Public health, environmental health science & management, contributors, scope of environmental health, water and health, water borne diseases, zoonotic diseases, source of air pollution, health effects of air pollution, prevention and control of air pollution.

1. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Environmental factors responsible for
ailments, diseases, and deaths

2. Public Health
• Public health is defined as the science of
protecting the safety and improving the health
of communities through education, policy
making and research for disease and injury
prevention
• All that is external to the individual, can be
divided into physical, biological, social, and
cultural factors, any or all of which can
influence health status in populations.

3. WHAT DO PUBLIC HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS DO?
• Monitor the health status of a community to identify potential problems
• Diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards in the community
• Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues, particularly
the underserved and those at risk
• Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems
• Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health
efforts
• Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
• Link people to needed personal health services and ensure the provision
of health care when otherwise unavailable
• Ensure a competent public health and personal health care workforce
• Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and
population-based health services
• Research new insights and innovative solutions to health problems

4. WHO defines Environmental Health
• Environmental health comprises those aspects
of human health, including quality of life, that
are determined by physical, biological, social,
and psychosocial factors in the environment. It
also refers to the theory and practice of
assessing, correcting, controlling, and
preventing those factors in the environment
that can potentially affect adversely the health
of present and future generations.

5. Environmental Health Science
• The study of those factors in the environment
that affect human health.
• Factors (“pollutants" or “toxicants”) in air,
water, soil, food, plants or aimals.
• Transferred to humans by inhalation,
ingestion, or absorption.
• Production of adverse health effects.

6. Environmental Contributors
• Physical:
– Air, water, soil, flora, fauna, housing, climate, geography, heat,
light, noise, debris, etc.
– Air pollutants, smoke, toxic gases, toxic effluents, pesticides etc.
• Biological:
– Virus, bacteria and other microbes, insects, rodents, animals
and plants
– Disease producing agents, reservoir of infection, intermediate
host and reservoirs of infection
• Social/psychosocial/socioeconomic:
– Culture, values, customs, habits, morals, religions, education,
lifestyle, community life, health services, social and political
organizations.

7. Healthy Environment
• Clean air
• Safe and sufficient drinking water
• Safe, nutritious, and accessible food
• Safe and strong settlements
• Stable global environment

8. Scope of Environmental Health
• Water supplies
• Waste water treatment
• Waste management
• Vector control
• Prevention and control of land pollution
• Food hygiene and safety
• Air quality management
• Environmental radiation hazards
• Occupational health and safety
• Environmental noise management
• Accommodation establishments

9. Contd…
• Environmental Impact Assessments
• Poor health
• Accident prevention
• Environmental health aspects of public recreation and
tourism
• Environmental health measures associated with
epidemics, emergencies, disasters and migrations of
populations
• Establishment of an effective environmental health
surveillance and information system
• Research on environmental health issues

10. Water and Health
• Free from pathogenic agents
• Free from harmful chemical substances
• Pleasant taste, i.e. free from color and order
• Useable for domestic propose
• For drinking purpose: 2 liter/person/day
• Domestic purpose : 150-200 liter /person/day
• Domestic uses; Public purpose; Industrial
purpose; Agricultural purpose; Hydropower
production

11. Sources and Quality of Water
• Sources of water
– Meteoric water received as rain, snowmelt, hail,
sleet, glacial melt water, due
– Surface water i.e. rivers, streams, lakes, pond
– Groundwater obtained through dug wells, tube
wells, natural springs, fountains
• Source of water pollution
– Sewage, industrial & commercial effluents,
pesticides, chemical manures, radioactivity,
organic, inorganic and dissolved pollutants

12. Health issues of contaminated water
• Acute and chronic toxic effect of chemical
pollutants
• Diseases associated with inadequate use of water
• Dental health problem: 1gm fluoride/liter water
is beneficial for dental health
• Vector borne disease: Malaria, Dengue, filaria etc.
• Cardiovascular disease: hardness of water have
beneficial effect on hardness of water.

