Environmental health is the science of looking for external potential hazards that can affect a person’s health and behavior. These external factors may be chemical, biological and physical. Environmental health care is the area which is gaining interest from around world. Environmental health issues arise mainly because of air quality, different radiation resulting from different nuclear reaction taking place for energy purposes. We can say that Environmental health is the study of how different environmental factors affect human health, and what the techniques are used to cope.

Following are some Critical Environmental Issues that need to be addressed and taken seriously for ourselves and for our country.

One of the major areas addressed by environmental health is the disease control. A lot of diseases are caused by polluted environment. The environment gets polluted by many ways. One is industrialization that increases air pollution. Air quality is getting worse day by day. Disease such as diarrhea, influenza, food poisoning, ringworm etc. is caused due to environment. Children are especially affected and are most likely to receive harm. This would include children of age 5-10 that are most likely in danger. Our responsibility is to make sure that the wastes from our homes does not pollute the overall environment.

Food management is another area of concern for environmental health. Our concern must be from how seed is harvested and what kind of fertilizer and pesticides are used for its nurturing. Food we take must be free from all types of germs and other nontoxic materials. Nano toxicology is the science of studying to what extent these properties poses threat to human beings. Food preservation can be a good idea in this case. In this process food is preserved from spoiling, through different methods such as canning, freezing, pasteurization, irradiation. Using organic methods of raising food and providing this food as soon as harvested to people is greatly valued.

Water quality is needed to make sure clean water is available to the community and is another environmental issue, because water is getting polluted day by day through various means. Among such processes are hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid mainly water for fracturing shale rocks to release natural gas. Water is very much important for life and water must be handled perfectly, otherwise it causes a lot of diseases. Water used for industrial purposes gets poisonous after release and is very harmful for skin when not properly managed and can poison the main stream water as well. So there must be proper sanitation of water.

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The climate is modifying. The earth is warming up, and there is now extreme scientific consensus that it is occurring, and man-evoked. With global warming on the increase and species and their home grounds diminishing, chances for ecosystems to adapt by nature are diminishing. Global Warming will lead to a frailer Ozone layer, because as the surface temperature grows, the stratosphere will get colder, causing the normal repairing of the Ozone to slow.

Anoxic waters are regions of sea water or fresh water that are depleted of dissolved oxygen. This condition is mostly found in regions that have confined water exchange. Anoxic waters are a natural phenomenon. When oxygen is depleted in a basin, bacteria first turn to the second-best electron acceptor, which in seawater is nitrate.

Over the path of millions of years, the motion of tectonic plates reconfigures global land and ocean areas and establishes topography. This can impact both worldwide and local patterns of climate and atmosphere-ocean circulation.

Fluctuations in solar action during the last several centuries established on observations of sunspots and beryllium isotopes. The cyclical nature of the sun’s energy output is not yet amply understood; it differs from the very slow change that is happening inside the sun as it matures and develops. While most research suggests solar variability has brought on a small cooling result from 1750 to the present, a few studies aim toward solar radiation increments from circular sunspot activity affecting global warming.

The hominid population of the planet is estimated to now have passed 6 billion people. Existing consumption patterns as seen in Europe and North America can put stress on the surroundings and natural resources. Anthropogenic elements are human activities that change the environment. In some cases the chain of causality of human influence on the climate is direct and unambiguous, while in other cases it is less clear. Human action is very probably the cause for the fast increase in global average temperatures over the past several decades. Of most concern in these anthropogenic factors is the increase in CO2 levels due to discharges from fossil fuel burning, followed by aerosols (particulate matter in the atmosphere) and cement manufacture. Other factors, including land use, ozone depletion, animal agriculture and deforestation, are also of concern.

In recent years there has been a movement towards the use of assorted renewable energy sources, and hopefully mankind can at least do its part in reducing our impact on our environment.

