environmental health environmental health environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. in order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in order to create a healthy environment must be determined. the major sub-disciplines of environmental health are environmental science, toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental and occupational medicine. not to be confused with ecological health, ecosystem health, or environmental medicine. part of a series onpublic health outline subfields community health dental public health environmental health epidemiology health economics health education health promotion health policy health politics mental health occupational safety sexual and reproductive health sanitation world health (global health - international health) prevention disease surveillance health promotion (behavior change) health indicators lists and categories terminology journals national public health agencies medicine portal society portal conceptual map illustrating the connections among nonhuman nature, ecosystem services, environmental ethics, environmental justice, and public health environmental health indicator (2016). it consists of three categories: health impacts, air quality, and water and sanitation. the health impacts category includes the environmental risk exposure indicator. definitions who definitions environmental health was defined in a 1989 document by the world health organization (who) as: those aspects of human health and disease that are determined by factors in the environment. it is also referred to as the theory and practice of accessing and controlling factors in the environment that can potentially affect health. a 1990 who document states that environmental health, as used by the who regional office for europe, "includes both the direct pathological effects of chemicals, radiation and some biological agents, and the effects (often indirect) on health and well being of the broad physical, psychological, social and cultural environment, which includes housing, urban development, land use and transport." as of 2016, the who website on environmental health states that "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. it is targeted towards preventing disease and creating health-supportive environments. this definition excludes behaviour not related to environment, as well as behaviour related to the social and cultural environment, as well as genetics." the who has also defined environmental health services as "those services which implement environmental health policies through monitoring and control activities. they also carry out that role by promoting the improvement of environmental parameters and by encouraging the use of environmentally friendly and healthy technologies and behaviors. they also have a leading role in developing and suggesting new policy areas." other considerations the term environmental medicine may be seen as a medical specialty, or branch of the broader field of environmental health. terminology is not fully established, and in many european countries they are used interchangeably. children's environmental health is the academic discipline that studies how environmental exposures in early life—chemical, nutritional, and social—influence health and development in childhood and across the entire human life span. other terms referring to or concerning environmental health include environmental public health and health protection. disciplines five basic disciplines generally contribute to the field of environmental health: environmental epidemiology, toxicology, exposure science, environmental engineering, and environmental law. each of these five disciplines contributes different information to describe problems and solutions in environmental health. however, there is some overlap among them. environmental epidemiology studies the relationship between environmental exposures (including exposure to chemicals, radiation, microbiological agents, etc.) and human health. observational studies, which simply observe exposures that people have already experienced, are common in environmental epidemiology because humans cannot ethically be exposed to agents that are known or suspected to cause disease. while the inability to use experimental study designs is a limitation of environmental epidemiology, this discipline directly observes effects on human health rather than estimating effects from animal studies. environmental epidemiology is the study of the effect on human health of physical, biologic, and chemical factors in the external environment, broadly conceived. also, examining specific populations or communities exposed to different ambient environments, epidemiology in our environment aims to clarify the relationship that exist between physical, biologic or chemical factors and human health. toxicology studies how environmental exposures lead to specific health outcomes, generally in animals, as a means to understand possible health outcomes in humans. toxicology has the advantage of being able to conduct randomized controlled trials and other experimental studies because they can use animal subjects. however, there are many differences in animal and human biology, and there can be a lot of uncertainty when interpreting the results of animal studies for their implications for human health. exposure science studies human exposure to environmental contaminants by both identifying and quantifying exposures. exposure science can be used to support environmental epidemiology by better describing environmental exposures that may lead to a particular health outcome, identify common exposures whose health outcomes may be better understood through a toxicology study, or can be used in a risk assessment to determine whether current levels of exposure might exceed recommended levels. exposure science has the advantage of being able to very accurately quantify exposures to specific chemicals, but it does not generate any information about health outcomes like environmental epidemiology or toxicology. environmental engineering applies scientific and engineering principles for protection of human populations