scholarly journals Comparison of Size and Geography of Airborne Tungsten Particles in Fallon, Nevada, and Sweet Home, Oregon, with Implications for Public Health

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Sheppard ◽  
Brian J. Bierman ◽  
Kent Rhodes ◽  
Gary Ridenour ◽  
Mark L. Witten
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Childhood Leukemia ◽  
Hard Metal ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Annual Scale

To improve understanding of possible connections between airborne tungsten and public health, size and geography of airborne tungsten particles collected in Fallon, Nevada, and Sweet Home, Oregon, were compared. Both towns have industrial tungsten facilities, but only Fallon has experienced a cluster of childhood leukemia. Fallon and Sweet Home are similar to one another by their particles of airborne tungsten being generally small in size. Meteorologically, much, if not most, of residential Fallon is downwind of its hard metal facility for at least some fraction of time at the annual scale, whereas little of residential Sweet Home is downwind of its tungsten facility. Geographically, most Fallon residents potentially spend time daily within an environment containing elevated levels of airborne tungsten. In contrast, few Sweet Home residents potentially spend time daily within an airborne environment with elevated levels of airborne tungsten. Although it cannot be concluded from environmental data alone that elevated airborne tungsten causes childhood leukemia, the lack of excessive cancer in Sweet Home cannot logically be used to dismiss the possibility of airborne tungsten as a factor in the cluster of childhood leukemia in Fallon. Detailed modeling of all variables affecting airborne loadings of heavy metals would be needed to legitimately compare human exposures to airborne tungsten in Fallon and Sweet Home.

The burden of disease of three food-associated heavy metals in clusters in the Danish population – Towards targeted public health strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 112072
Author(s):  
Jose Alejandro Romero Herrera ◽  
Sofie Theresa Thomsen ◽  
Lea Sletting Jakobsen ◽  
Sisse Fagt ◽  
Karina Banasik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Danish Population ◽  
Public Health Strategies

scholarly journals Sources and Species of Cryptosporidium Oocysts in the Wachusett Reservoir Watershed

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 569-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen L. Jellison ◽  
Harold F. Hemond ◽  
David B. Schauer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Immunofluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Cryptosporidium Oocysts ◽  
Reservoir Watershed

ABSTRACT Understanding the behavior of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the environment is critical to developing improved watershed management practices for protection of the public from waterborne cryptosporidiosis. Analytical methods of improved specificity and sensitivity are essential to this task. We developed a nested PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay that allows detection of a single oocyst in environmental samples and differentiates the human pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum from other Cryptosporidium species. We tested our method on surface water and animal fecal samples from the Wachusett Reservoir watershed in central Massachusetts. We also directly compared results from our method with those from the immunofluorescence microscopy assay recommended in the Information Collection Rule. Our results suggest that immunofluorescence microscopy may not be a reliable indicator of public health risk for waterborne cryptosporidiosis. Molecular and environmental data identify both wildlife and dairy farms as sources of oocysts in the watershed, implicate times of cold water temperatures as high-risk periods for oocyst contamination of surface waters, and suggest that not all oocysts in the environment pose a threat to public health.

Application of GIS technology in public health: successes and challenges

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHANIE M. FLETCHER-LARTEY ◽  
GRAZIELLA CAPRARELLI
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Parasitic Diseases ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Application Of Gis

SUMMARYThe uptake and acceptance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has increased since the early 1990s and public health applications are rapidly expanding. In this paper, we summarize the common uses of GIS technology in the public health sector, emphasizing applications related to mapping and understanding of parasitic diseases. We also present some of the success stories, and discuss the challenges that still prevent a full scope application of GIS technology in the public health context. Geographical analysis has allowed researchers to interlink health, population and environmental data, thus enabling them to evaluate and quantify relationships between health-related variables and environmental risk factors at different geographical scales. The ability to access, share and utilize satellite and remote-sensing data has made possible even wider understanding of disease processes and of their links to the environment, an important consideration in the study of parasitic diseases. For example, disease prevention and control strategies resulting from investigations conducted in a GIS environment have been applied in many areas, particularly in Africa. However, there remain several challenges to a more widespread use of GIS technology, such as: limited access to GIS infrastructure, inadequate technical and analytical skills, and uneven data availability. Opportunities exist for international collaboration to address these limitations through knowledge sharing and governance.

scholarly journals Levels of some heavy metals in vegetables from artisanal mining sites of Dilimi River, Bukuru and Barkin Ladi North Central Nigeria: any public health concern?