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It is stipulated that any health surveillance should be risk assessment based and should represent the last measure to monitor and prevent work related diseases. It should not be confused or taken as a substitute for risk assessments or other safety controls and actions aimed to reduce risks at the workplace. It is also quite useful for providing information about necessary additional training, the introduction of new work procedures which would reduce costs, enabling employees to raise concerns about the health consequences of their job etc.

Generally health surveillance is required in activities where there is a risk of noise or vibration, solvents, fumes, dusts, biological agents, asbestos, lead or work in compressed air, ionizing radiation. Duty holders involved in chemical, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, offshore or any other industry where highly harmful materials are used should consider putting in place additional health checks. If you are not sure about if it applies to your business activity please seek competent advice.

Anyhow, there are three basic legal requirements and in the cases where the three of them are met, health surveillance should be introduced:

Number one; there is an identifiable disease and there is firm evidence that it is linked with workplace exposure.
Number two; there is a possibility for the disease to occur.
Number three; the techniques used to determine the first two points are valid and do not pose a risk to employees.

The risk assessment you have performed would give you clues about what kind of health surveillance would be appropriate for your business.

The first and simplest measure would be for employees to check themselves for signs or symptoms of ill health, obviously after the correct training for the specific diseases has taken place. Based on the risk assessment and the type of risk, a responsible person (employee, supervisor or first aider, always somebody with basic training who would know what kind of symptoms to search for) could perform routine inspections of the employees. In workplaces with higher risk for ill health a more competent person such as nurse or occupational health doctor should carry out periodic examinations.

In industries where work with high hazard substances is involved the law requires statutory medical surveillance including examinations and tests by doctors with specific training and experience, usually appointed by the HSE. This is a legal requirement for workplaces with certain exposure, such as some type of work with asbestos, work with lead, substances subject to Schedule 6 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (used in transport, manufacturing, production, storage, use of polymerisation etc.), ionizing radiation (occurs from the radioactive decay of natural radioactive substances) and work in compressed air.

If you are performing health surveillance in your company you should keep records of all actions performed to prevent ill health. Usually a suitable copy of these health records should be kept for at least 40 years from the date of last entry, as when working with dangerous substances the disease could occur long after the exposure.

It is important to know when and what kind of health surveillance is required and if any at all for your type of work activity. There are many situations where companies are over-complying. Incurring unnecessary costs is not the aim of these regulations, so performing a good risk assessment and informing yourself about the legal requirements for your line of work is essential.

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• Occupational Health and Safety
• Workplace Health Promotion
• Social and lifestyle determinants of health
• Environmental Health Management

In the past policy was frequently driven solely by compliance with legislation. In the new approach to workplace health management, policy development is driven by both legislative requirements and by health targets set on a voluntary basis by the working community within each industry. In order to be effective Workplace Health Management needs to be based on knowledge, experience and practice accumulated in three disciplines: occupational health, workplace health promotion and environmental health. It is important to see WHM as a process not only for continuous improvement and health gain within the company, but also as framework for involvement between various agencies in the community. It offers a platform for co-operation between the local authorities and business leaders on community development through the improvement of public and environmental health.

The Healthy Workplace setting – a cornerstone of the Community Action Plan.

The Luxembourg Declaration of the European Union Network for Workplace Health Promotion defined WHP as the combined effort of employers, employees and society to improve the health and well-being of people at work

This can be achieved through a combination of:

• Improving the work organization and the working environment
• Promoting active participation of employees in health activities
• Encouraging personal development

Workplace health promotion is seen in the EU network Luxembourg Declaration as a modern corporate strategy which aims at preventing ill-health at work and enhancing health promoting potential and well-being in the workforce. Documented benefits for workplace programs include decreased absenteeism, reduced cardiovascular risk, reduced health care claims, decreased staff turnover, decreased musculoskeletal injuries, increased productivity, increased organizational effectiveness and the potential of a return on investment.

