Environmental Health - MPH632 Fall 2018

I reside in Oakland, California. There is just 1 sewage treatment centers in Oakland. The East Bay Municipal Utility Wastewater Treatment Plant apart of EBMUD.

If I had a campaign for Tap Water my slogan would be: "Tap water... it's S.A.F.E. Sufficient And Free Everyday" Some final thoughts: Specific bottled water companies like Coco-Cola and Pepsi are known for selling manipulating products. These big money corporations are also major players in the nutrition and dietetics field. What can we do about these political agendas when it comes to consumer protection and safety?  Our cities should spend money on making sure drinking water is safe and accessible. If we could get additional public fountains, and assured safe drinking water in our cities it would be so much better for the overall health of the population and our environment. I also would love to ban plastic bottles. Similarly how they banned plastic bags. People can buy reusable canteens or sacks. I also wondered why this video did not recommend filtering systems for tap water? Is the process safe or unsafe? Or is it also contributing to environmental waste p...

Unfortunately I couldn’t find Oakland’s information on water quality through the United States Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA).  I had to locate my information elsewhere from local municipal services,   East Bay MUD. On their website ( https://www.ebmud.com/customers/water-quality/ ) I was able to download the 2017 Annual Water Quality Report.   The East Bay gets its almost all its water from a 577-square mile watershed of the Mokelumne River on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. This forrest land is owned by EBMUD, and other under-developed lands (unaffected by human activity).   All water is treated at one of six EBMUD water treatment plants before it reaches the tap. Every year over 20,000 late tests are done to ensure the safety of our water. Lead levels has become a concern, and EBMUD now offers free in-home testing to ensure lead is not present. Based on this map, Oakland receives water from the upper San Leandro water treatment plan...

Water is the source and basis of life. This daily necessity is  is becoming more and more scarce. The first step to preserving water is to become aware.  Everything produced, farmed, manufactured or grown is using up our worlds water. And although it rains, and there is hidden ground water, our daily productions could actually end up using it all up which could take hundreds of years replenish  back to safe levels again.  In addition to water preservation, safe, clean water is a basic right and many laws have been put in place over years to help keep water clean.  Although costly, the g overnment should continue regulate and keep policies in place to protect our drinking water from pollutants to ensure our population does not get sick. 

An ideal chemical/fragrancy policy should be set in all work settings. "Approved" products should be free of the top harmful ingredients in most fragrance sprays and lotions.  I have seen some workplaces already apply a non-fragrance/scented lotion policy before.  For places like the spa, or message place there will always be fragrances and oils used, especially that are in direct contact with the body. Im sure  they have a policy on the specific type of products us, free of harmful chemicals. 

Creating a campaign against radon the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer should start with a city wide assessment of areas where there are high levels of active radon, and label them. Also creating a campaign sharing the numbers of deaths caused by this substance, and where it can be found. Because it is airborne, campaigns would be placed in areas accessible outdoors. Bus stations, bus stops, billboards around town and on buildings. In addition to social media campaigns, there should also be radio campaigns for older people, with more limited technology access. Side note, my father died from lung cancer in 2009. He was diagnosed in June, and passed in October, in literally just 4 months he was gone. I had no idea radon was one of the leading causes. I never found out what he had been exposed too. In addition to smoking cigarettes he worked for many years in construction or in mines. I wonder if I can even have access to look up his toxicology report.

Urea formaldehyde  is often found in foam insulation in homes.  Health effects: Prolonged exposure in residential and occupational settings causes chronic eye, nose, throat irritation, coughing, wheezing, nausea, headache, dizziness and other symptoms. It is estimated that individuals exposed to low concentrations of Urea formaldehyde have 1/70 chance of developing cancer.    Bleach is used often and widely for house cleaning.  Health effects: Frequent use of bleach for home-cleaning is associated with non-allergic adult-onset asthma, elevated neutrophil counts and lower-asthma airway symptoms in women.   Information obtained from:  https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

The American Public Health Association released a report from 2012 which identifies how the US public transportation system can help better the health and equity for all in the nation. The following is on the agenda for Actions Needed: The federal surface transportation authorization presents the nation with an opportunity to reinvent and improve its transportation network — including public transportation — to better promote health and equity across cities and towns, whether urban, suburban or rural This stood out to me as something that is starting to get more attention. With increased gasoline, toll and parking prices not everyone wants to drive. Some other recent observations in my city. Oakland, California: BART has upgraded its trains.  In downtown Oakland, the Broadway Ave bus is available for people to take for FREE and has probably helped a lot of people to get around without car.  More bike lanes are being constructed. Especailly in North Oakland and Lake ...

