Environmental Health
Environmental Health
Environmental Health
Environmental Health
General objectives:
At the end of the subjects Environmental Health students will able to:
List of Competencies
▪ Assess physical quality of water
▪ Perform water examination by field kit for arsenic, iron. fluoride, salinity
▪ Assess physically the sources of pollution of ambient air and indoor air
▪ Perform sound level measurement
▪ Organize and advice of proper waste collection, transportation and disposal
▪ Assess occupational hazards using inspection format /checklist
▪ Perform light, humidity and sound measurement in workplace
▪ Perform BOC/COD measurement in industrial effluent by field kit
▪ Organize and advice proper technique of using pesticides
Environmental Health
Table of Content
Unit Lesson Topic Page
1 Introduction to Environmental Health
I • Definition of Environment
• Classification of Environment
• Role of Environmental in the causation of disease
II • Définition of Environnemental Heath
• Pollution and Polluant in différent Environnemental Medias,
• Diseases due to Environmental pollution
2 Water
I • Introduction to water
• Uses and Sources of water
• Define Safe water
• Quality of Water- Physical,
Chemical and
Biological water quality
II • Hardness of water
• Water pollution and Sources of water pollution
• Classification of water pollution,
• Chemical Pollutant
Fluoride,
III • Diseases due to water pollution
Biological water borne diseases
Chemical toxicity
IV • Water purification - Boiling,
Domestic Filter,
• Disinfection of Water – Chlorination
3 Air
I • Introduction and Composition of air
• Define Air pollution, Sources of air pollution
• Air Pollution in brick field, motor vehicle, industrial emission
II • Diseases due to air pollution,
• Prevention of air pollution
III • Define indoor pollution,
Sources of indoor pollution in rural and urban area
Health effects due to indoor Pollutant
IV • Smokeless cooking,
Cooking with improved stove,
Biomass fuel
4 Solid Wastes
I • Introduction and definition of solid waste
• Types of solid waste
Properties of hazardous waste
Composition of hospital waste
• Risk of poor management of wastes
• Health effects due to poor management of wastes
II • Safe Management wastes- color coding of waste
collection of waste, and
transportation of waste
final disposal of wastes
• Recycle, Reuse and Reduce wastes
• Use of PPE and maintenance of Personal hygiene
III • Environnemental pollution due unsanitary waste disposal,
• List of health effects due to poor management of wastes
5 Sanitation
I • Introduction, Hygiene, Sanitation, Environmental Sanitation
• Sanitation barrier
II • Rural sanitation- water seal latrine
bore hole latrine
trench latrine
III • Sanitation of public places
Market Place- Waste collection, transportation, Excreta disposal,
cleaning, water supply
Hospital- collection and segregation of wastes, using color code,
transportation of wastes
IV • Air port and Sea port safe water supply
wastes collection and transportation
cleaning
quarantine
disinfection of air craft and de- ratification and cargo
V • Sanitation in Disaster
Water supply, waste disposal and Excreta Disposal
6 Noise
I Definition of Noise, Noise Pollution Sources of Noise pollution
II • Health Effects of Noise
• Noise Assessment
7 Housing
I • Introduction, Definition of housing
• Criteria of Good housing,
• Characteristics of poor housing,
II • Effects of poor housing condition
• Housing in rural area
Introduction to Environmental Health
Learning Objectives
What is Environment?
• Everything surrounds us may collectively be termed as the environment
• All elements of nature including those man made, make the environment
• The aggregate of all-external conditions and influences affecting the life and
development of an organism, human behaviour or society is known as Environment.
It is a state where and with what an organism live in. The health of an individual, a
community or a nation is determined by two factors:
a) The internal environment of the human being - Organ, Organ system, tissue etc. of the body
b) The external environment that surrounds him.
Environmental Health: It was Hippocrates who first related health with environment i.e
air, water and soil. Our living environment is composed of home, work and recreational
centres etc. where people spend their time. Water, air and food are our concern. The
provision of environmental health extends to all these aspects of our lives. The interaction
between these environments and human activities results in various types of hazards that
may adversely affect human health.