However, many of these improvements require the sustained involvement of employees, employers and society in the activities required to make a difference. This is achieved through the empowerment of employees enabling them to make decisions about their own health. Occupational Health Advisors (OHA) are well placed to carry out needs assessment for health promotion initiatives with the working populations they serve, to prioritize these initiatives alongside other occupational health and safety initiatives which may be underway, and to coordinate the activities at the enterprise level to ensure that initiatives which are planned are delivered. In the past occupational health services have been involved in the assessment of fitness to work and in assessing levels of disability for insurance purposes for many years.

The concept of maintaining working ability, in the otherwise healthy working population, has been developed by some innovative occupational health services. In some cases these efforts have been developed in response to the growing challenge caused by the aging workforce and the ever-increasing cost of social security. OHA’s have often been at the forefront of these developments.

There is a need to develop further the focus of all occupational health services to include efforts to maintain work ability and to prevent non-occupational workplace preventable conditions by interventions at the workplace. This will require some occupational health services to become more pro-actively involved in workplace health promotion, without reducing the attention paid to preventing occupational accidents and diseases. OHA’s, with their close contact with employees, sometimes over many years, are in a good position to plan, deliver and evaluate health promotion and maintenance of work ability interventions at the workplace.

Health promotion at work has grown in importance over the last decade as employers and employees recognize the respective benefits. Working people spend about half of their non-sleeping day at work and this provides an ideal opportunity for employees to share and receive various health messages and for employers to create healthy working environments. The scope of health promotion depends upon the needs of each group.

Some of the most common health promotion activities are smoking reducing activities, healthy nutrition or physical exercise programs, prevention and abatement of drug and alcohol abuse.

However, health promotion may also be directed towards other social, cultural and environmental health determinants, if the people within the company consider that these factors are important for the improvement of their health, well-being and quality of life. In this case factors such as improving work organization, motivation, reducing stress and burnout, introducing flexible working hours, personal development plans and career enhancement may also help to contribute to overall health and well-being of the working community.

The Healthy Community setting In addition to occupational health and workplace health promotion there is also another important aspect to Workplace Health Management. It is related to the impact that each company may have on the surrounding ambient environment, and through pollutants or products or services provided to others, its impact on distant environments. Remember how far the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear accident in 1986 affected whole neighbouring countries.

Although the environmental health impact of companies is controlled by different legislation to that which applies to Health and Safety at work, there is a strong relationship between safeguarding the working environment, improving work organization and working culture within the company, and its approach to environmental health management.

Many leading companies already combine occupational health and safety with environmental health management to optimally use the available human resources within the company and to avoid duplication of effort. Occupational health nurses can make a contribution towards environmental health management, particularly in those companies that do not employ environmental health specialists.

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So, if you love your business and want to make sure that it thrives as years go by, you will do every possible measure to ensure it is running properly. This means that while you might work on a budget, you will still find ways to ensure that you will take care of all aspects of its operations. These include seeing to your legal obligations like complying with workplace safety and other laws that could benefit both your employees and your business.

You wouldn’t jeopardize anything by handling these responsibilities yourself either. Instead, you will call in the compliance experts to make sure that nothing is missed out. This is especially when it comes to the implementation of occupational health and safety practices in your workplace.

What Can Compliance Experts Do

What can compliance experts do when it comes to maintaining excellent occupational health and safety of your business? For one, they are to look into the possible hazardous areas of your workplace and recommend solutions on how to rectify these. They will look into every detail that you might miss out considering that you have a lot of things to take care of in your business. These include making sure that every area of your workplace is safe for you, your people and for your visitors as well.

If special work gear or outfits are needed by your employees when they access a certain area of your workplace, these compliance professionals will see to it that these are not just available but are made according to the strictest standards. They will also ensure that your first aid cabinets are easily accessible and are always fully stocked. They will also ascertain if you have first aid personnel and if they have been trained well or qualified for their position. It would be to your advantage if you have your own clinic with its own regular nurse and a doctor that comes on scheduled days.

What Are Other Areas They Pay Attention To

Another thing they will pay attention to is the number of people inside the building including the visitors. This makes it necessary for a procedure to be put into place when it comes to monitoring who comes in and out of your workplace. When it comes to the occurrence of disasters like fire or earthquakes, these compliance experts will make sure that your building is equipped with the proper exits needed as well as the right emergency evacuation plan. The presence of fire extinguishers and their correct placement will be looked into as well.

