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| Environmental health | |
|---|---|
| Name | Environmental health |
| Field | Public health |
Environmental health is the branch of public health that studies how physical, chemical, biological, and social factors in the environment affect human health. It examines sources of exposure, pathways, susceptible populations, and interventions to prevent disease and promote wellbeing across settings such as cities, workplaces, homes, and ecosystems. Practice integrates evidence from epidemiology, toxicology, industrial hygiene, environmental science, and policy to protect populations worldwide.
Environmental health encompasses the assessment, management, and communication of risks from agents and settings that influence population health. Key actors include World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations Environment Programme, European Environment Agency, Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency (United States), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, Global Environment Facility, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, International Agency for Research on Cancer, National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Rockefeller Foundation, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, United Cities and Local Governments, International Council of Nurses, American Public Health Association, Royal Society of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Imperial College London, Yale School of Public Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Sydney School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Peking University School of Public Health, University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences.
Major hazards include chemical contaminants, biological agents, radiological sources, physical stressors, and climatic extremes. Chemical examples link to incidents and actors such as Minamata disease, Love Canal, Bhopal disaster, Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Chernobyl disaster, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Exxon Valdez oil spill, Kyshtym disaster, Seveso disaster, Three Mile Island accident, London smog of 1952, Donora smog incident, Great Smog, Aswan High Dam project, Aral Sea crisis, Ogoni crisis, Flint water crisis, Camp Lejeune water contamination, Woburn, Massachusetts toxic contamination case, Toledo water crisis, Walkerton E. coli outbreak, Sandoz chemical spill, Brazilian Amazon fires, Congo Basin rainforest, Australian bushfires 2019–20, Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, HIV/AIDS epidemic, Zika virus epidemic, Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational exposures connect to Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Donora smog incident (1948), Radium Girls, Asbestos litigation, Bhopal disaster.
Exposure to environmental hazards produces acute and chronic outcomes including respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, infectious disease, reproductive effects, and mental health impacts. Epidemiologic studies and landmark cohorts or reports involve Framingham Heart Study, Nurses' Health Study, Black Report, Bradford Hill criteria, British Doctors Study, Harvard Six Cities study, Whitehall Study, UK Biobank, Global Burden of Disease Study, INTERHEART study, China Kadoorie Biobank, Prospective Studies Collaboration, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, IARC Monographs, United States Surgeon General Reports, Lancet Commission on pollution and health, Institute of Medicine reports, Royal Society reports, World Bank reports.
Methods for exposure assessment and surveillance use environmental sampling, biomonitoring, remote sensing, modeling, and statistical analysis. Tools and programs include National Environmental Monitoring Programs, Global Atmospheric Watch, Copernicus Programme, Landsat program, Sentinel satellites, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, US Geological Survey, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, CDC's National Biomonitoring Program, NHANES, European Environment Agency monitoring networks, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization, Integrated Ocean Observing System, World Water Assessment Programme, Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century (Tox21), REACH regulation, National Toxicology Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, International Organization for Standardization, American Society for Testing and Materials, American Industrial Hygiene Association, Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
Interventions span engineering controls, personal protective equipment, sanitation, vaccination, land-use planning, and legislation. Regulatory milestones and frameworks include Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, CERCLA, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Rotterdam Convention, Basel Convention, National Environmental Policy Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, European Green Deal, US Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Agency (England).
Policy analysis and economic valuation address cost–benefit, cost–effectiveness, and distributional impacts of environmental interventions. Influential institutions and cases include Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, Nordhaus DICE model, Pigouvian tax theory, Cap and trade programs, California Air Resources Board, European Commission, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, Human Rights Council, Basel Convention, Escazú Agreement, Environmental Justice movement, Civil Rights Movement, Standing Rock Sioux protests, Chipko movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Earth Summit (1992), Stockholm Conference (1972), Rio+20 Conference, Agenda 21.
Capacity building relies on academic programs, professional training, community engagement, and international cooperation. Prominent educational and research centers and initiatives include Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Imperial College London, Karolinska Institutet, World Health Organization Collaborating Centres, National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, GAVI, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Training programs of the International Labour Organization, USAID programs, European Commission Horizon Europe, National Science Foundation, Royal Society, Academy of Medical Sciences, African Academy of Sciences, Global Young Academy, Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.