Environmental Health involves studying the environmental factors that affect health. It
encompasses hygiene, sanitation, and many other aspects of environment like global
warming, climate change, gene technology, flooding and natural disaster, green house
gases effects, etc.
Factors included in the definition of Environment
The definition of ‘environment’ includes only part of natural environment that are
modifiable. Following factors are included in our definition of environment:
- UV and ionizing radiation
- Noise, electromagnetic fields
- Occupational links
- Built environments including housing, land use pattern, roads
- Agricultural methods, irrigation scheme
- Man-made climate change, ecosystem change
- Behavior related to availability to safe water and sanitation facilities such as
washing hands and contaminating food with unsafe water or unclear hands.
WHO definition of environmental health:
“Environmental health comprises those aspects of human health, including quality of life,
that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social and psychosocial factors in
the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting,
controlling and preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially affect
adversely the health of present and future generations.” WHO 1993
Simplified definition:
Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical and biological factors external
to a person and all the related factors impacting behaviours. It encompasses the
assessment and control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health.
Contents of Environmental Health:
• Environmental health addresses all the physical chemical, and biological factors
external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviors.
• It encompasses the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can
potentially affect health.
• It is targeted towards preventing disease and creating health supportive environments.
• It excludes behavior not related to environment as well as behavior related to the
social cultural environment, and agencies.
Health and Disease
A disease is contributed by three ecological factors where environment plays pivotal role
a) Agent
b) Host
c) Environment
Health is a dynamic equilibrium between man and his environment. Disease develops
when the balance between man and his environment is disrupted
Questions:
• What is Environment?
• What is Environmental Health?
• What are the factors of Environmental Health?
• What is Pollution and Pollutant?
• Classify Pollutant with example
• List common diseases due to pollution
Water
Learning Objectives
Introduction
▪ The water on earth now is about the same amount as it was during Jurassic period
(about 100 million years ago)
▪ Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface. Over 97% water is saline water and
2.5% is fresh water
▪ Less than 1% of the world's fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is
readily accessible for direct human uses.
▪ Fresh water is defined as water with a salinity of less than 0.35% of the oceans
▪ Only 37,000 cubic kilometers of water for distribution to the Earth's population,
but not evenly distributed around the Earth' surface
▪ If all the earth's water fit in a gallon jug, available fresh water would equal just
over a tablespoon.
▪ Presently, 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water supply and 2.4 billion
to improved sanitation Unless action is stepped up, the number of people who
lack access to improved water supply could increase to 2.3 billion by 2025
▪ Every year the use of water increases 6%
▪ More than 2.2 million people died in 2000 from diseases related to the
consumption of contaminated water.
▪ A child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases
Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface but less than 1% of the world's
fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use.
Once 97% of the population of Bangladesh had access to safe water
interms of tubeweill water use
Uses of Water
• Drinking
• Agriculture
• Industrial applications
• As a solvent
• As a thermal transfer agent
• Recreation
• Food processing.
• Power generation
Sources of Water
Rain Water- purest water in nature and soft water
Surface Water- Rivers, Ponds, Reservoirs, Tanks, Lakes- mostly polluted water
Ground Water- Water colleted through shallow wells, deep wells and water of
springs, usually safe
• Shallow wells or Shallow tubewell water is collected from above first impervious
layer
• Deep wells or Deep tubewell water is collected from below 1st impervious layer.