Although all these are just components of the entirety of the occupational health and safety of your workplace, they are equally important and shouldn’t be overlooked. If you are the only one seeing to your workplace’s safety, then it is quite easy to miss out on some of these things. But, with the assistance of a compliance expert, every single detail will be looked into and taken care of. This ensures that you will have a workplace that is not only safer but also more harmonious for everyone.

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Plan Study Time

Don’t assume that you won’t have to study while going through your occupational safety and health course. You may not be going for your diploma for a full time career in occupational safety and health, but safety courses can still be intense. You will need to do a bit of studying to get through the program properly prepared to take your exam. If you leave this to the last minute, you could struggle to get in the study time that you need.

Before your course starts, make a list of days and times that you could possibly study. Be very specific so you know exactly when you will hit the books if it is necessary at times. You may not always need to study during these times, but it helps to have a plan if you do find the course more difficult than expected. You will at least need some study time prior to taking your exam for certification.

Free Time for Class

As soon as you know which safety courses you are taking and what days of the week and times the classes will be held, clear your schedule so there are no obstacles holding you back from attending. The worst thing you can do is pay to go through safety courses and then fail the exam because you missed classes. If you miss even one portion of the training, then you put your certification at risk.

Write down ever possible obstacle that could prevent you from making it to one or more scheduled class. Then write down solutions so you know exactly how to handle those obstacles if they come up. If you can prevent some conflicts of interest and schedule crashes ahead of time, do it before the course begins. You will make it to every class and that will make getting your certification a lot easier in the end.

Consider Effects on Your Career

There are different types of safety courses that are offered beyond that basic certification. You may only be focused on this one certificate, but consider the option of going on to other certifications or even a diploma. Depending on your career field, you could find that the more advanced safety courses set you up for higher pay, promotions, and greater respect from your peers. These certifications could have an impact on your career, so think about the payoffs for going beyond a basic certification.

Even if your business only offers a basic course on their own dime and time, you may get ahead by going for higher safety courses on your own dime and time. You have think about the potential advantages and weigh those against the costs of the study programs. For many people, the education is well worth the investment.

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The direct commitment of senior management and the participation of employees in the development of workplace health policies are an essential prerequisite to the successful implementation of policies that are designed to address the real needs of the working community.

The following main steps and/or activities should be considered in the development and implementation of workplace health management at the enterprise level:

· Develop a short policy statement from the employer or senior executive that explicitly states senior management’s commitment to and acceptance of responsibility for the health management strategy within the company.

· Educate managers and workers on the impact of environmental, occupational and lifestyle factors on their health and social well-being and on the economic situation and competing ability of the company to facilitate their participation in health management.

· Determine the role of the medical, nursing, environmental and safety experts and other professionals needed to assist in the implementation of the health management strategy in the company.

· Discuss economic appraisal of existing and projected outcomes to health, safety, and environmental health from the activities of the company.

· Train staff in quality management principles and standards to be used for the workplace health management system. These are the same as those applied to quality assurance in the management of manufacturing, servicing or marketing operations.

· Assure participation of management and employees in the development and implementation of workplace health management systems in the company.

· Develop adequate tools for monitoring and evaluation of health, safety, social, economic and environmental outcomes to determine the impact on well-being of employees and competitiveness of the company.

· Introduce systematic internal auditing and evaluation to be able to make necessary adjustments to the workplace health management system of the company.

· External audit by a recognized certifying body, if necessary.

Key steps in implementing workplace health Policies

The prerequisite for establishing good practice in workplace health management in companies is the conscious and creative support as well as the fullest possible participation of senior management, employees and their trade union representatives.

