5 Environmental Health Free Online FlashCards

What does environmental health examine?

Environmental health examines how surroundings and environmental conditions affect human health, and how risks can be reduced to support safe places to live, learn, work, and play.

What are three categories of environmental stressors?

Environmental stressors can be chemical (such as lead), biological (such as bacteria), or physical (such as noise or heat).

What are the three main routes of environmental exposure?

The main routes are inhalation (breathing), ingestion (swallowing), and dermal contact (skin contact).

Does finding a contaminant prove people are exposed or will become ill?

No. A contaminant’s presence alone does not show that people are exposed or will become ill; assessors must investigate contact and relevant exposure conditions.

What does an exposure pathway trace?

An exposure pathway traces the source, how an agent moves through the environment, where contact occurs, the route into the body, and who may be exposed.

Which conditions and personal factors help characterize exposure?

Assessors consider exposure level, frequency, duration, and timing, along with factors such as a person’s age and health.

What is the built environment?

The built environment is human-made places and infrastructure, including homes, schools, workplaces, roads, transit, and parks.

What does the natural environment include?

The natural environment includes air, water, soil, plants, animals, ecosystems, weather, and climate. It can support health or threaten it through hazards such as polluted water or extreme heat.

How can built and natural environments interact to affect heat exposure?

Built and natural environments interact: paved areas and limited tree cover can intensify heat, while housing quality and access to cooling affect residents’ exposure. Environmental burdens and resources are not always shared equally.

How do hazard and risk differ?

A hazard is an agent’s ability to cause harm. Risk is the likelihood and potential severity of harm under particular exposure conditions.

What are the four steps of environmental health risk assessment?

The four steps are hazard identification, dose–response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.

How does risk management differ from risk assessment?

Risk management is the choice and implementation of actions to reduce risk; risk assessment estimates and describes risk to inform those decisions.