U.S. Health in International Perspective

U.S. Health in International Perspective
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2013-04-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309264146

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Air Pollution and Health

Air Pollution and Health
Author: Robert L. Maynard
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1083
Release: 1999-04-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080526926

Concern about the impact of air pollution has led governments and local authorities across the world to regulate, among other things, the burning of fossil fuels, industrial effluence, cigarette smoke, and aerosols. This legislation has often followed dramatic findings about the impact of pollution on human health. At the same time there have been significant developments in our ability to detect and quantify pollutants and a proliferation of urban and rural air pollution networks to monitor levels of atmospheric contamination. Air Pollution and Health is the first fully comprehensive and current account of air pollution science and it impact on human health. It ranges in scope from meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and particle physics to the causes and scope of allergic reactions and respiratory, cardiovascular, and related disorders. The book has substantial international coverage and includes sections on cost implications, risk assessment, regulation, standards, and information networks. The multidisciplinary approach and the wide range of issues covered makes this an essential book for all concerned with monitoring and regulating air pollution as well as those concerned with its impact on human health. Only comprehensive text covering all the important air pollutants and relating these to human health and regulatory bodies Brings together a wide range of issues concerning air pollution in an easily accessible format Contributions from government agencies in the US and UK provide information on public policy and resource networks in the areas of health promotion and environmental protection

Essentials of Environmental Public Health Science

Essentials of Environmental Public Health Science
Author: Naima Bradley
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-01-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191505390

Environmental public health is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the direct and indirect impact of exposure to environmental hazards on the public's health and wellbeing. Assessing and addressing the risks of chemical, ionising and non-ionising radiation, and noise hazards requires a sound knowledge of toxicology, environmental epidemiology, environmental science, health risk assessment, and public health principles. Essentials of Environmental Science for Public Health provides practical guidance on the technical aspects of environmental and public health investigations. Written by leaders in the field, the authors provide practical, expert advice on a range of topics from key concepts and framework for investigation to contaminated land and waste management. Case studies are used to aid learning and understand of the topics discussed. Produced by Health Protection England, Essentials of Environmental Science for Public Health offers a comprehensive and structured approach to understanding environmental public health issues and will be essential reading for all students and professionals in environmental public health.

Air Pollution, the Automobile, and Public Health

Air Pollution, the Automobile, and Public Health
Author: Sponsored by The Health Effects Institute
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 703
Release: 1988-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309037263

"The combination of scientific and institutional integrity represented by this book is unusual. It should be a model for future endeavors to help quantify environmental risk as a basis for good decisionmaking." â€"William D. Ruckelshaus, from the foreword. This volume, prepared under the auspices of the Health Effects Institute, an independent research organization created and funded jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the automobile industry, brings together experts on atmospheric exposure and on the biological effects of toxic substances to examine what is knownâ€"and not knownâ€"about the human health risks of automotive emissions.

Introduction to Air Pollution Science

Introduction to Air Pollution Science
Author: Robert F. Phalen
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2013
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0763780448

This unique textbook examines the basic health and environmental issues associated with air pollution including the relevant toxicology and epidemiology. It provides a foundation for the sampling and analysis of air pollutants as well as an understanding of international air quality regulations. Written for upper-level undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in air pollution, the book is also a valuable desk reference for practicing professionals who need to have a broad understanding of the topic. Key features: - Provides the most up-to-date coverage of the basic health and environmental issues associated with air pollution. - Offers a broader examination of air pollution topics, beyond just the meteorological and engineering aspects of air pollution. - Includes the following Instructor Resources: Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint Presentations, and a TestBank. The Phalens have put together a timely book on a critically important topic that affects all of us -- air pollution - and they do so in a new and highly relevant way: they consider the broad societal health impacts from a fundamental science viewpoint. The epidemiology, toxicology, and risks of air pollutants are included, and ethical issues of concern are highlighted. This book is a must-read for students who wish to become professionals in the air quality field and for students of environmental science whose work includes air pollution issues. The book is a significant contribution to the discipline." - Cliff I. Davidson, Director, Center for Sustainable Engineering; Thomas C. and Colleen L. Wilmot Professor of Engineering, Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University "Truly, human well-being and public health in the 21st century may hinge on our ability to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, control, and confirm responsible management of air pollution. This timely, informative, and insightful text provides a solid introduction for students and a technically sound handbook for professionals seeking literacy and critical thinking, real-life examples, understanding (not just rote applications), opportunities for continuous improvement, and modern tools for assessing and managing current and evolving air pollution challenges." - Mark D. Hoover, PhD, CHP, CIH Aerosol and health science researcher, author, and editor