13. Water Borne Diseases
• Viral: Hepatitis A & E, Poliomyelitis, Rotavirus
diarrhea, SARS, Dengue fever
• Bacterial: Cholera, Bacillary Dysentery, Typhoid
fever, Salmonella & E.Coli infections
• Protozoal: Amoebiasis, Giardiasis, Malaria
• Helminthic: Roundworm, Thread worm, Hydiatid
disease
• Snail: Schistosomiasis
• Cyclops: Guinea worm, Fish tape worm

14. Diseases spread by Mosquitoes
• Malaria
• West Nile Virus
• Zika
• Dengue
• Yellow fever
• Chikungunya

15. Zoonotic Diseases
• Anthrax – humans, livestock, horses
• Avian paramyxovirus - pigeons
• Bird-flue – Birds
• Foot and mouth disease – cattle, sheep, pig, dogs
• Rabies – Animals, humans
• Swine fever - pigs
• Tuberculosis – cattle
• Tetanus – Animals, humans

17. Indoor Air Quality

18. Sources of air pollution
• Transport sector
– Nox, SO2, CO2, CO, VOC, Pb, NO2, Black smoke
• Industries and waste disposal
– SO2, N2O, NH3, CO2, CO, CH4, HF, HCl, H2S, O3
• Domestic sector
– CO2, CO, SO2, Nox, CH4, VOC, Smoke, dust, soot
• Power Generation
– SO2, CO2, NOx, N2O, CO, CH4

19. Health Effects of Air Pollutants
• CO: CO poisoning, depleted oxygen supply to heart
brain and other vital organs, headache, fatigue,
dizziness , drowsiness, nausea
• CO2: headache, dizziness, difficulty in breathing,
sweating, tiredness, increase heart rate, blood
pressure, coma, asphyxia, convulsions
• SO2: very toxic if inhaled, severe irritation of nose,
skin and eyes, blindness, pulmonary edema,
tightness in chest, asthma, inflame respiratory
system

20. Contd…
• PB: problems in pregnancy, harm to fetus, fertility
issues, hypertension, digestive disorders, nerve
disorders, memory loss, muscle and joint pain
• Cd: affects cardiovascular and reproductive system,
kidneys, eyes and brain
• H2S: small exposure can cause irritation to eyes,
nose or throat, increase difficulty for asthmatics
• O3: can damage lungs, chest pain, coughing, throat
irritation, hard breathing, worsen asthmatics
• PM: premature death of persons with heart & lung
diseases, heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated
asthma, difficulty in breathing, coughing

21. How much air and pollutants we inhale
per day
• An average adult resting person inhales 7-8 l of
air per min or almost 11.5 m3 or 14.2 kg per day.
• Among other air pollutants particulate matter is a
mixture of tiny solid particles(dust, smoke, soot,
salt, soil, mineral, pollens) and water droplets
• In order to assess the air quality of a city PM2.5
and PM10 are measured in routine. The WHO air
quality guidelines recommend annual average
concentration of PM2.5 must not exceed 10µg/m3
and 20µg/m3 for PM10.

22. Particulate matter in Afghanistan
• A World Bank report shows that in 2016 the
annual average concentration of PM2.5 for the
whole Afghanistan was 63µg/m3 i.e. 6 times
higher than the permitted level.
• According to Sediqi (2009) the mean annual
concentration of PM2.5 in Kabul is 99.5µg/m3.
• At this rate every individual in Kabul inhales 0.42
g of PM2.5 alone per year that results in a death
toll of 3000 people per year in Kabul (Mustafa
Kazemi, 2011)

23. Health Effects of Polluted Air
• Actual risk f adverse effects depends on the
current health status, type and concentration
of pollutant, and length of exposure.
• High air pollution levels can cause immediate
health problems e.g.
– Aggravated cardiovascular & respiratory illness
– Stress heart and lungs that must function
– Damaged cells in the respiratory system

24. Air pollution is a killer
• Long-term exposure to polluted air can have
permanent health effects such as:
– Accelerated aging of the lungs
– Loss of lung capacity and decreased lung function
– Development of diseases such as asthma,
bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer
– Shortened life span

25. Most susceptible persons to ill effects
of air pollution
• Individuals with heart disease, coronary artery
disease or congestive heart failure
• Individuals with lung diseases such as asthma,
emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD)
• Pregnant women
• Outdoor workers
• Older adults and the elderly
• Children under age 14
• Athletes who exercise vigorously outdoors

26. Prevention and Control of Air Pollution
• Containment:
– Preventing atmospheric release of toxic substances by enclosure,
ventilation and air cleaning
• Replacement
– Substitution of fossil fuels and firewood by alternate wind, solar and
hydel power
• Dilution
– Greenbelts, urban plantation
• Legislation
– Implementation/monitoring of environmental laws/regulations
• International Action
– International monitoring through ground and space stations