They would co-operate in the development of the workplace health policy and in its implementation with the assistance of appropriate experts, e.g. from occupational health services, environmental health services or health promotion agencies, preferably from multidisciplinary preventive services. Quality management systems and internal and external auditing is believed to be supportive to the creation and maintenance of a healthy enterprise. Leading companies are increasingly integrating their health management and environment management into the overall corporate management system. The health and environment policy of the company determines targets, define processes, and assure financial and human resources necessary to act on the health determinants and improve social and physical environments in order to:

• Create the greatest gain in health and working ability for the entire staff, and if possible, also for their families
• Provide a safe and healthy working environment for employees while preserving the general environment and health of people living outside the premises
• provide healthy and environmentally friendly products and services
• ensure human rights of the entire staff

Coming up in the next chapter ” Key Benefits of Workplace Health Management

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At the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago there were perhaps 1 million Homo sapiens. Back then the Earth must have seemed vast, boundless and bountiful.

With so few people there would always be the next forested valley to forage into, the next herd of game to hunt and the next pristine glacial lake to fish.

Our numbers began to increase once we figured out how to grow our own food. More babies survived to adulthood and adults lived longer simply because of improved nutrition. Then our numbers exploded once we discovered abundant energy from the burning of fossil fuels. And for a long time during these agricultural and industrial revolutions we kept that boundless and bountiful feeling about the world we live in. We went on to grow food everywhere and increase in numbers building cities and farming infrastructure as we went.

Environmentalism was the “hey, hold on a minute” call that we needed to have.

A few vocal individuals reaslised that natural resource renewal was compromised by the impact of our growing numbers on organisms and habitats, that habitats and species were being lost, and even that our actions would have a collective effect on climate. Environmentalism pointed out the very real limits to this growth and the need to prevent some of the damage it causes.

This notion that the earth that sustains us is being over-exploited and that something active needs to be done about it found an early home in the politics of Europe in the 1970’s, especially in Germany where environmental advocacy gave birth to the greens.

Politics is a risky nursery for any new idea and environmentalism grew from a perception that the environment is important into a passionate belief that the earth is under threat from human interventions. A new breed of environmentalist emerged who would speak out, change their lifestyles, and do whatever it took to slow or halt the exploitation of natural resources.

Still in the minority, it was and still is a tough stance.

Only what is now the very numerous majority are not easily shaken from our comfort. We don’t call it a comfort zone for nothing and we don’t respond well to doom and gloom merchants, especially when the message requires us to give up some of that bountiful comfort. Instead we react with indignation, annoyance or disregard; ignoring any suggestion that our world is limited or under threat from the consequences of human wealth creation.

So, on we go, growing in number and well-being, chewing up more and more resources and space. Apart from concessions to the whales, some nature reserves and pollution control, we have essentially ignored environmentalism in favour of economic growth.

We have conceded a few nature reserves and attempts to save a handful of rare species and then ignored environmentalism as an essential counterbalance to resource exploitation, a crucial check on our profligacy.

So why is environmentalism a real environmental issue?

The reason is the attraction of environmentalism. It gathers people interested in a stoush and the minority voice. There has to be a cause to fight for and the process falters when the opponent concedes or even begins to agree with you. Environmentalism has become about controversy and confrontation and this is the problem. Conflict has become the agenda, more important perhaps than the issue of sustainable environments.

The real environmental issue is that environmentalism is not a positive voice.

It is basically against the activity that has delivered health and well being to billions. This can be a successful defensive tactic when the situation is dire. But is makes for very poor offense. Humans are not galvanised into action by doom and gloom.

Environmental advocacy needs a big slurp of positivity. It is important to start talking up the innate resilience and regenerative abilities of nature. The environment can heal from human resource exploitation ravage, there can be a future of sustainable production.

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Several major environmental issues caused by global warming keep on appearing in many debates and opinionated discussions because of all the numerous natural disasters that keep on happening. At this time, typhoons, hurricanes, flash floods, droughts and many other natural disasters have caused severe property damage and loss of thousands of lives. And experts and scientists say that these major environmental issues are caused by no other than global climate change.

What is Global Climate Change?

