Environmental & Occupational Health Issues

Pneumoconiosis  (Black Lung)  Black lung is caused by long-term exposure to coal dust from work-place exposure. It is common in coal miners and others who work with coal. These workers inhale coal dust while they are working, and this dust builds up in their lungs leading to inflammation and scarring of the lungs. Black lung is incurable and often gets worse over time.  In 1969, congress passed The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and created the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (MESA) [later renamed the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)] . This act  required underground coal mines to undergo annual inspections, created and strengthen safety standards for coal mine workers, enacted fines for violations and provided benefits to miners disabled by the disease. This safety act decreased black lung disease in coal minors by 90%. In 2012, a joint investigation by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Center for Public...

CAL/OSHA OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is an agency of the federal government. CAL/OSHA is an agency of the the government of California. It is also called the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California. CAL/OSHA protects and improves the health and safety of working men and women in California and the safety of passengers riding on elevators, amusement rides, and tramways – through the following activities: Setting and enforcing standards Providing outreach, education, and assistance Issuing permits, licenses, certifications, registrations, and approvals This relates to my health and safety because Cal/OSHA is the agency in my state that is responsible for ensuring the safety of my workplace and other workplaces. References: State of California, Department of Industrial Relations (n.d.) Cal/OSHA. Retrieved from: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/

The chemical in this safety data sheet is Battery Acid Neutralizer and Cleaner. The health risks associated with it are skin irritation and serious eye irritation. From the information I can find on the sheet, the chemical is not a carcinogen. Protective gloves and eye protection should be warn when working with this chemical. This chemical is not found in my workplace so I am not certain about the training received. ToxNet stated an additional potential health effect not noted on this safety data sheet - this chemical May cause respiratory tract irritation. I think overall, the MSDS has too much information in it and not all of it is easy to read. The "Precautionary statements" should be highlighted or bolded more because the entire document is 10 pages and I think that is some of the most relevant information. Hopefully the training on this chemical covers all of the important information about the chemical in an easy to understand way.

Lead is a very toxic metal and is naturally found in the Earth. I didn't realize how far back populations were being poisoned by lead. I was surprised to learn that the fall of Rome may have been partly due to lead poisoning. It was also surprising to find out that lead tastes sweet and had been used as an additive in wine. It's hard to believe how far back lead poisoning was described but that it took until relatively recently to really ban it's use in everyday products such as gasoline and paint. The adverse effects of lead poisoning is wide spread - it seems it effects almost every organ in the human body. Luckily, once the exposure is removed, the blood levels of lead go down. We need to continue to ensure that people, especially pregnant woman and children, are not exposed to lead. This is still true in the US where many older home contain lead pipes or lead paint. This is very important in other countries where they may not know or understand the risks of lead exposu...

I had not heard of green chemistry prior to this module. I took some chemistry classes in undergrad, including chemistry labs, but this was not something they taught. After reading about the principles, I can see how green chemistry is very important to the health of the planet and health of humans. The main principle of green chemistry is to reduce pollution at its source. I think this could be applied to so many processes in manufacturing today. Watching the video 'Digging into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch' was really alarming. There was so much plastic on that island!! We continue to produce plastic in mass quantities and it never deteriorates. It was sad to see how much waste ended up on that island in such a short span of time. I don't know what the solution is, but something needs to be done about the use of plastics - they are not only harmful to us in so many ways, but they are harmful to wildlife and the planet.

The 6 Chemical Classes are both the most commonly found in consumer products AND highly toxic - most of us have probably heard about the potential health effects of these chemicals at some point 1) Highly Fluorinated Chemicals These are mainly found in non-stick products, such as cookware, and in waterproof products. When you start to think about the products that are water proof, the list continues to grow. I personally knew that certain non-stick cookware was harmful, but I had not idea prior to watching this video that waterproof items were also harmful. And what's worse is these chemicals never break down so they continue to accumulate in the environment. 2) Antimicrobials Intuitively, antimicrobials sound like something we want in our daily products. This is likely why they were added to thousands of products without testing to ensure they were safe or without proving they were providing any benefit to consumers. It turns out that many of these antimicrobials are doing m...

An ideal chemical policy should have the following elements: - Safety reviews for ALL chemicals (including chemicals already on the market and new chemicals before they can enter the market) - Allow the EPA or other similar government agencies to ban/phase out chemicals that have human or environmental health risks in a timely fashion - Set judicially enforceable deadlines for decisions (just fining companies is not enough!) - Provide enough funding to test the 80,000 chemicals currently on the EPA's list of chemicals - Fund research for safer alternatives to harmful chemicals currently in use - Require comprehensive safety data for all chemicals on the market

Background Paper #5 : Require Comprehensive Safety Data for All Chemicals This Reform calls for manufacturers of chemicals to be required to provide health and safety information as a condition for placing and keeping a chemical on the market. There are currently more than 80,000 chemicals listed in the EPA's inventory of commercial chemicals, however there is little public knowledge data on these chemicals including how they are used or what potential harms they cause to humans or the environment. Because of the lack of available information, there is no way to know what we are being exposed to. Additionally, this makes it difficult to keep the companies that are producing these chemicals accountable. This reform is the most crucial to the Louisville Charter because the other reforms would not be able to be enacted until a chemical has been identified as potentially dangerous. Without knowing what it in a chemical, it cannot be determined if there is a need for a switch to a ...

