Parks as Gyms? Recreational Paradigms and Public Health in the National Parks

2004 ◽  
Vol 30 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 155-188
Author(s):  
Jay D. Wexler

When scholars and policymakers think about the relationship between public health and environmental law and policy, they likely think first about controlling pollution and other toxic substances. As other articles have amply demonstrated, water pollution, air pollution, and other environmental toxins can have significant deleterious effects on the public's health. Scholars rightly pay serious attention to these relationships, and policymakers wisely devise methods and strategies to ameliorate the public health risks posed by these polluting substances.Although pollution control might be the most obvious and important intersection between environmental policy and public health, legal and policy decisions regarding the management and preservation of the nation's natural resources potentially also significantly affect the public's health. Preserving plant and animal species, allocating water resources, and managing the nation's public lands, just to name a few examples, all potentially bear on matters of public health and safety.

2010 ◽  
pp. 1047
Author(s):  
Elaine Hughes

In 2005, commenting on a government review of the main federal toxic substances control legislation, Jason Unger aptly described the general public’s usual role in Canadian environmental law: “[They are] left to wander a maze of legislative and non-legislative instruments, each with varying amounts of transparency, to determine whether standards for a particular substance exists, what the standards are, whether they are being met and whether they can take legal action to enforce them.” Explaining our system of pollution control and resource management law to the general public — where it came from, why it was chosen, in what way it (even remotely) seems rational, how it works, what flaws it has, how to use it, and how one might improve it — is a daunting task indeed. Nevertheless, authors Paul Muldoon, Alastair Lucas, Robert Gibson, and Peter Pickfield set out in An Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy in Canada to provide a primer on these issues for interested students and members of the public.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Magdalena Michalak ◽  
Przemysław Kledzik

Abstract The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. According to its provisions each state Part shall, within the framework of the national legal order, ensure that members of the public concerned have access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body established by law. At the same time, it contains regulations specifying the criteria that constitute the basis for determining persons enjoying rights to access justice with respect to national legal orders. Poland, being one of the state Parties, introduced into national legal order special provisions enabling implementation of the Aarhus Convention, including regulations concerning parties to proceedings in environmental matters. The aim of the study is to analyse and assess these regulations in the light of the requirements adopted in the Aarhus Convention and to formulate general conclusions in the field of key issues of the international and European environmental law and policy.


1969 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 474-476
Author(s):  
David E. Hartley

While the automatic vending of food and beverages—and non-food merchandise—has been a part of The American scene since the late 1880's, problems of public health and safety did not enter the picture until the end of World War II when the first hot beverage vending machine went on location. In 1947, the vending industry and health officials first came together to discuss the development of uniform national standards for vending machines and vending operators. In 1957, after necessary research and preparation, The Public Health Service published The Vending of Food and Beverages—A Recommended Ordinance and Code. In the same year, the industry launched a full-time public health and safety program, guided by a nationally-constituted Health-Industry Council. The progress in sanitation and safety made as a result of cooperative industry and agency efforts over the past 12 years is discussed in terms of vending legislation, internal and external training, machine standardization and testing, and research. Concluding, a review of current problems in such matters as microwave safety, copper poisoning safeguards, temperature controls, icemaker design, and commissary layout is made, together with a “crystal ball” look at the future.


Author(s):  
Gangyang Zheng ◽  
Paul Nelson ◽  
Vera Moiseytseva ◽  
Ernie Kee ◽  
Fatma Yilmaz

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is mandated to ensure “adequate protection” to the public health and safety, regardless of cost. It also has steadfastly declined to specify precisely what constitutes “adequate protection,” except that it does not mean “zero risk.” Rather it judges on a case-by-case basis whether the “adequate protection” standard has been met. NRC also seems to reserve the right to require an even higher level of protection, when that can be achieved in a manner that it judges to meet similarly imprecisely specified criteria such as “practicality” and “reasonableness.” In Regulatory Guide 1.174 NRC comes close to a concrete specification of “adequate protection,” albeit one that depends upon the historical licensing basis for a specific plant. And the technical portion of this paper begins with a description of how the approach of Regulatory Guide 1.174 can be viewed from the perspective of Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization. Meanwhile, in this research, in order to better understand the role of regulation, a microeconomic model of a price-taking nuclear power plant is constructed, particularly of the cost (C) of achieving any specified level of core damage frequency (CDF). Solution of this model reveals an economic optimum, at a point that balances plant value against risk of losing the plant via an accident involving core damage. For CDFs slightly smaller than this economic optimum there is scope for a regulatory mandate of even smaller CDF, should that be deemed either necessary to attain “adequate protection,” or reasonably attainable in order to achieve greater than adequate protection of the public health and safety. It is argued that regulatory bodies must have scope for discretionary decisions, because the information necessary to formulate a reasonable approximation to the cost curve C (fortunately) does not exist.