Before you understand what climate change is or try to learn more of the climate change facts that you think you need to know, it’s important first that you understand what the term climate means.

Climate is not the same with the term weather. Some people may interchange these two terms but they are different. Weather is what we describe the condition of the atmosphere for a certain time, moment, or day, like for example ‘we have a sunny weather today’. On the other hand, the term climate is what we use to describe the particular atmospheric condition on a certain period of time like in a whole season, month, or year. In short, weather is more specific.

In different countries from the different parts of the world, there is a specific climate. Climates are affected by certain changes in the earth brought about by volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, solar radiation, etc. However, with all the human activities in the world today where carbon emissions are increasing and the ozone layer is becoming weaker when it comes to protecting our planet from the harmful rays of sun, global climate change is happening quickly.

The global climate change, in turn, has its effects to bring back to the humanity and the world. And while all those current environmental issues are occurring today, we can say the effects are not so good for us.

The Major Environmental Issues Brought About by Climate Change

What are some environmental issues that people are talking about today? The following is a list of environmental issues that people are discussing over nowadays all because of the tragic incidences occurring in the environment because of climate change.

1. Depletion of Ozone

Ozone serves as the blanket of Earth against the sun’s powerful, harmful rays. However, since 1980’s where industrialization started to flourish in many countries and many factories and human activities produce increasing amount of halocarbons, the ozone gas also started to deplete. Halocarbons high in the atmosphere produce the catalysts to ozone layer destruction. This is one of the highly discussed major environmental issues today.

2. Air and Water Pollution

Another one of the major environmental issues, pollution in air and water destroys our atmosphere and seas where life can be put in danger.

3. Changes in Ecosystem

Because of global warming where many areas or countries are experiencing changing climates, biodiversity also changes, if not disappears. Insects and animals move to a higher location where the climate is cooler. Plants would also stop growing in areas not adequately hydrated. An evidence of this is the rainforests being gradually turned into savannahs over the years.

These are only some of the effects of climate change that have been getting a lot of attention today. There are also the topics of deforestation, soil erosion, and nuclear issues. All these issues direct towards global warming, which is indeed one of the hottest major environmental issues in the world today.

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This makes just one part of the whole scenario. Rapid consumption of energy resources has effects other than the sustainability of these resources. Drilling and mining of different finite resources of energy results in environmental pollution. This pollution can be in any form. It can be air pollution, land pollution, and water pollution.

Some scientists argue that fuels of carbon origin are impossible to exhaust in full. They will remain usable to provide energy in one form or another. Others argue that these resources will diminish with time.

Important energy resources in the form of fossil fuels are coal, gas, and oil. Out of these, oil has been proved as the most efficient and most valuable resource in the field of energy.

However, continued use of these fuels is contributing to the most dangerous environmental problem which is global warming. Drilling of oil poses a greater threat to the environment than the mining of coal mines. The machinery used and the procedure implied in oil field drilling is a lot more sophisticated than mining in a natural scenario in coal mines. This results in an environmental impact of drilling when it is compared with coal mining.

There can be a number of threats these oil drilling projects pose to wildlife. Studies have shown that wildlife migration routes have changed due to the development of oil and gas fields. Moreover, this aspect of life on earth is affected by a change in the level of noise in the environment that has resulted from these fields.

Oil spills have unavoidable consequences in the development of the oil field and have been hazardous to the environment. These oil spills create long-lasting effects on the health of individuals living on the planet.

Due to the huge demand of energy, oil, and gas fields’ development and maintenance has become inevitable. This means increased number of oil fields. Toxic chemicals from these fields, haze, and dust make an intensively adverse effect on the environment. In some areas of America, these wastes make the air so polluted that it has converted into ozone at ground level.

To supply the everyday demand of energy, new projects are being initiated. These projects mean increased use of sky-high machinery, which in turn disrupts the scenic view of the sky at nights.

The contribution of methane to environmental pollution is also very important. This gas is 84 folds more harmful to the environment than other gasses that are produced from oil drilling. This gas helps in global warming by trapping more heat.

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