Pollution And Human Health
49 likes•23,206 views
This document discusses various sources and effects of pollution on human health. It begins by providing background on Mike Slater and includes links to his website and social media profiles. It then discusses several key topics related to pollution and human health, including: - How pollutants can enter and be distributed in the human body via inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact. - Examples of common air pollutants like particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone and their health effects such as respiratory and cardiovascular issues. - Evidence that pollution affects human health, including animal experiments, human studies, and epidemiological evidence linking pollution to conditions like cancer, asthma, and reduced life expectancy.
Pollution And Human Health
- 1. Mike Slater
- 2. Content Sources of pollution How pollutants can affect humans Examples of common pollutants and their effects
- 10. The effects of pollution on human health can be Direct Indirect
- 11. The effects of pollution on human health can be Immediate Delayed
- 12. Paracelsus (1493-1541) "All substances are poisons ; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy"
- 13. Risk is the likelihood that harm will occur in practice RISK = Hazard x Exposure
- 14. Exposure to Pollutants Air pollution Settlement Direct inhalation Rain animals Food Ground pollution drinking water & fish Water pollution Plants
- 15. Routes of Entry
- 18. Routes of Entry Inhalation Ingestion Skin contact
- 19. Distribution and storage Absorption Elimination Biotransfromation
- 20. Distribution and storage Absorption Elimination Biotransfromation
- 25. 100 Total Deposition Fraction relative to ambient aerosol (DF, %) 80 Extrathoracic Tracheobronchiolar 60 Alveolar 40 20 0 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 Particle Diameter (Dp, micrometer)
- 26. ISO Criteria for Dust 120 Inhalable 100 Thoracic 80 Respirable % retained 60 40 20 0 1 10 100 Aerodynamic diameter (um)
- 27. EN 12341:1998 PM10 - A target specification for sampling thoracic particles 120 100 80 cummulative % 60 40 20 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Aerodynamic diameter (microns)
- 28. PM2.5 “mass per cubic metre of particles passing through the inlet of a size selective sampler with a transmission efficiency of 50% at an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometres”
- 29. Contribution to primary PM2.5 emissions in the EU-15, year 2020 http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=1838 accessed 17/11/09
- 32. Many organic compounds are readily absorbed through the skin solvents pesticides organo-metal compounds
- 33. Ingestion can occur due to: Foodstuff contamination Drinking water contamination
- 34. Distribution and storage Absorption Elimination Biotransfromation
- 35. Distribution Transport by blood Substances released from storage
- 36. Storage Fat Bones Blood Liver and kidney Other organs / tissues
- 37. Dioxin and PCP trends in mothers milk monitored in Sweden http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=1843
- 39. Distribution and storage Absorption Elimination Biotransfromation
- 40. Biotransformation Occurs mainly in the liver Also in lungs, kidney & intestine
- 41. Biotransformation Phase I reactions • Oxidation • Reduction • hydrolysis Phase II reactions • Conjugation • Synthesis Metabolites Elimination
- 43. Distribution and storage Absorption Elimination Biotransfromation
- 44. Excretion Kidney urine water soluble compounds
- 45. Excretion Lungs volatile compounds gaseous metabolites
- 46. Excretion Liver bile fat soluble compounds
- 47. Excretion Other routes Hair Nails Skin Sweat Milk
- 48. Biological Half Life - time taken for half the amount of the substance absorbed to be excreted 150 100 Body burden 50 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 time
- 49. Some Half Lives Toluene ~ 10 hours Selenium ~ 10 days Mercury ~ 6 weeks Lead ~ 10 years or more
- 51. Site of Effect Local At site of contact Systemic Following distribution
- 52. Types of Effect chronic sub-chronic timescale sub-acute acute
- 53. The effect experienced depends on the dose Blood Alcohol Conc. Effect g/100ml 0.01 - 0.05 Subclinical 0.032 - 0.12 Euphoria 0.09 - 0.25 Excitement 0.18 - 0.30 Confusion 0.25 - 0.40 Stupor 0.35 - 0.50 Coma 0.45 + Death
- 54. Dose - Effect
- 55. Susceptibility Variation in susceptibility between individuals
- 56. Susceptibility Different doses required to produce same effect