The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources

The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources
Author: Mohamed Khallaf
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2011-09-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9533075287

This book aims to strengthen the knowledge base dealing with Air Pollution. The book consists of 21 chapters dealing with Air Pollution and its effects in the fields of Health, Environment, Economy and Agricultural Sources. It is divided into four sections. The first one deals with effect of air pollution on health and human body organs. The second section includes the Impact of air pollution on plants and agricultural sources and methods of resistance. The third section includes environmental changes, geographic and climatic conditions due to air pollution. The fourth section includes case studies concerning of the impact of air pollution in the economy and development goals, such as, indoor air pollution in México, indoor air pollution and millennium development goals in Bangladesh, epidemiologic and economic impact of natural gas on indoor air pollution in Colombia and economic growth and air pollution in Iran during development programs. In this book the authors explain the definition of air pollution, the most important pollutants and their different sources and effects on humans and various fields of life. The authors offer different solutions to the problems resulting from air pollution.

Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters

Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2007-06-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309179890

Public health officials have the traditional responsibilities of protecting the food supply, safeguarding against communicable disease, and ensuring safe and healthful conditions for the population. Beyond this, public health today is challenged in a way that it has never been before. Starting with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, public health officers have had to spend significant amounts of time addressing the threat of terrorism to human health. Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented disaster for the United States. During the first weeks, the enormity of the event and the sheer response needs for public health became apparent. The tragic loss of human life overshadowed the ongoing social and economic disruption in a region that was already economically depressed. Hurricane Katrina reemphasized to the public and to policy makers the importance of addressing long-term needs after a disaster. On October 20, 2005, the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine held a workshop which convened members of the scientific community to highlight the status of the recovery effort, consider the ongoing challenges in the midst of a disaster, and facilitate scientific dialogue about the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on people's health. Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina is the summary of this workshop. This report will inform the public health, first responder, and scientific communities on how the affected community can be helped in both the midterm and the near future. In addition, the report can provide guidance on how to use the information gathered about environmental health during a disaster to prepare for future events.

Waste Incineration and Public Health

Waste Incineration and Public Health
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2000-10-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030906371X

Incineration has been used widely for waste disposal, including household, hazardous, and medical wasteâ€"but there is increasing public concern over the benefits of combusting the waste versus the health risk from pollutants emitted during combustion. Waste Incineration and Public Health informs the emerging debate with the most up-to-date information available on incineration, pollution, and human healthâ€"along with expert conclusions and recommendations for further research and improvement of such areas as risk communication. The committee provides details on: Processes involved in incineration and how contaminants are released. Environmental dynamics of contaminants and routes of human exposure. Tools and approaches for assessing possible human health effects. Scientific concerns pertinent to future regulatory actions. The book also examines some of the social, psychological, and economic factors that affect the communities where incineration takes place and addresses the problem of uncertainty and variation in predicting the health effects of incineration processes.

Environmental Policy and Public Health

Environmental Policy and Public Health
Author: Barry L. Johnson
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 1156
Release: 2017-10-24
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1498799477

As with the first edition, this second edition describes how environmental health policies are developed, the statutes and other policies that have evolved to address public health concerns associated with specific environmental hazards, and the public health foundations of the policies. It lays out policies for what is considered the major environmental physical hazards to human health. Specifically, the authors describe hazards from air, water, food, hazardous substances, and wastes. To this list the authors have added the additional concerns from climate change, tobacco products, genetically-modified organisms, environment-related diseases, energy production, biodiversity and species endangerment, and the built environment. And as with the first edition, histories of policymaking for specific environmental hazards are portrayed. This edition differs from its antecedent in three significant themes. Global perspectives are added to chapters that describe specific environmental hazards, e.g., air pollution policies in China and India. Also there is the material on the consequences of environmental hazards on both human and ecosystem health. Additionally readers are provided with information about interventions that policymakers and individuals can consider in mitigating or preventing specific environmental hazards.

WHO global air quality guidelines

WHO global air quality guidelines
Author: Weltgesundheitsorganisation
Publisher: World Health Organization
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9240034226

The main objective of these updated global guidelines is to offer health-based air quality guideline levels, expressed as long-term or short-term concentrations for six key air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. In addition, the guidelines provide interim targets to guide reduction efforts of these pollutants, as well as good practice statements for the management of certain types of PM (i.e., black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, particles originating from sand and duststorms). These guidelines are not legally binding standards; however, they provide WHO Member States with an evidence-informed tool, which they can use to inform legislation and policy. Ultimately, the goal of these guidelines is to help reduce levels of air pollutants in order to decrease the enormous health burden resulting from the exposure to air pollution worldwide.