Environmental and Occupational Health Issues in Public Health

All the questions on the assessment tool point to environmental health risks. I understand why the questions are directed towards environment because there can be exposures present in our living quarters which can impact our health. As there has been more research studying the effects of exposures, public health policies have been updated to reflect the necessary changes to limit adverse health outcomes that result from harmful exposures.  After completing the home assessment, I found my environment to be a lot safer than I initially thought. The areas where I faced more environmental risks were in areas where I have to make decisions such as the solids & liquids I ingest, in addition to future preparation plans such as a having a disaster plan. It makes sense to research the age of the home because of the risk of lead exposure. Lead exposure can lead to debilitating health outcomes with the primary impact on the nervous and circulatory system, which can eventually lead to...

I've never thought of the chemical, biological, and radiological exposures that I face at home, school, the workplace, and in my community. Through class collaboration, there appeared to be overlap of numerous exposures in all 4 categories. Overall, I would have considered my home to be a place with the least amount of exposure since I consider it a place of comfort and safety. How could I be more wrong? Out of all the four settings, we were able to identify the most exposures in the home setting. Our clothes, our beauty products, cleaning products, even our food have chemicals that we absorb and ingest creating adverse side effects. Ingredients such as BPA (from plastics), glyphosate (from insecticides, etc), parabens (from deodorant), and so much more are in our everyday use products. Not much thought is given to these exposures and we do not realize the harmful effects they can have on our body. I feel more conscious of the exposures we face, but the real question ...