The meal I ate last night was wild cod, sweet potatoes and kale. Wild Cod  - I was unable to find this on the What's on my Food Website. Sweet Potatoes Human Health Effects: 3 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 6 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 7 — Neurotoxins 2 — Developmental or Reproductive Toxins Environmental Effects: 7 — Honeybee Toxins Kale Human Health Effects: 6 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 22 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 10 — Neurotoxins 10 — Developmental or Reproductive Toxins Environmental Effects: 17 — Honeybee Toxins Both the kale and the sweet potatoes were organic because I have been much more conscious about purchasing organic since the last module. However, until last week I had not been very good about purchasing organic so I would have been eating quite a bit of pesticides with my dinner! This is very concerning and unexpected. I try to eat foods that are good for my body but in fact I am likely eating a lot of pe...

The topic I have chosen for my literature review is the flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro propyl) phosphate (TDCPP). TDCPP is an organophosphorus flame retardant commonly added to polyurethane foams, which is used in upholstered furniture, automotive seat cushions, construction materials, and some baby products. Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants had been used before TDCPP, but have since been banned in many counties and states due to their toxicity in humans. From my research, many agencies are starting to find out that TDCPP is also toxic, but I could not find any agencies that are currently regulating TDCPP. State: TDCPP is monitored by states and some have guidelines around them, but I could not find a state that currently regulates TDCPP. I did find an article that suggested that 16 states in the US have bills in the works this year (2018) to ban or tightly restrict certain fire retardants from use in toys, child car seats, strollers and other childre...

National Institutes of Health | NIH The NIH is a medical research agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. NIH is the primary agency of the US government responsible for public health research. I am very interested in research and the NIH is very appealing to me. The first medical research funded by the government was in the 1870's when Congress allocated funds to investigate the causes of epidemics like cholera and yellow fever. However, the the National Institute of Health was not officially established until 1930. The National Cancer Institute is a division of NIH and the NIH also launched The Human Genome Project. The NIH is also responsible for the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder,...

The City of Berkeley Public Health Division has an  Environmental Health Division which is a part of the Health, Housing & Community Services Department. The services provided under the Environment Health Division are split up into 4 categories: General Environmental Health, Environmental Health Programs, Food Programs and Vector Control Programs. Across the entire Environmental Health Division, a lot of services are offered and seem to cover a variety of issues. Many of the services are ones that I would have expected to see such as waste management, sewage discharge, pest management, wildlife management, food safety information, and community noise. Some of the services I was surprised to see were: - Arthropod Control & Identifications: This includes cockroaches, fleas, yellow jackets, ticks, mites, and spiders that infest homes and businesses. I was surprised to see this because there is already a service for pest management and rodent control. B...

Living in Northern California, we are lucky to have a lot of locally grown food and much of it is in season for much of the year. The Harvest Calendar below shows what is available by month in the Bay Area.  I think serving seasonal/local foods in hospitals is a good idea, but I don't know how feasible it is. In California I think this would be much easier than in a lot of other states.  I had not heard of obesogens before reading this article. It makes a lot of sense that consuming these chemicals would be bad for us and could alter metabolic processes and cause people to gain weight. I think more research should definitely done around this topic since obesity has become an epidemic not just in the United States but around the world. I chose monosodium glutamate (also known as MSG) as a potential obesogen to research. MSG is a food additive and is often used as a flavor enhancer. While it seems many studies have been done testing the effects of MSG, it is diffic...

I feel pretty passionate about the misuse of antibiotics and overuse of antimicrobial wipes, soaps and hand gels. I personally will only use a hand sanitizers, such as purell, in situations when there is no other option. I have family members that identify as "germophobes"  and use hand sanitizers and antimicrobial wipes constantly - I swear they are sick so much more often than I am! The mis-use of antibiotics on farms is very concerning. I have seen a couple documentaries about this occurring on farms and since learning about this, I am very particular about where I purchase my dairy and meat products from. What surprised me was that 80% of antibiotics in the US are sold for agricultural purposes. Moreover, 23,000 deaths every year are from infections that are resistant to our antibiotics. This is concerning and we need to do something about this! I only hope that as more and more people become aware and start to purchase their products from farms that are using good pract...

I was very interested to watch The Vanishing of the Bees because I knew that the bees had been disappearing, but didn't really know the details. It was interesting to learn that what is effecting the bees is also effecting butterflies, bats, birds, amphibians and other animals. In my book review of The Sixth Extinction, I learned about many of these animals going extinct because of humans, but bees were not one of the species covered in the book. My dad used to be a beekeeper and watching this made me want to encourage him to start again! Dirt! The Movie was also eye opening - I didn't realize just how bad industrial farming is. I think we mostly hear about animal farms being detrimental to the health of the plant and contributing to global warming, but I didn't realize how bad vegetable farms could be. This definitely made me want to shop local so I could talk to the farmers growing my foods and understand their farming practices. There are no factory farms in my count...