from the effects of adverse environmental factors; protection of environments from potentially deleterious effects of natural and human activities; and general improvement of environmental quality. environmental law includes the network of treaties, statutes, regulations, common and customary laws addressing the effects of human activity on the natural environment. information from epidemiology, toxicology, and exposure science can be combined to conduct a risk assessment for specific chemicals, mixtures of chemicals or other risk factors to determine whether an exposure poses significant risk to human health (exposure would likely result in the development of pollution-related diseases). this can in turn be used to develop and implement environmental health policy that, for example, regulates chemical emissions, or imposes standards for proper sanitation. actions of engineering and law can be combined to provide risk management to minimize, monitor, and otherwise manage the impact of exposure to protect human health to achieve the objectives of environmental health policy. concerns overview of main health effects on humans from some common types of pollution fema/epa hazardous materials team removing hazards left in the wake of hurricane katrina, 2005 environmental health addresses all human-health-related aspects of the natural environment and the built environment. environmental health concerns include: biosafety. disaster preparedness and response. food safety, including in agriculture, transportation, food processing, wholesale and retail distribution and sale. housing, including substandard housing abatement and the inspection of jails and prisons. childhood lead poisoning prevention. land use planning, including smart growth. liquid waste disposal, including city waste water treatment plants and on-site waste water disposal systems, such as septic tank systems and chemical toilets. medical waste management and disposal. occupational health and industrial hygiene. radiological health, including exposure to ionizing radiation from x-rays or radioactive isotopes. recreational water illness prevention, including from swimming pools, spas and ocean and freshwater bathing places. solid waste management, including landfills, recycling facilities, composting and solid waste transfer stations. toxic chemical exposure whether in consumer products, housing, workplaces, air, water or soil. vector control, including the control of mosquitoes, rodents, flies, cockroaches and other animals that may transmit pathogens. according to recent estimates, about 5 to 10% of disability-adjusted life years (dalys) lost are due to environmental causes in europe. by far the most important factor is fine particulate matter pollution in urban air. similarly, environmental exposures have been estimated to contribute to 4.9 million (8.7%) deaths and 86 million (5.7%) dalys globally. in the united states, superfund sites created by various companies have been found to be hazardous to human and environmental health in nearby communities. it was this perceived threat, raising the specter of miscarriages, mutations, birth defects, and cancers that most frightened the public. air quality air quality includes ambient outdoor air quality and indoor air quality. large concerns about air quality include environmental tobacco smoke, air pollution by forms of chemical waste, and other concerns. outdoor air quality air pollution is globally responsible for over 6.5 million deaths each year. air pollution is the contamination of an atmosphere due to the presence of substances that are harmful to the health of living organisms, the environment or climate. these substances concern environmental health officials since air pollution is often a risk-factor for diseases that are related to pollution, like lung cancer, respiratory infections, asthma, heart disease, and other forms of respiratory-related illnesses. reducing air pollution, and thus developing air quality, has been found to decrease adult mortality. a mumbai factory releasing air pollution. common products responsible for emissions include road traffic, energy production, household combustion, aviation and motor vehicles, and other forms of pollutants. these pollutants are responsible for the burning of fuel, which can release harmful particles into the air that humans and other living organisms can inhale or ingest. air pollution is associated with adverse health effects like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, related illnesses, and even death. the risk of air pollution is determined by the pollutant's hazard and the amount of exposure that affects a person. for example, a child who plays outdoor sports will have a higher likelihood of outdoor air pollution exposure compared to an adult who tends to spend more time indoors, whether at work or elsewhere. environmental health officials work to detect individuals who are at higher risks of consuming air pollution, work to decrease their exposure, and detect risk factors present in communities. indoor air quality household air pollution contributes to diseases that kill almost 4.3 million people every year. indoor air pollution contributes to risk factors for diseases like heart disease, pulmonary disease, stroke, pneumonia, and other associated illnesses. for vulnerable populations who spend large amounts of their time indoors, such as children and elderly populations, poor indoor air quality can be dangerous. burning fuels like coal or kerosene inside homes can cause dangerous chemicals to be released into the air. dampness and mold in houses can cause diseases as well, but little studies have been performed on mold in schools and workplaces. environmental tobacco smoke is considered to be a leading contributor to indoor air pollution, since exposure to second and third-hand smoke is a common risk factor. tobacco smoke contains over 60 carcinogens, where 18% are known human carcinogens. exposure to these chemicals can lead to exacerbation of asthma, development of cardiovascular diseases, cardiopulmonary diseases, and increase the likelihood of cancer development. climate change and its effects on health