Safe Water
Free from pathogenic agents
Free from harmful chemical substances
Pleasant to taste, free from colour and odour
Useable for domestic use
Free from sedimentation
Safe water is one that cannot harm the consumer even when ingested over
prolonged periods. It may not be pleasant in taste, smell and appearance
Quality of Water
1) Acceptability aspects - physical or chemical parameters
2) Microbial aspects
3) Chemical aspects
4) Radiological aspects
Acceptability aspects - physical or chemical parameters
Turbidity < 5 NTU (Nephelometric turbidity Unit)
Colour < 15 TCU ( True Colour Unit)
Taste & Odour- No unusual taste or odour
Temperature Cool water is more platable
Bacteriological Quality of Water:
▪ Ideally drinking water should not contain any pathogenic microorganism
▪ Bacteriological indicator
1) Coliform organism-
- faecal group of organism e.g E coli
- non-faecal group organism e.g Klebsiella aerogens
- E-coli must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample of drinking water
- Total Coliform bacteria must not present in 95 % of samples
taken through out any 12 month period
2) Faecal streptococci
- in doubtful cases the finding of Faecal streptococci in water is
regarded as confirmatory evidence of recent faecal pollution
3) Cl. perfringes:
- presence of spores Cl. perfringes in water indicative of faecal
contamination and in the absence of the coliform organism it presence
indicates faecal contamination in some remote time
Chemical Quality
Chemical Parameters
Indicator WHO Bangladesh
Chlorides or salinity- 200 - 500mg/l 150-600 mg/l
Hardness 100 – 300 mg/l 200-500 mg/l
Ammonia <0.2 mg/l 0.5 mg/l
pH 6.5 –8.5 6.5 –8.5
Hydrogen Sulphide 0.1 mg/l
Iron 0.3 mg/l 0.3 - 1mg/l
Sodium <200 mg/l 200 mg/l
Sulphate <250 mg/l 400 mg/l
Total dissolved Solid <1000 mg/l 1000 mg/l
Zinc < 3mg/l 5 mg/l
Manganese < 0.1 mg/l 0.1 mg/l
Copper < 1 mg/l 1 mg/l
Aluminium < 0.2 mg/l 0.2 mg/l
Safe Water must be free from pathogenic agents, harmful chemical
substances, and sedimentation. Safe water is one that cannot harm the
consumer even when ingested over prolonged periods.
Ideally drinking water should not contain any pathogenic microorganism
Hardness of Water
- Hardness is defined as soap destroying power of water. Requires considerable
amount of soap to produce a foam or lather and that also produce scale in heaters,
boilers, hot water pipes
- Surface waters are softer than ground water. Hardness reflects the nature of the
geological formations with which it has been contact. It is derived largely from
contact with soil and rock.
- Rain water as it falls upon the earth is soft water
- Drinking water should be moderately hard
- Softening of water required when hardness exceeds 300mg/l
Hardness is caused by mainly four compounds:
1) Calcium bicarbonate 2) Calcium sulfate
3) Magnesium bicarbonate 4) Magnesium sulfate
Hardness is classified as:
1) Carbonate or temporary hardness 2) Non-carbonate or Permanent hardness
Hardness in water is Classified in terms of presence of Ca CO3 as follows:
1) Soft water < 50mg/l
2) Moderately Hard 50 – 150mg/l
3) Hard Water 150-300 mg/l
4) Very Hard Water > 300mg/l
Disadvantages of Hard water
1) Consumes more soap and detergents
2) Scaling boilers water heater etc.
3) Adversely affects cooking and
4) Shortens the life of fabrics
5) Shortens the life of industrial machineries pipes and fixtures
• Advantage- inverse association with occurrence of cardiovascular diseases
Removal of Hardness:
Temporary:1) Boiling, \2) Addition of lime.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the session the students will be able to
• Define air pollution
• Enumerate the sources of air pollution.
• Illustrate Air pollutant from brick field, motor vehicle, industrial pollution,
• List diseases due to air pollution,
• Organize preventive measures against air pollution
• Explain indoor pollution
• Enumerate the sources of indoor pollution in rural and urban area,
• List the disease due to indoor pollutant
• Illustrate the pollution due to biomass fuel,
• Explain and organize smokeless cooking or cooking with improved stove,
Introduction to Air
Air supplies life-giving oxygen for all forms of life. Every human being has an inborn
right to clean fresh air. Air is a mechanical mixture of gases. The normal composition of
air by volume is as follows.
