The small Cornish town of Camelford, in the South Western part of England finds itself being commonly referred to as the centre of Britain most serious water pollution incident due to a water contamination event, which took place on 6th July 1988. This report aims to apply the framework of Environmental Health to analyse the environmental health issues and the need for an interdisciplinary approach. Furthermore, it will also explain the principles of environmental health and sustainable development associated with this incident. The incident involved accidently adding a massive load of aluminium into a reserve distal, which serves the local community. Initial response and management of the incident have been under much scrutiny. Communication about the event and the potential health were sometimes confusing and even contradictory at times causing significant concern amongst the local community residents. Furthermore, in addition to the immediate health effect of such an exposure, health impacts of such events can be potentially ongoing and in the case of Camelford, nearly two decades after the incident many citizens of the community still continue to report health concerns that they attribute to the event (Powell et al., 1995). The incident On 6th July 1988 a relief tanker driver accidently released twenty tonnes of aluminum sulfate into the mains supply in Lowermoor Water Treatment Works subsequently contaminating the water, which supplies to a large area of north Cornwall. Approximately 20, 000 individuals were exposed to this contaminated water (Phyllis, 2008). This contamination was substantial, the maximum recorded aluminum concentration was 620,000 μg/l compared with the maximum concentration admissible at the time by th... ... middle of paper ... ...be ongoing, so the pubic can get advice on new concerns if and when they arise. Consideration must be given as to correctly identify the exposed populations for inclusion in monitoring especially if the exposed area has a large number of people migrating (such as the case for Camelford). Poor drinking water supply and quality and poor sanitation are among the world’s major caused of preventable morbidity and mortality. Water contamination outbreaks occur all too often. It is likely that many outbreaks remain undetected and beyond the reported outbreaks, there is an unrecognized background burden of disease. There is a risk that outdated methods may not effectively identify and prevent water contamination. Advances in technology, which can aid the detection and prevention of contaminants, environmental health and sustainability should be encouraged and are needed.
22 November 2004. Clear and Present Danger? Test. The. 2004.
However, there is no guarantee that there are no long-term health effects caused by the chemical since regulators do not have adequate data (The Associated Press, 2014). Those affected by the spill are the residents near Elk River who depend on the river's water supply. Many restaurants, hotels and local businesses are forced to close since residents are not able to access tap water other than for flushing toilets. Locals are forced to take cold baths and use only bottled water for hydration and cooking needs (The Associated Press, 2014).... ...
This is because only a small part of the population, particularly in developing countries, have access to water of acceptable quality. It is estimated that in some countries only 20% of the rural population has water of satisfactory quality. Based on these statistics, it is clear the urgent need for awareness about caring for water use. Almost without realizing it, we are seriously jeopardizing this essential resource, not for us but for our children's children and their generations, aware that in other parts o...
Although extremely detrimental to the people of Africa, there is a chance that these individuals are not the only ones that may be affected by the issue of the current water pollution. There is no borderline of which disease cannot cross. There is an extremely large chance that over time, the infectious diseases from water pollution will spread to areas other than Africa, becoming a universal issue. Although the issue of water pollution is growing each day, there is hope that with the world’s awareness, and organizations’ help, the issue is soon to become one of the pasts.
This essay will discuss the main environmental factors that are contributing to an increasing level of health issue such as, obesity among individuals in New Zealand. James and Peters stated that a person’s body weight and body height are determined by interactions between the environment and genetics (1998). Usually, health professionals observed obesity as a circumstance of overeating, therefore this essay will be identifying the three major environmental factors that contribute to obesity within New Zealand. This essay will also discuss how well the government is managing the relationship between the health issue identified above and environment.
Environmental Health, as stated by Friis (2012), “comprises those aspects of human health, including quality of life, that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social, and psychological factors in the environment”. Additionally he points out that “it also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling, and preventing those factors in the environment that potentially can affect adversely the health of present and future generations” (Friis, 2012). Large proportions of current diseases are associated with environmental sources. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the report Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments - towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease that
Such outbreaks are incapable of being controlled by public health initiatives and officials alone, as they travel through the primary water sources of communities, essential for the maintenance of life. However, these essential water sources contaminated with fecal matter, are rivers and streams which act as the primary contributors to fecal oral diseases in developing nations; deteriorating the health of populations at an early age and limiting the economic prosperity of communities’ incapable of contributing to the workforce due to disease and illness (Mara, 2003, p. 453). Diarrheal disease, one of the primary fecal oral diseases present in developing nations, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in areas throughout India, Indonesia, Africa and war-torn countries throughout the Middle East, those most affected being children children (Fewtrell et al., 2005, p. 42). As these impoverished and sickened communities of developing nations are still beginning to acclimate to the modern world, affordable water-sanitation initiatives are essential to promote awareness of sanitation from the perspective of public health officials wanting to limit the spread of preventable infectious diseases (Mara, 2003, p. 453). Therefore, global sanitation initiatives with proper sanitation and filtration technologies must be taken via the application of “appropriate technologies.” However, new technologies are only a fraction of the problem when taking rising populations, modernization, climate change, pollution, urbanization and affordability into consideration when creating proper sanitation protocols to address water sanitation needs in poverty-stricken communities under development (Murphy et al., 2009, p.