1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Friedland ◽  
Richard W. Valachovic

Current state laws regulating the licensure of dentists place severe restrictions upon the freedom of movement of practitioners. Most state laws were enacted during a period when a strong rationale for regulating public health and welfare existed. Today, these laws hamper the free movement of dentists and are anachronisms in an era of national standards and practices. The authors contend that the extant laws rest upon outdated assumptions and serve economic and protectionist goals rather than public health and safety.This Article examines the history and application of the traditional justifications for state licensure and their present ramifications. The authors suggest that replacing the current regulatory system with a national clinical examination and a national licensure program will best serve the interests of the public and the dental profession.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracynda L. Davis ◽  
Jon H. Standridge ◽  
Alan J. Degnan

Water parks are a rapidly growing element of the United States tourist industry. To reduce incidence of abrasion and impact injuries in such parks, designers are searching for padding materials that can withstand the harsh oxidative environments of chlorinated water. Although padded features help reduce physical injuries, they may also compromise the microbiological safety of water attractions. This study describes bacteriological testing performed on 31 different pad materials, play features and pools from 10 Wisconsin water parks. Materials and surrounding pool waters were sampled and tested quantitatively for total coliforms, Escherichia coli, E. coli 0157:H7, enterococci, staphylococci, heterotrophic bacteria, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, using standard methods. Each location was sampled during three visits, and results were averaged. Pool waters were within acceptable levels of target organisms and disinfectant residuals, but target organisms were found on water features, even those submerged in chlorinated water. Bacteria were detected more frequently in pools using pad materials compared with pools without. These findings provide data that will help the public health community understand the relations between designs, materials and maintenance of water features. Additionally, the information will help state regulators and owner/operators develop guidelines to improve public health and safety at water parks.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Dzaa Imma Abdul Latif ◽  
Mohd Amirul Akhbar Mohd Zulkifli ◽  
Siti Nur Farah Faadiah Abd Ghani

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are free announcements made to promote programs, activities, community interest and services from government and the non - government sector. As technology develops, many PSAs use animated characters in order to persuade and create high awareness among people. Animation is a simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures or frames such as cartoons on television. Research has shown that PSAs is effective in conveying the message. However, the influences of animated PSAs among students about health and safety messages are still unclear. Previous researchers were more interested to investigate the effects of PSAs to children and less research on animated PSAs towards adults. Therefore, the researcher is interested to study whether or not the animation should be utilized as an effective tool to educate the public. A sample of 285 students watched four animated PSAs and four live action PSAs. Two of each represented animated spoke characters and non spoke characters with a goal to evaluate students responses on positive attitudes. A correlation analysis was used to study the relationship between the positive response of animated PSAs and engagement with results that indicated moderate and high correlation. T tests were used to investigate the comparison between the students responses to animated PSAs versus non animated PSAs and animated spoke characters versus animated non spoke characters. The results emphasize that animated PSAs received better responses among students. Students acceptance towards animated PSAs and animated spoke characters received small but significantly better response.


2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIM STOCKWELL ◽  
TANYA CHIKRITZHS ◽  
DELIA HENDRIE ◽  
RICHARD FORDHAM ◽  
FAITH YING ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Sigurdson ◽  
Najib T. Ayas

Sleep deprivation and medical disorders of sleep are common in today’s society and have significant public health implications. In this article, we address 3 specific issues related to the public health and safety consequences of sleep disorders. First, we review data that has linked sleep restriction to a variety of adverse physiologic and long-term health outcomes including all-cause mortality, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Second, we will review recent data that has demonstrated that therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (the most common respiratory disorder of sleep) is an extremely efficient use of healthcare resources (in terms of dollars spent per quality adjusted life year gained), and compares favorably with other commonly funded medical therapies. Finally, we will review data that illustrate the potential adverse patient and occupational safety impacts of the extreme work schedules of housestaff (physicians in training).


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