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orish Ebere Orisakwe ◽  
Emmanuel Ayuba Dagur ◽  
Herbert Orji Chidi Mbagwu ◽  
Nnaemeka Arinze Udowelle ◽  
Samuel James Offor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
North Central ◽  
Artisanal Mining ◽  
Mining Sites

scholarly journals Consumption of Raw Herbal Medicines Is Associated with Major Public Health Risks amongst Ugandans

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Fred Ssempijja ◽  
Keneth Iceland Kasozi ◽  
Ejike Daniel Eze ◽  
Andrew Tamale ◽  
Sylvia Anurika Ewuzie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Vernonia Amygdalina ◽  
Increased Risk

Background. Community consumption of herbal plants in developing countries is a common practice, however, scarcity of information on their physiochemical composition is a major public health concern. In Uganda, Vernonia amygdalina is of interest in rural communities due to its therapeutical action on both bacterial and protozoal parasites, however no studies have been conducted to assess the heavy metal concentrations in traditional plants used in alternative medicine. The aim of the study was to establish concentrations of heavy metals in Vernonia amygdalina, model the estimated daily intake (EDI), and assess both the non-cancer-related health risk using the target hazard quotient (THQ), and the risk related to cancer through the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for the Ugandan population. Methods. Leaves of Vernonia amygdalina were collected from 20 georeferenced villages and processed into powder in the laboratory using standard methods. These were then analyzed in the laboratory using an atomic absorption spectrometer for lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni). Concentrations were compared against the World Health Organization (WHO) limits. The EDI, THQ, and ILCR were modelled and significance was measured at 95% confidence. Results. The study showed that mean ± SEM concentrations of heavy metals were highest in the order of Cr, 121.8 ± 4.291 ppm > Ni, 84.09 ± 2.725 ppm > Zn, 53.87 ± 2.277 ppm > Pb, 40.61 ± 3.891 ppm > Cu, 28.75 ± 2.202 ppm > Fe, 14.15 ± 0.7271 ppm > Co, 7.923 ± 0.7674 ppm > Cd, 0.1163 ± 0.005714 ppm. Concentrations of Pb, Cr, Zn, Co, and Ni were significantly higher than the WHO limits. The EDI was significantly higher in children than in adults, demonstrating an increased risk of toxicity in children. The THQ and ILCR were over 1000 times higher in all Ugandans, demonstrating the undesirable health risks following oral consumption of Vernonia amygdalina due to very high Cr and Ni toxicities, respectively. Conclusion. Consumption of raw Vernonia amygdalina was associated with a high carcinogenic risk, demonstrating a need to enact policies to promote physiochemical screening of herbal medicines used in developing countries against toxic compounds.

Thermal Comfort of the Elderly in Public Health Service Buildings of Thailand

2018 ◽  
Vol 878 ◽  
pp. 173-178
Author(s):  
Chorpech Panraluk ◽  
Atch Sreshthaputra
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Thermal comfort of the Thai elderly in air-conditioned space. The quantitative evaluation was conducted using 163 senior participants while recording their expressed satisfaction within the thermal environment in four public health service buildings in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. It revealed that for the Thai elderly, the Predicted Mean Vote could not be used to identify the Thermal Sensation Vote. In addition, the results of this study indicated that personal factors, such as gender, age, and underlying disease correlating affect their Thermal Sensation Vote. Perhaps most significantly, a coincidental finding was that the thermal sensation of the Thai elderly was strongly dependent upon the condition of the occupant’s metabolic syndrome, which belonged to the Non-Communicable Disease group. This study assumed that in the elderly, the metabolic syndrome might have an effect on their metabolic rate (as one of the six factors of thermal comfort). In terms of the environmental factors, the on-site environmental data was collected via field works. It found that the air-conditioned spaces had mean radiant temperatures of 23.20-31.40 °C, this condition would make seniors feel comfortable if the thermal environment in the study areas were controlled: air temperature 23.00-27.80 °C, relative humidity 54.00-73.00% and air velocity 0.08-0.72 m/s. However, some elderly wanted to change this thermal environment to either cooler (10.68%) or warmer (4.85%). Therefore, it should be further study to find the proper thermal environment for covering the most of the seniors in Thailand.

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