A direct example of how the mistreatment of the environment has an effect on the health of the public is seen in the incident at Love Canal. “Love Canal was a rectangular 16-acre, 10-ft-deep chemical waste landfill situated in a residential neighborhood in the city of Niagara Falls…
On the 3rd of December 1984, a gas leakage incident happened in Bhopal, India. Methyl isocyanate(MIC), a deadly poisonous gas was accidentally leaked and spread into air from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant. The leak was caused by large volume of water entering one of the MIC storage tanks in the underground. As a result temperature and pressure in tank continuously increased and the storage tank burst as a result of chemical reaction between the water and MIC. It spread in the air and over the nearby community. As a result the people inhaled the gas and got affected. The doctors also could not provide immediate treatment for the victims since UCIL provided only a little information regarding the composition of the poisonous gas leaked. Due to this incident 3,500 people were killed instantly; 20 thousand people were permanently disabled and more than 40 thousand people suffered from the injuries and chronic diseases due to the incident in long run.
The environment and health are very closely linked. The environment in which we inhabit and go about our daily lives, directly impacts on our physical, mental and social well-being. There are biological, chemical and physical factors that can affect human health in a physical and mental way. The World Health Organisation states that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO 1948), meaning that although many factors relating to health are associated with environmental pollution, they can also be caused by the environment in which we work and live in. The relationship between the environment and health, can however be quite complex. Human health is not only as a result of air, water and ground pollution, but also things such as food, genetics, life style and quality, which directly affect human susceptibility to illness, disease and possibly death. Disruptions to the environment, such as substance dispersal, climate change, acidification, ground pollution, photochemical air pollution and over fertilisation can also impact on human health. Therefore, there are direct and indirect links to the environment and health issues.
Hennigan, Robert D. "Water Pollution." Oxford University Press 19.11 (1969): 976-78. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Hazards can be found in every workplace. Hazard is generally anything that makes you in a dangerous situation. Health hazard is means that the hazard brings negative effect and harm to the health which is may cause measurable changes in the body. There are many hazard in the workplaces have the potential to harm workers short-term and long-term health result in diseases, disorders and injuries. Occupational health is an important as occupational safety. However, occupational health generally receives less attention compare to the occupational safety in workplaces.
Our planet is suffering from severe pollution, which ranges from contaminated air, water and soil as well. Humans are doing nothing to reduce the amount of pollution that is harming our earth. To understand how pollution works first you must understand that there are different types of pollution. The most common types of pollution and the ones that I will be focusing on which are the ones doing the most harm to our planet are air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and littering. In order to help out and reduce pollution in our planet people need to be more aware of what these problems are and about the severe damages that they are causing our planet. Before industrialization really jumped into place and had an effect on large cities, nature had its own way of cleaning up its own air and itself. Wind scattered gases, rain washed many substances and the rest dissolved into the ground; while plants absorbed carbon dioxide and made it into oxygen. With big cities growing more every time and with more towns that were becoming more industrialized a lot of more waste began to be released into the environment and the atmosphere and soon this was more than enough for nature to handle. In order to stop and reduce pollution people need to understand the damage that it is causing our environment and our planet as well. People need to be more aware of how they can help out and do their part in reducing these problems that are causing our planet to die slowly with people not even noticing it.
Water is essential for us for various purposes, such as drinking, bathing, washing clothes, cooking, etc. As we drink, bath with or cook with fresh and pure water, it has many advantages in our day-to-day life. For instance, water relieves fatigue, improves mood, treats headache, helps digestion, flushes out toxin, etc. (Top 10 Health Benefits…). But nowadays-fresh water is hard to find because of the increment of pollution in the environment. People are ignoring the pollution of environment to fulfill their needs and wants. Every sector is responsible for water pollution today. For example, in science lab not all students throw the chemical in appropriate containers, some of them throw in the sink and industries wastes are thrown directly into water, etc. People are being ignorant about these because they don’t want to think this through the sustainable way, but they just want to use it for now not for the future. People know that we are polluting the water sources, but they don’t want to change for the better. They have the mentality of thinking like; it’s working now that means it is fine. The main thing that people are not realizing is that their habit of polluting the environment is affecting them now. Contaminated water contains bacteria, E. coli, nitrates, pesticides, other harmful chemicals from industrial wastes, etc., which has a severe health risks in an individual (Halton Region). Some of the
Working Party of the RSC Environment Health and Safety Committee (2008). “Environmental Risk Assessment” http://www.rsc.org/images/Environmental_Risk_Assessment_tcm18-122341.pdf. Visited: 10/04/2011