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7.3: What is environmental health

Public Health Introduction · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Here are a pair of definitions to get us started.

    Environmental health – the study and management of environmental conditions that affect the health and well-being of humans

    Environmental hazards – factors or conditions in the environment that increase the risk of human injury, disease, or death

    Please watch this short video from the American Public Health Association for a quick overview of the environment's impact on health:

    Environmental health is a very broad and essential component of protecting the public's health. Environmental health can work to prevent injuries (such as poisoning and burns), infectious diseases (such as those spread by parasites in water or food) and chronic conditions (such as cancer and asthma).

    Environmental health also focuses on occupational health and working conditions. By examining the conditions at work sites and the physical risks to health, environmental health measures can keep us safer on the job.

    Environmental health works to improve big systems that we interact with every day - such as how clean water will be delivered, how food will be processed, and how waste of all kinds will be disposed of.

    Fundamentally, environmental health works to make sure that our communities, our workplaces, our water supply, and our nation as a whole are as free of hazards as possible.

    How big of an influence is the environment on health?

    The Lancet, a major medical journal from the UK, has released a number of studies about the effect of pollution on health. One landmark one came out in 2016. While in many past analyses, environmental causes of disease and injury have been generally seen as significant yet not huge -- maybe causing 5-15% of deaths -- the report from The Lancet offered a new view. They say that pollution kills up to 9 million people a year -- making it one of the leading causes of death. Check out this brief video from The Lancet (required) -- captions available:

    This page titled 7.3: What is environmental health was last modified on Tue, 19 Aug 2025 21:44:25 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Janey Skinner.