDS
A hazardous chemical can harm humans or other animals because it:
Is flammable
Is explosive
An irritant
Interferes with oxygen uptake
Induce allergic reactions.

32. Effects of Chemicals on the Immune, Nervous, and Endocrine Systems
Long-term exposure to some chemicals at low doses may disrupt the body’s:
Immune system: specialized cells and tissues that protect the body against disease and harmful substances.
Nervous system: brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.
Endocrine system: complex network of glands that release minute amounts of hormones into the bloodstream.

33. Effects of Chemicals on the Immune, Nervous, and Endocrine Systems
Molecules of certain synthetic chemicals have shapes similar to those of natural hormones and can adversely affect the endocrine system.
Figure 18-9

34. Case Study: A Black Day in Bhopal, India
The world’s worst industrial accident occurred in 1984 at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India.
An explosion at Union Carbide pesticide plant in an underground storage tank released a large quantity of highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas.
15,000-22,000 people died
Indian officials claim that simple upgrades could have prevented the tragedy.

35. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Factors determining the harm caused by exposure to a chemical include:
The amount of exposure (dose).
The frequency of exposure.
The person who is exposed.
The effectiveness of the body’s detoxification systems.
One’s genetic makeup.

36. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Typical variations in sensitivity to a toxic chemical within a population, mostly because of genetic variation.
Figure 18-10

37. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Estimating human exposure to chemicals and their effects is very difficult because of the many and often poorly understood variables involved.
Figure 18-11

38. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Children are more susceptible to the effects of toxic substances because:
Children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food per unit of body weight than adults.
They are exposed to toxins when they put their fingers or other objects in their mouths.
Children usually have less well-developed immune systems and detoxification processes than adults.

39. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Under existing laws, most chemicals are considered innocent until proven guilty, and estimating their toxicity is difficult, uncertain, and expensive.
Federal and state governments do not regulate about 99.5% of the commercially used chemicals in the U.S.

40. Protecting Children from Toxic Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed that regulators should assume children have 10 times the exposure risk of adults to cancer-causing chemicals.
Some health scientists contend that regulators should assume a risk 100 times that of adults.

41. TOXICOLOGY: ASSESSING CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Some scientists and health officials say that preliminary but not conclusive evidence that a chemical causes significant harm should spur preventive action (precautionary principle).
Manufacturers contend that wide-spread application of the precautionary principle would make it too expensive to introduce new chemicals and technologies.

42. How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main menu for Living in the Environment.
Should we rely more on the precautionary principle as a way to reduce the risks from chemicals and technologies?
a. No. Assuming that every chemical or technology is a serious health or environmental threat will lead to wasteful over-regulation, high costs and hinder the development of critically needed pesticides, plastics, and other commercial products.
b. Yes. Preventing the commercialization of harmful chemicals and technologies is better than dealing with the high costs of medical treatments and environmental damage.

43. RISK ANALYSIS
Scientists have developed ways to evaluate and compare risks, decide how much risk is acceptable, and find affordable ways to reduce it.
Figure 18-12

44. RISK ANALYSIS
Estimating risks from using many technologies is difficult due to unpredictability of human behavior, chance, and sabotage.
Reliability of a system is multiplicative:
If a nuclear power plant is 95% reliable and human reliability is 75%, then the overall reliability is (0.95 X 0.75 = 0.71) 71%.

45. RISK ANALYSIS
Annual deaths in the U.S. from tobacco use and other causes in 2003.
Figure 18-A

46. RISK ANALYSIS
Number of deaths per year in the world from various causes. Parentheses show deaths in terms of the number of fully loaded 400-passenger jumbo jets crashing every day of the year with no survivors.
Figure 18-13

47. Perceiving Risk
Most individuals evaluate the relative risk they face based on:
Degree of control.
Fear of unknown.
Whether we voluntarily take the risk.
Whether risk is catastrophic.
Unfair distribution of risk.
Sometimes misleading information, denial, and irrational fears can cloud judgment.

48. RISK ANALYSIS
Comparisons of risks people face expressed in terms of shorter average life span.
Figure 18-14

49. Becoming Better at Risk Analysis
We can carefully evaluate or tune out of the barrage of bad news covered in the media, compare risks, and concentrate on reducing personal risks over which we have some control.
Figure 18-3