- 57. Susceptibility The most susceptible groups include Elderly, Children, People with pre-existing disease
- 59. Dose - Response
- 60. Dose - Response Threshold Dose
- 61. LD50 – Median Lethal Dose
- 62. Some LD50s mg/kg body weight ETHYL ALCOHOL 7060 SODIUM CHLORIDE 3000 NAPHTHALENE 1760 FERROUS SULFATE 1500 ASPIRIN 1000 FORMALDEHYDE 800 AMMONIA 350 CAFFEINE 192 PHENOBARBITAL 150 CHLORPHENIRAMINE MALEATE 118 DDT 100 STRYCHNINE SULFATE 2 NICOTINE 1 DIOXIN 0.0001 BOTULINUS TOXIN 0.00001
- 63. Pollution Effects on Human Health Direct effects Indirect effects
- 65. Without effective responses, climate change will compromise: Water quality and quantity Food security Control of infectious disease Protection from disasters
- 66. Chemicals in the Environment Chemical reactions Photochemical reactions Biological transformation Bioaccumulation
- 67. Exposure to Pollutants Mixed Concentration Accumulation exposures
- 68. Evidence for Effects of Pollution Animal experiments Human volunteer studies Epidemiological evidence
- 69. Irritation Billablubb@Flickr
- 70. Irritation Megyarsh@Flickr
- 71. Irritation Jess and Colin@Flickr
- 72. Corrosive Destroys tissue Leo Reynolds@Flickr
- 73. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Chronic bronchitis Emphysema
- 74. Emphysema
- 75. Asthma
- 76. Sensitisers Cause allergic reaction in susceptible individuals
- 77. Sensitisers Cannot identify susceptible individuals!
- 79. Sensitisers Not always easy to identify causative agent
- 80. Cancer Unregulated growth and proliferation of cells
- 82. Latency Periods Site Agent Average Range (years) (years) Skin Arsenic 25 4-46 Coal tar and pitch 20 1-50 Solar radiation 25 15-40 Lung Asbestos 18 15-48 Blood Benzene 3-19 Bladder Aromatic amines 15 2-40
- 84. Toxicological Interactions Independent Additive Synergistic Potentiation Antagonism
- 85. London 1952
- 87. “Higher levels of PM(10) and NO(2), which are typically markers of traffic related pollution, seem to be associated with transiently increased risk of myocardial infarction 1-6 hours after exposure,..” BMJ. 2011 Sep 20;343:d5531. Bhaskaran et al
- 88. “.. air pollution may be associated with bringing events forward in time ("short-term displacement") rather than increasing overall risk. ” BMJ. 2011 Sep 20;343:d5531. Bhaskaran et al
- 90. There are two main sources of evidence for the effects of pollutants
- 91. There are two main sources of evidence for the effects of pollutants Animal experiments
- 92. There are two main sources of evidence for the effects of pollutants Epidemiology
- 94. Problems with animal experiments Inter-species variation
- 95. Problems with animal experiments They evaluate: acute effects from high doses of single substances over a short period
- 96. Problems with animal experiments Ethics
- 98. Problems with epidemiological studies Simultaneous exposure to many environmental pollutants
- 99. Problems with epidemiological studies Other exposures to chemicals
- 100. Problems with epidemiological studies Other confounders such as • temperature, • smoking
- 101. Problems with epidemiological studies Low level effects are difficult to quantify
- 104. Air pollution is estimated to cause 1,152,000 deaths per year worldwide Source: World Health Organisation (2006) Preventing disease through healthy environments: Towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease
- 109. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/gagccukem.htm
- 112. Sulphur dioxide Sulphur dioxide
- 113. Sulphur dioxide http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/airqual/kf/aqkf20.htm
- 114. Sulphur Dioxide - Effects Soluble acid gas Upper respiratory tract irritation
- 115. Sulphur Dioxide - Effects Increased effect on people with pre-existing respiratory disease
- 116. Indirect effect from sulphur dioxide : “acid rain”
- 118. Nitrogen Dioxide Deep lung irritant Less evidence for effect on pre-existing conditions
- 119. Nitrogen oxides, as acidic Gases can also contribute To “acid rain”
- 120. VOCs http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/airqual/kf/aqkf23.htm
- 121. VOCs - Direct effects Depends on compound
- 122. VOCs - Indirect effects Photochemical ozone formation Ozone depletion Climate change
- 123. Ozone Depletion Reduced stratospheric ozone CFCs Chlorohydrocarbons Immune system Skin cancer Cataracts supression
- 124. Ozone Produced by photochemical reactions Deep lung irritant
- 125. Ozone - Acute effects Reduced lung function Aggravates asthma Damages lining of respiratory passages
- 126. Ozone - Chronic effects Permanent reduction in lung function?
