environmenthealth

Environmental health is a branch of public health concerned with how environmental factors affect human health. It examines physical, chemical, and biological factors in air, water, soil, food, buildings, and work environments, and how people are exposed through inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact. The goal is to identify, evaluate, and control environmental risks to prevent disease and protect health.

Common areas include air quality (pollution, particulates, ozone), water quality (contamination, pathogens), food safety, safe housing and sanitation, chemical exposures (lead, pesticides, solvents), hazardous waste, radiation, and noise. Climate change is increasingly addressed for health risks such as heat stress, extreme weather, and vector-borne diseases. The field emphasizes vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and low-income communities to address environmental justice.

Methods used include surveillance and epidemiology to link exposure to health outcomes; exposure assessment; toxicology; risk assessment; environmental monitoring; and health impact assessment. Interventions include regulations, pollution control, remediation, safer housing and workplaces, public health messaging, and urban and transportation planning. International organizations, national agencies, and local health departments coordinate efforts to reduce environmental risks.

Public awareness and policy shape environmental health practice, and the field adapts to new challenges from technological changes, emerging contaminants, and climate change. The One Health approach integrates human, animal, and ecosystem health in environmental decision-making.