• Nitrogen: 78.1%
• Oxygen: 20.93%
• Carbon dioxide: 0.03%
• Other gases e.g. argon, helium, neon in traces
Water vapor, dust, bacteria, spores, vegetables debris, etc. in negligible amount
Definition of air pollution: Air pollution may be stated as substances put into air by the
activity of mankind in concentration sufficient to cause harmful effects to his health,
vegetable, property or to interfere with the enjoyment of his property. The best air
pollutant indicators are:
• SO2
• Smoke
• Methane
• Oxides of Nitrogen
• Suspended Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
• Others- CO, Lead, CO2, Hydrocarbon, CFC,
• Ozone, H2S, etc
Air is essential for all forms of life
Air pollution is usually occurred by the activity of mankind in the concentration
sufficient to cause harmful effects to his health.
The reason for poisonous air pollution from motor vehicles are, very old and expired
engines, less capacity to burn fuel efficiently, use of sub-standard fuel, non use of
adequate and qualitative lubricants, carrying extra loads, etc. Absence of catalytic
converter in motor vehicle, which is essential for minimizing the VOCs in the exhaust.
Growing number of vehicle, narrow roads, traffic congestion, poor quality of fuel and
improper traffic management are further aggravating the air pollution in urban areas.
Industries and factories: Industries such as textile and dying, tanneries, pulp and paper,
cement, metal and fertilizer are important sources of air pollution.
Textile and dying:
Gaseous emission, noxious vapors from printing and dying and inadequate ventilation
affects the health of workers. The mills dump wastes indiscriminately and often burn
their solid wastes in open air.
Tanneries:
Foul odor from putrefying raw hides and solid wastes are the cause of air pollution.
Liquid and solid waste spills into nearby rivers and cause environmental pollution.
Pulp and paper mills:
Sulfur dioxide, total reduced sulfur compounds and particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide
and methyl’s are the dangerous emissions from paper and pulp mills. These are highly
malodorous.
Cement factories:
Emissions generated by various operations
Source Emissions
Raw materials grinding, handling Particulate dust
Kiln operation and clinker cooling Particulate dust, CO, HC, SO2, NO2
Product grinding, handling, packing, Particulate dust
shipping
Fertilizer Industries:
A number of metals and surface may results from ammonia leakage during production of
nitrogen fertilizer. Phosphate fertilizer generates dust while phosphate rock is being
ground. The acidulation process may produce fluorine. Specific air pollution problems
are caused by Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) production.
Brickfields:
The brickfields discharge a lot of black smoke, dust and ashes which spread out around a
large area near the fields.
Dust:
Dust particles are produced due to various construction processes of the roads and high
ways, building construction, brickfields and agricultural activities.
Population density, deforestation and park encroachment:
Overpopulation is an important cause of public health problem. Majority of the
respiratory pathogens are transmitted by the droplet infection from person to person.
Trees are the natural reservoir of oxygen. Therefore deforestation and encroachment of
parks, lakes and rivers adds to air pollution.
Industrial Gaseous Emissions:
Industrial emissions may be classified as
• Power plant (SPM, Sox, CO, VOC)
• Tannery (Odor)
• Fertilizer Industries (dust, NH2)
• Brick manufacturing (soot)
• Textile processing (VOC)
• Paper and pulp industries (odor, Sox, SPM)
• Cement industries (dust)
Industrial solid wastes:
Industrial solid wastes may be classified as
• Organic (biodegradable)
• Other organic (usable as fuel, e.g. wood and paper)
• Inter waste (often recyclable, eg. Metal, plastic, glass)
• Hazardous waste (e.g. heavy metals, pesticides, chemical residuals)
• Waste water treatment sludge (often containing hazardous substances)
• Gas stove should be fired only during cooking other time the stove should completely
switched off, so that there would be no leakage of gas.
• Changes to the source like improved stoves,
• Cleaner fuels,
• These can be delivered through policies operating at national level (supply and
distribution of improved stoves/cleaner fuels) and local level (through community
development).
b) Feasible, low-cost measures that could reduce exposure to indoor biomass smoke:
• Cooking outdoors
• Cooking in rotations and for shorter time periods
• Keeping children, especially infants, away from cooking areas as much as possible
• Having women or older children who are not involved in cooking assume temporary
childcare duties
• Improving cross ventilation by adding more windows around cooking areas or by
building chimneys over stoves
• Improving stove construction
• Using cleaner burning, low-smoke fuels such as liquid petroleum gas, kerosene,
ethanol, or biogas; or ideally switching to solar-powered stoves
• Educating women regarding the health risks of biomass smoke inhalation,
• Improving the overall status of women by enhancing their access to capital, political,
and legal representation
Questions:
• Define air pollution
• List the sources of air pollution.
