VCE Environmental Sc

1. Humans, Health and the Environment Unit 4: AoS1: Pollution VCE Environmental Science Online

2. Environmental Health “Those aspects of public health concerned with the factors, circumstances and conditions in the environment or surroundings of humans that can exert an influence on health and well being.” – National Environmental Health Strategy, 2007

3. Environmental Hazards Contaminated food and water Chemical exposures Polluted air and soil Vector-borne diseases (diseases transmitted by a third party; such as rats, birds or mosquitoes)

4. Legionnaire’s Disease A fatal, pneumonia-like illness caused by theLegionellabacteria. Found in fresh, brackish or marine water and moist soil. Can be present in poorly maintained air conditioning units and transmitted through the air.

5. Environmental Issues: Local – small scale problems such as chemical spills on a road, contamination on a block of land or odour from a factory. Regional – Large yet distinct impact (eg. Photochemical smog, soil salinity, acid rain) Global – International impact such as the enhanced greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and acid rain.

6. Environmental Health at the local government level: Public events organisation (eg. waste disposal and sewage) Noise and odour management Animal management Pest control Swimming pool and spa management Communicable diseases Drugs and poisons control Housing and accommodation standards Community complaints (burning and noise) Immunisations Effluent disposal Mortuaries and cemeteries Shade creation and beach safety Farm safety and injury prevention Skin penetration practises (eg. ear-piercing and tattoos) Tobacco control

7. Bob Handby – Moyne Shire Health and Regulations Manager and Red Cross 22 years with Moyne Shire before retiring to work with red cross. Immunizations Licensing of food premises Sewerage supply and treatment Tobacco legislation International Red Cross Disaster Response team – water and sanitation

8. Imagine a big concert or festival – what needs to be provided to ensure the health and safety of the public?

10. Food

11. Toilets and sewerage disposal

12. Rubbish bins and waste disposal

13. Shade and shelter

15. Global Health World Health Organisation (WHO) Red Cross International Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

16. Water Pollution How can water quality be measured? Temperature Turbidity pH Phosphoros Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Dissolved Oxygen Oil and solid contaminants.

17. Eutrophication Eutrophication is the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates through fertilizers or sewage to an aquatic system. In other terms, it is the "bloom" or great increase of phytoplankton in a water body. Negative environmental effects include hypoxia, the depletion of oxygen in the water, which induces reductions in specific fish and other animal populations. Other species may experience an increase in population that negatively affects other species.

20. Eutrophication in Oceans Eutrophication is a common phenomenon in coastal waters. In contrast to freshwater systems, nitrogen is more commonly the key limiting nutrient of marine waters; thus, nitrogen levels have greater importance to understanding eutrophication problems in salt water.

21. Eutrophication in Estuaries Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where run-off enters a confined channel. Upwelling in coastal systems also promotes increased productivity by conveying deep, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, where the nutrients can be assimilated by algae.

22. Sources and Sinks Identify and classify the various sources of pollution in the next diagram. (eg. Smoke from wood fires) What are the sinks for these pollutants? (eg. Farm soil)

25. Oil Spills An oil spill is a release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.

26. Oil Spills Oil spills include releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline and diesel) and their by-products, and heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Spills may take months or even years to clean up.

27. Oil Spills How and where can they happen? What are the effects? How can they be cleaned up? How can they be prevented? What legislation addresses oil pollution? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill