Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Outcome 1: Describe the characteristics of pollutants, and evaluate management options for reducing the risk of a pollutant affecting the health of the environment and humans, with a focus on one selected pollutant.

Health, humans and the environment.

This unit focuses on pollution and its relationship to the health of humans and the environment. It advances further understanding of managing the environment to ensure development meets human needs while maintaining ecological integrity of the environment.This area of study examines the concept of pollution, the source of pollutants and the effects of pollution on the health of humans and the environment. The significance of technology, government initiatives, communities and individuals in redressing the impact of pollutants is analysed. One pollutant (of local significance where possible) is to be studied in depth. The general characteristics of mercury and sulfur dioxide as pollutants are to be studied in less depth than the selected pollutant.

How would you define pollution?

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

This area of study Key knowledgegeneral characteristics of mercury and sulfur dioxide as pollutants: environmental human health, health of the environment, environmental hazards.point and diffuse sources of pollution and pollutant sinks.transport mechanisms, including persistence, mobility, bioaccumulation. exposure, dosage, chronic and acute toxicity, allergies, specificity and synergistic action. characteristic of one pollutant (excluding mercury and sulfur dioxide): strategies that reduce the risk of pollutants affecting human health and the environment, with reference to the one selected pollutant (of local significance where possible).direct and indirect effects on the health of humans and the environment of the one selected pollutant (of local significance where possible).

This area of study Key skillsdiscuss the characteristics of mercury and sulfur dioxide as pollutants collect appropriate data safely from fieldwork and/or practical work to describe the physical and chemical properties of the pollutant establish appropriate techniques to measure the pollutant under health and safety guidelines measure and analyse the presence of the pollutant in the selected environment and report the findings of the collected data assess the credibility of the collected primary data of the pollutant compare the collected primary data of the pollutant with relevant standards or guidelines examine the physiological effects of the pollutant predict the probable environmental effects of the measured pollutant identify the transport mechanisms and sources of the pollutant develop and evaluate a protocol to overcome the problems caused by the pollutant research and report on a pollutant associated with an emerging health problem.

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

•Human health is interlinked with the state of the environmentdirectly: pollutants cause development problems and illness (asthma, low birth weight).indirectly: removal and disruption of ecosystems (absorb CO2, filter water, destress).•Environment HealthHow did the National Environmental Health Strategy 2007 define environmental health?•Whenever you identify an Act of parliament, or a strategy it is important to identify the organisation and year that developed it. Which level of government developed this strategy?

•Environment HazardsHow did the National Environmental Health Strategy 2007 define environmental hazards?

Types of environmental hazards

Examples

Contaminated food and water.

Chemical exposure.

Air pollution.

Polluted soil.

Vector borne disease.

Causual relationships: in order to determine whether something is an environmental hazard it is necessary to establish that the hazard contributes to the illness. This is often difficult, as many conditions have many contributing factors: including what?

Effecive management: of environmental hazards (including their identification, assessment and control) requires the cooperation of the the health sector, environment protection authority (EPA), and land management authorities (DePI).

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

Case Study: Legionnaires diseaseFact sheet VicHealth

•Environment HealthUsing Legionnaire’s disease as an example, explain the connection between ‘human health’, the ‘health of the environment’ (in this case the environment within a building), and ‘environmental hazards’ (legionella bacteria).

•Environment HazardsHow did the National Environmental Health Strategy 2007 define environmental hazards?

Summary:Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia that can be fatal. Early treatment can prevent the disease becoming severe. Legionella bacteria are found in natural water bodies such as rivers, lakes, creeks and hot springs, as well as in spas, potting mix, warm water systems and artificial systems that use water for cooling, heating or industrial processes, such as cooling towers. Early symptoms are similar to flu symptoms. Better Health Vic

Effective management: Regular maintenance of cooling systems, including regular flushing and cleaning.

Control: Buildings with legionella bacteria in their cooling systems may be shut down whilst the bacteria is removed. This is very costly for the organsiation involved.

•Environment HealthWhy does the legionella bacteria grow so well in air conditioning systems? Hint: where does it grow naturally?

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

•Environmental IssuesLocally: Campaspe Shire.•Nationally: Australia (wikipedia)Worldwide: persistent organic pollutants in the food chain (EPA)

•Scale:Define the three levels of environmental issues: local, regional and global and give an example of each which also affects quality of life where you live.

Plastics and the Murray:What plastics end up in the Murray River, how do they get there and what damage might they do to the environment?

Plastic rubbish in the Murray river.

The great Pacific rubbish patch’s. HowStuff Works, Earth Magazine, TEDtalk

•Response:Identify strategies to minimise the damage caused by these environmental hazards for each level.•Why is it more difficult to minimise the harm done by global pollution?

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

Definition 1: Water pollution is anything that makes water noxious, or poisonous, unhealthy or harmful to human beings, domestic stock and native plant and animal life (Environment Protection Act Vic.1970).

•PollutionThere are many definitions of pollution because each agency has a different perspective. EPA may have an emphasis on physical measures, health departments may have an emphasis on the frequency of certain medical conditions per 1000 people, land mangement organisations may look at the number of plastic items per kilometre, councils also include factors which affect quality of life in towns, such as light and noise pollution

Definition 2: Water pollution is any action that may change the properties of water, making it less suitable for living things, irrigation, recreation, or enjoyment of those water. (Protection of the Environment Operations Act NSW 1997).

Contrast the two definitions

Advantages Disadvantages

Definition 1 (narrow)

Definition 2 (broader)

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

Pollution•Visit the links below to find examples of the measures used by these types of organisations and describe their relevance to those organisations.

EPA Vic: air pollution

Australian Maritime Authorities

VicHealth Shire of Campaspe

What might be measured

Why?

Appropriate environmental indicators

•Can you suggest appropriate physical, chemical, biological environmental indicators for an ecosystem or environmental issue; for example, turbidity in streams, pH, light intensity, biological oxygen demand in streams; salinity level in soils or water; presence /absence of pollution intolerant species in streams; presence/absence of introduced species; public urban green space per capita?

After investigating the different perspectives that exist about pollution can you come up with your own definition?

Why care about pH?Water with an extremely high or low pH is deadly. Water with relatively low pH (acidic) may reduce the hatching success of fish eggs and irritate fish and aquatic macroinvertebrates (water bugs) gills and damage membranes. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable, probably because their skin is so sensitive to pollutants. Some scientists believe the recent drop in amphibian numbers around the world is due to low pH levels caused by acid rain.

http://www.marine.usf.edu/pjocean/packets/f00/nwq2.pdf

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

Dissolved Oxygen

A good indicator of healthy water quality,. Oxygen gets into the water through the air. Wind and waves on the surface of lakes and rivers help mix the air and water. These and other mixing processes will increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Aquatic plants also add oxygen to the water through photosynthesis. Because plants need sunlight for photosynthesis, dissolved oxygen tends to be highest during the late afternoon. At night, when no sunlight is available for photosynthesis, plants use oxygen for respiration so dissolved oxygen levels are lowered and carbon dioxide is elevated.Climate can also affect dissolved oxygen levels. When it rains the water is mixed well with the surrounding air and contains high dissolved oxygen. During the dry season there is less mixing and dissolved oxygen decreases.The main human factor causing dissolved oxygen levels to change in a negative way is the build up of organic wastes. Organic material is anything living or once living. Examples of organic wastes are grass clippings, leaves, dead plants and animals, and sewage. Organic wastes are broken down by bacteria, which consume oxygen. When organic wastes are dumped into rivers and lakes it causes dissolved oxygen to decrease, which causes plants and animals to die.

Black Water EventsOrganic pollution in the Murray River.

http://www.marine.usf.edu/pjocean/packets/f00/nwq2.pdf

Thinking about the definition of pollutants a little more. Identify examples of the following...

Natural pollutants

Pollutants caused by human action

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.•Pollutant sources and sinks:Some pollution sources are clear; when

the Yangtze River in China turned red it was because storms had stirred up toxic sediments on the river bottom. These sediments stemmed from factories along the river. Years of non existent control contributed to environmental disaster. Fish died for hundreds of kilometres along the Rhine river in 1986 when a Swiss company Sandoz accidently spilled chemicals into the river. In Papua New Guinea the BHP Ok Tedi mine tailings dam burst releasing 90 million tonnes of untreated tailings waste into the Fly river destroying villages, fishing industries and wildlife for 1,000km. It was thought to be the worst environmental disaster in human history.

Sinks:In these cases, not much can be done but wait for the rivers to wash away the pollution, or cover it with clean sediment. In the later case, any disturbance, either by human or natural processes, or by living organisms can expose the environmental hazard once more and potentially introduce it into the food chain.

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.•Pollutant sources and sinks:In other cases, the source is not so clear.

On the great barrier Reef, increases in phosphate carbon and nitrogen levels can come from multiple locations. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority refers to these as diffuse sources. Their management plan calls for help for farmers to use better land management, use less fertilisers, reduce run-off and control pesticide and gerbicide spray drift.•Once the nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, or phosphate have entered the soil, rivers and oceans they eventually get taken up by natural processes.•Nitrogen becomes nitrates and nitrites and is absorbed by plants, algae and plankton.•Phosphates are also a plant nutrient, but can bind to the soil as well. Both in excess can cause algal blooms and eutrification. •Carbon in excess, such as when flood waters sweep through River red Gum Forests can cause bacterial growth which removes oxygen from the water, causing many fish to die, until it too becomes part of the river sediment.

Defintions: define and give examples of pollutant sources and sinks.

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

•Emission sources:In order to control emissions, the nature of their source needs to be determined: is it from a point source (distinct location), or is it diffuse (mobile, fugative, or multiple locations).

Emission source Definition, example (and means of reduction).

Point source

Diffuse mobile

fugative

multiple

What can be done to reduce the diffuse source pollution that is damaging the Great Barrier Reef?

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

•Pathways and sources:A single pollutant may move through (or be present in) the environment in a number of different ways.•Exposure describes the amount of pollutant a person comes in contact with in a given amount of time.•Dosage refers to the amount of chemical absorbed into the body (per body weight).

The dosage of a chemical that a person receives is related to... (explain)

Respiration rate:

Hazard concentration:

Frequency of exposure:

length of exposure:

properties of the chemical

body size

allergies

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

•Pathways and sources:There are strong pressures for people in our society to stop smoking. Smoking is an example where different government departments have joined together, sharing their data and expertise, and reducing the number of people whose health is affected by smoking.

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

Managing pollution:

Unit 4 Ecological sustainabilityArea of study 1: pollution and health.

Health, humans and the environment.

How would you define pollution now?