• List the air pollutant from brick field, motor vehicle, industrial sources
• List the diseases due to air pollution,
• What are the preventive measures against air pollution?
• What is indoor pollution?
• What are the sources of indoor pollution?
• List the disease due to indoor pollutant
• What are the pollutants emitted from biomass fuel burning?
• What is improved stove?
• What are the advantages of improved stove?
Solid Wastes
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Solid Waste: useless, unwanted or discarded material from houses, street sweeping,
commercial, industrial and agricultural operation, arising from man's activities.
Solid wastes by products of anthropogenic activities. It may be house hold wastes,
industrial wastes, medical wastes, agricultural waste, etc.
Types of wastes: Considering the origin of product solid wastes may be categorized as
a) Industrial wastes
b) House hold wastes
c) Medical wastes
d) Agricultural wastes
Some solid wastes are dangerous and may cause serious harm to human health. A large
amount of Health Care Wastes are categorized under this group.
Definition of Health Care Waste (HCW): Health Care Waste is defined as the total
amount of wastes that is produced during health care services. In other words HCW is a
byproduct of health care services.
According to WHO ‘Health Care Waste’ is a by-product of healthcare that includes
sharps, non-sharps, blood, body parts, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and
radioactive materials. Health Care Wastes may be classified in two major groups:
a) General waste or non-infectious wastes
b) Hazardous wastes or infectious wastes
Hazardous wastes are again grouped as follows:
– Infecting organism
– Corrosive agent
– Explosive agent
– Radioactive agent
– Carcinogenic agent
– Sharp agent etc
Risks associated with poor management of HCW: Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV
infection may be the cause of accidental stick with infectious needle.
Occupational risks are associated with handling of infectious wastes. Unprotected pits
increase risks to health care workers, of waste handlers and the community to needle
stick injury. The re-use of infectious syringes is a major threat to public health.
Risk for environment: Health care wastes can adversely impact on human health by
contaminating water bodies during dumping and by polluting the air during incineration.
When wastes are disposed of in a pit close to water sources, the water bodies may
become contaminated. Burning of HCW may produce toxic air pollutants (dioxin, furans
and other toxic gases).
Health effects due to poor management of HCW:
• AIDS
• Hepatitis B and C
• Gastroenteric infections
• Respiratory infections
• Blood stream infections
• Skin infections
• Effects of radioactive substances
• Intoxication
Use of PPE: The waste handlers, nurses, doctors and other health professionals must use
PPE. Wastes should be segregated at the point of waste production. Sharp needles must
be collected in protective container and handle with caution. The waste handlers must use
PPE like gloves, mask, apron etc. while handling with wastes. They must clean hand and
mouth with proper disinfection substances and proper personal hygiene.
✓ Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again. Glass will never
decompose. Reuse glass whenever possible. Jars can be used as small containers and
bottles can be used as vases.
✓ Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials
✓ Plastic bottles etc. can be recycled for several times to manufacture new plastic
product. Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose
✓ Waste batteries are classified as hazardous waste and recycling is always the best
option. Batteries should be returned to manufacturer for disposal or recycled to
produce new battery.
✓ Rechargeable batteries are the most environmental friendly option as can last for up to
several hundred charging cycles resulting in less waste being produced.
✓ Many building materials can be reused, such as bricks and wood. Metal is usually
separated into 2 groups: aluminum and steel.
✓ Mobile phone can be recycled or donated. Many manufacturers take back old mobile
phones for recycling.
✓ Whenever possible, engine oil should be recycled correctly as even a small amount of
oil can cause damage to the environment.
✓ Reduce paper waste by cancelling unwanted deliveries. Reuse paper around the home
as scrap paper or packing material. Envelopes can also be reused. Set your printer to
print on both sides of the paper. Buy recycled paper whenever possible.
