Environmental Health

I looked through my hometown of Fontana, CA for their disaster preparedness plan and was able to find a few resources on their website with a program called ReadyFontana . The city of Fontana offers trainings and outreach, family planning activities, and a few other great resources for citizens to be prepared. Learning about this website and resource page made me wonder why it isn't widely discussed and utilized for the general public. With all these natural disasters that have begun to cause issues among communities vulnerable to fires and earthquakes, we should make sure everyone knows how to prepare in case it happens to them. I remember when I was younger we would have earthquake drills in school and taught about what foods to have and water saved in case of a disaster, but I feel there could be much more done to help communities be as ready as possible for anything. At least what is most likely to occur in that area or county.

When I think about climate change and how much we are really starting to see the effects, I get worried most about those who truly do not believe it to be real. With the science being disproven by large corporations and governments lobbying for their best interest is causing a divide where misinformation is being sold as the truth. We can already see how this is happening when our president tweets about climate change not being real and appointing those in office who believe the same thing. As a public health professional our greatest attention needs to go toward efforts to prepare vulnerable populations to be prepared by going out and educating those in the community and providing tools to have kits at home for emergencies. This would include preparing those vulnerable to fires and earthquakes with supplies necessary for that category of disaster; preparing those vulnerable to floods and hurricane/sea level rising with supplies and barricades; preparing those vulnerable to extreme t...

Living a life of zero waste seems extremely difficult. It is extremely difficult given the way that producing waste and using plastic has become so engrained in our culture that it is hardly ever questioned. Going through this weeks module and viewing the content on plastic waste, pharmaceutical waste, food waste, and hazardous waste I begin to think about how lazy I can be when it comes to properly disposing of the waste I produce in my household. Not only that, but also how in America our waste doesn't just "disappear" when the garbage trucks come to collect, but that waste I thought I threw away will just end up in the ocean, a land fill, or somewhere else. The thought of "out of sight, out of mind" comes to me where we are fooled into thinking our waste really does just disappear. Changes that I would want to make would have to start small. I love the way that Lauren from the Tedtalk provided simple steps that people can begin to take to reduce the waste ...

According to the EPA, asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and soil. It is most often used in insulation materials and as a fire retardant, but can also be found in: ceiling and floor tiles; automobile clutch, brakes, and transmission parts; and packaging, gaskets, and coatings. Being exposed to asbestos can increase your risk of developing asbestosis, which is a serious progressive, long-term, non-cancer disease of the lungs. Currently there is not ban on the use of asbestos, but there are a few ways in which this chemical is regulated. In 1989 there was a partial ban on the manufacture, import, processing, and distribution of certain asbestos-containing products. This year in April, there was a final rule to ensure that asbestos products are no longer on the market cannot return to commerce. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) continue to review the ongoing uses of asbestos and will take immediate actions to address those risks when discovered. Asbestosis as menti...

Looking through the National Institute of Occupational Health , I found a lot of interesting programs that targeted: chemical health risk assessment, noise risk assessor, safe handling of forklift trucks, confined space safety, basic rigging and slinging, and a number of other safety trainings/resources for occupational safety and health. One program specifically looked at and researched ways to reduce the prevalence of occupational hearing loss. The Hearing Loss Prevention Program provides recommendations to employers and safety professionals in identifying ototoxicants (chemicals that damage the inner ear), developing practical and cost effective solutions for the causes of occupational hearing loss, and to reduce the overall health outcomes, injuries and fatalities, and the improvement to health and well-being. This program relates to my health and safety because I work in environments where noise can become an issue. As a Pilates instructor, there is always music playing in the...

There are so many adverse health effects of lead when it comes to how much we are exposed to as adults and as children. Research has found that lead exposure leads to problems in behavioral development in children and even adults themselves. Learning about the history behind the realization of harmful effect due to lead exposure in the first article by Needleman (2004) of lead exposure opened my eyes to how little we know about the long-term effects of metals. It took centuries to discover that lead was causing infertility issues among men and women, developmental disorders in children, and increased psychosis. Reading about the effects lead poisoning  may have had on the fall of Rome is mind-boggling and makes me think about what current metal exposure are doing to Americans now in present day. The last module in the six chemical classes, discussed 4 metals that are still present in many products. The health effects of these metals look similar to that of lead, yet regulations and...