- 127. Fig 2 Estimated number of acute adverse health effects avoided by meeting the 1997 US EPA Ozone Ambient Air Quality standard Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2005; 115:689-699 (DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2005.01.056 )
- 128. Particulate Matter
- 131. PM2.5 “mass per cubic metre of particles passing through the inlet of a size selective sampler with a transmission efficiency of 50% at an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometres”
- 132. Contribution to primary PM2.5 emissions in the EU-15, year 2020 http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=1838 accessed 17/11/09
- 133. Premature deaths attributed to PM2.5, 2005 (attributable annual mortality per 10 000 people) Source: WHO (2010) Health and Environment in Europe: Progress Assessment
- 134. Particulate Matter Acute Effects Chronic Effects Lung inflammatory reactions Increase in lower respiratory symptoms Respiratory symptoms Reduction in lung function in children Adverse effects on the Increase in chronic obstructive cardiovascular system pulmonary disease Increase in medication usage Reduction in lung function in adults Increase in hospital admissions Reduction in life expectancy Increase in mortality Source: Health aspects of air pollution: Results from the WHO project "Systematic review of health aspects of air pollution in Europe" (WHO, 2004)
- 135. ISSN 1047-3289 J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. 56:709–742
- 139. Lead concentrations in childrens blood, and lead in petrol (tonne) sold in Sweden 1976-2003. Lead (Pb) in blood in children, 3-12 years of age, in relation to Pb in petrol, tons per year 1800 70 1600 60 1400 Pb in petrol, ton Pb in blood, µg/l 50 1200 1000 40 800 30 600 20 400 10 200 0 0 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Year Pb in petrol sold in Sweden Pb in blood, children 3-12 years of age http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=1845
- 140. Change in mercury concentration in human and animal hair from Greenland http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=1842
- 145. Mercury - The Minamata Incident Minamata Bay, Japan, 1950s Chisso Corporation
- 146. Mercury - The Minamata Incident Inorganic mercury discharged Biotransformed to methylmercury Bioaccumulation in fish Ingestion by humans
- 148. Initial Symptoms Peripheral sensory loss Delirium Disturbed speech, vision and hearing Disturbed gait
- 149. Severe Cases General paralysis, involuntary movements Convulsions Death
- 150. Camelford Incident 1988, Camelford, Cornwall Aluminium sulphate contamination of water supply
- 151. Short term effects Nausea Vomiting Mouth ulcers Skin rashes
- 152. Longer term effects Memory loss? Effects on cerebal function?
- 153. Source: Arsenic in groundwater: testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in Bangladesh. J.M. McArthur, P. Ravenscroft, S. Safiullah and M.F. Thirlwall. Water Resources Research
- 154. Effects of Arsenic Pollution Skin keratonosis Melanosis
- 155. Effects of Arsenic Pollution Gastrointestinal disturbances Cancer
- 157. Websites US National Library of Medicine Toxicology Tutor http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/toxtutor.html UK DEFRA air quality statistics http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/airqual/aqemissions.htm European Environmental Agency report – “Europe's environment: the third assessment - Chapter 12 - Environment and human health” http://reports.eea.europa.eu/environmental_assessment_report_2003_10/Chapter12 European Environmental Agency report “Environment and Health” http://reports.eea.europa.eu/eea_report_2005_10/en WHO Systematic review of health aspects of air pollution in Europe http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/Progs/AIQ/activities/20030528_3 Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) http://www.dh.gov.uk/ab/comeap/index.htm Video on Minamata incident http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih2/chemicals/activities/lesson5.htm