✓ Clinical wastes have the potential to be infectious, must be disposed of using special
methods. Be very careful when disposing of needles and syringes.
✓ Recycling printer cartridges is worthwhile as remanufactured printer cartridges can
cost as little as 10% of what original cartridges do. It also reduces environmental
pollution.
✓ Old clothes can be used to make other textile items, such as cushion covers.
Recycle, Re-use and Reduce is the best method for waste management
and are excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment.
Medical wastes must be disposed according to colour code
Improper disposal of wastes causes air, water and soil pollution
Questions:
.
• What is solid wastes?
• What are the types of wastes?
• What is health care wastes?
• What is hazardous wastes? Give some examples
• What are the types of color coding for collection of different type of wastes?
• What are the basic elements of management health care wastes?
• What is composting?
• What is 3R? Give the examples of 3R
Sanitation
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Hygiene generally refers to the set of practices associated with the preservation of health
and healthy living. The focus is mainly on personal hygiene that looks at cleanliness of
the hair, body, hands, fingers, feet and clothing, and menstrual hygiene.
Safe hygiene practice includes a broad range of healthy behaviours, such as hand washing
before eating and after cleaning a child’s bottom, and safe faeces disposal. The aim of
hygiene education and promotion is to help people to change their behaviour to use
better hygiene practices.
Sanitation is promoting health through the prevention of human contact with the hazards
associated with the lack of healthy food, clean water and healthful housing, the control
of vectors, and a clean environment.
Hazards can be physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease.
The word 'sanitation' also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through
prevention of human contact with hazards of wastes such as human and animal faeces,
solid wastes, domestic wastewater, industrial wastes, wastewater and agricultural wastes
which may cause health problem
Improved sanitation - refers to the management of human faeces at the household level.
This terminology is the indicator used to describe the target of the Millennium
Development Goal on sanitation. The Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and
Sanitation of WHO and UNICEF has defined improved sanitation as follows:
• Flush toilet- connection to a piped sewer system or connection to a septic system
• Flush / pour-flush to a pit latrine
• Ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine[
• Pit latrine with slab[
• Composting toilet
• Some special cases[
There are different types of sanitation relating to particular situations, such as:
• Basic sanitation: refers to the management of human faeces at the household level.
It means access to a toilet or latrine.
• Onsite sanitation: the collection and treatment of waste at the place where it is
deposited.
• Food sanitation: refers to the hygienic measures for ensuring food safety. Food
hygiene is similar to food sanitation.
• Housing sanitation: refers to safeguarding the home environment (the dwelling
and its immediate environment).
• Environmental sanitation: the control of environmental factors that form links in
disease transmission. This category includes solid waste management, water and
wastewater treatment, industrial waste treatment and noise and pollution control.
• Ecological sanitation: the concept of recycling the nutrients from human and
animal wastes to the environment.
Sanitation Barrier
The source of diarrhoeal diseases is the agent or carrier who discharges infected faeces to
the environment. To remember the possible pathways we can use the six ‘F’s:
1. Faeces: resulting from defecation.
2. Fluids: through contaminated water and other contaminated liquids.
3. Fingers: contaminated fingers transmit diseases.
4. Flies: all sorts of animals such as flies can carry and transmit diseases.
5. Fomites or fields: fomites are inanimate objects that carry the infectious agent
(e.g.dishes, cups and other contaminated surfaces in contact with food or water).
6. Food: infected by fluids, flies, fingers or fomites and then eaten.
Sanitation Barrier
The barrier approach to sanitation prevents disease agents in faeces from gaining access
to new host through various channel (5 F) such as fingers, flies, fields and fluids.
Through them pathogen are transmitted from faeces to food or directly to humans. This
transmission can be prevented by using a sanitary latrine with proper waste disposal and
proper hand washing after defecation and before taking food.
Questions:
• What is environnemental sanitation ?
• What is improved sanitation ?
• How sanitation barrier prevent disease transmission?.
• List the merits and demerits of water seal latrine
• How you will organize proper sanitary measures during fair and festivals
• What measures you will undertake for proper disposal of wastes from market place,
hospital etc.?
• How proper disinfection in air-craft and ship and cargo can be done?
• How to organize safe water supply, waste disposal and excreta disposal in Disaster?
Noise
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Definition of noise: Any sound which is unwanted because it is annoying, interferes,
with speech and hearing, or is intense enough to damage hearing.
▪ Unwanted or Undesired Sound
▪ Wrong sound, which is experienced in a wrong place at the wrong time
▪ Sound without agreeable musical quality.
How to prevent noise pollution: Use horn only when necessary. Follow sound limit
while listening music. Each person can reduce their noise pollution amounts by ranking
levels by hand, do not use a noisy leaf blower. Noise is recognized as a controllable
pollutant. It may be controlled or prevented by following ways:
• Control of noise pollution at source
• Noise producing industries, railway stations, aerodrome, etc. should be located far
away from the residential area
• Entertainment music system should e played at low volume.
• Avoid using loud speaker at night and play at low volume during day time.
• Machines should be well maintained so that it produces less sound.
• Blow horns only when necessary.
• Laws should be framed so tat persons producing unnecessary sounds are
punished.
• Controlling noise pollution by obstructing the path of noise e.g. constructing
sound proof buildings, Plants absorb high frequency sound waves. Thus planting
trees along road side help in controlling noise pollution.
Questions:
• What is noise?
• List sources of noise pollution
• What are the auditory and non-auditory effects of noise?
• How to prevent noise pollution?
• How to measure sound level?
Housing
Learning Objectives
At the end of the session the students will be able to
• Explain housing,
• List the criteria of good housing,
• List the health problems due to poor housing,
• Advice to improve poor housing condition
• Suggests measures for healthy housing in rural area
Introduction
Every human being needs a shelter to live and to protect himself from environmental
hazards.
A house protects it inhabitants from adverse effects of heat, cold, moisture, dryness and
other ill effects of the environment.
Definition: Housing not only provides physical structure but also fulfill the physiological,
psychological and social needs of the inhabitants.
WHO describes ‘Housing’ as more than the physical structure and substitutes “Housing”
by the term ‘Residential Environment’.
Functions of Housing:
• To provides shelter and privacy
• To provide security and protection from loss of belongings
• To develop mental well-being and happiness of the house holds
• To provide protection from excess heat and cold
• To provide adequate light and without undue glare
Housing Standard:
Housing standard depends on
• geographical location- varies from
• country to country, region to region
• economic condition
• socio-cultural factors-
• customs, education, traditions,
• national/regional/Local policies
Effects of poor housing condition on health and safety:
Poor housing fails to fulfill physiological, psychological and social needs. A man who
lives in a good house is healthier than those live in poor housing conditions.There should
not more than 2 persons in a single room and floor space for one person should be 70-90
sq.ft. A children between 1 to 10 years is counted as half unit
Questions:
• What is housing?
• List the criteria of good housing,
• List the health problems due to poor housing,
• What are the criteria for healthy housing in rural area
References:
1) Park K. Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 21st1 Edition Published by
Banarsidas Bhanot Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 2011, February: pp-868
2) WHO. Environmental Health. World Health Organization,
http://www.who.int/topics/environmental_health/en/
3) Conant J and Fadem P. A Community Guide to Environmental Health. Hesperian
Foundation. Berkeley, California, 2008
4) WHO. Indoor Air Pollution. World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/Indoor_Air_Pollution.pdf
5) WHO. Environmental Pollution. World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/topics/environmental_pollution/en/
6) Caussy D. WHO- Field Guide for Detection, Management and Surveillance of
Arsenicosis in South-East Asia Region, World Health Organization, New Delhi, 2005
7) UNEP. Municipal Solid Waste Management. United Nation Environmental
programme http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/estdir/pub/msw/
8) The Medical Waste Management and Processing Rules, 2008. SRO No.-294-
Law/2008
9) Conant J. Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment. Hesperian
Foundation. Berkeley, California, 2005
10) World Bank. Health Benefits. http://water.worldbank.org/shw-resource-
guide/sanitation-and-hygiene-why-they-matter/health-benefits
11) Healthful Housing? http://labspace.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=
451992§ion=8.3