What an interested website and resource. I hope they update this again in the next year or two. Most data is from around 2002 which is almost 20 years old. Below are the findings from my zip code 94619 in Alameda county.  Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code? The top polluter in my community is Fremont with almost 500,000 pounds of pollution. New United Motor Manufacturing is responsible for this. It What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint? 3 percent of houses  in ALAMEDA County have a  high risk  of lead hazards. Are there Superfund sites in your zip?   2   Superfund sites in ALAMEDA County sources.  A Superfund  a fund established to finance a long-term, expensive project. What can you tell us about the Superfund sites that are near where you live? The 2 Superfund sites caused contamination of drinking water. The first is Alamada Navel Air Station, and the second is AMCO Chemical. Wha...

Environmental justice absolutely involves the concept of "social determinants." Many people of color, who are of lower income and social status, face many more health challenges due to their toxic home environments. Those who live in more rural or poorer areas, are living near unsafe or toxin releasing landmarks which have a negative effect on resident health, leading to higher rates of diseases and mortality.Governments should be taking into consideration these health problems, and helping to solve the issue. We can connect this to the "Black Lives Matter" movement? Environmental Justice is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies”. As mentioned above, people of color are disproportionally affected by this, and policies should be carried out to correct, treat and limit further ...

After reading and watching the videos from the module I started to think about population education. Do the populations at risk, or parents of population at risk, know that they are at risk? Are we doing a good job as far as educating, or providing the education? Is information obtainable? Are people able to understand the information? (Health literacy) I pose these types of questions because for me, if it weren't for this class, I wouldn't be as informed of the potential harms of day to day environmental exposures. Accessing data. With the advancement of technology and social media, I feel there needs to be more creative ways to reach populations at risk. Just some food for thought.

The following chemicals were found in my body at levels for which there are no “safe” levels. I am honestly quite scared, and in shock that so many harmful chemicals were found in my body. Even though it is just "potential" health effects, these proposed risks are pretty severe. Some possible effects include, cognitive disfunction, reproductive toxicants, Parkinson's, neurotoxicants, and carcinogens.  This makes me think about what researchers and scientists need to be working on, or what taxpayer money needs to be spent on. There should be updates, and announcements made to the general public. Policies and laws need to protect the consumers, protect the people who are experiencing these effects.  I think mandatory blood tests should be done at a few stages in life to monitor levels of chemicals in the body. Lets not wait until people are sick or terminally ill. This is quite disgusting to think about.  We are at a time in the world where there are numerous dise...

After viewing "10 Americans" by Environmental Working Group (EWG) I am curious to know what policy changes against toxic chemicals have been made since this video has aired. I am sure this video is outdated, the presentation must have been recorded closer to 2008, when the Kid Safe Chemicals Act was being introduced.  I am really interested in Ken Cook's term "pre-polluted" children. I think this is a huge topic that needs to be addressed. If the Government and policies pay attention to the things that affect childhood development, we are taking more precautionary steps to ensure that more children are born safe, healthy, and strong. And if we do more work on prevention, less money will be spent on treatment, thus decreasing overall health costs. This video also reminds me to be more aware of my own environment. I am wondering if exposure to the hundreds of chemicals could also be linked or contribute to the mental health issues our children and adults face. ...

Household Products: 1) Elmers Extra Strength Glue-Stick - toxicity rating 2 2) Meyer's Clean Day Multi Surface Concentrate - toxicity rating 1 I was not surprised to find out about the toxicity ratings for both of these items. It is interesting to me though, that the label on the glue-stick says it is "non-toxic" but the Household Product Database states this product says there is no information on significant adverse effects. Which means either there is no data, or it has not been tested.  So it makes me question what does "non-toxic" really mean? And how regulated are consumer items. How safe are we? I feel that moving forward, I will want to do my background research on a majority of consumer products I purchase in the future. Although it may be time consuming, it is in my best interest. I also think that all consumers deserve to know when or where potential health hazards are, or any relevant information to our risks.

The two personal care products I chose were Degree's Motionsense Antiperspirant/Deodorant and Tom's of Main Antiplaque & Whitening toothpaste.  Degree Antiperspirant/Deodorant rated a 3 while Tom's toothpaste rated a 1. I had switched over to Tom's brand about 6 years ago for the specific reason that I wanted to use one with less chemicals. Recently a report on flouride being a neurotoxin came out that I am interested in investigating further.  When it comes to deodorant,  it has honestly been a gamble for me. I tried a natural product without aluminum once and I ended up smelling really bad after an hour of activity. I dance every day so need something to help with the sweat and odor. I have been told that the odor is a reaction to changing of chemicals and that the body needs to rid the body of the old product then get adjust to the new product. After examining these results I am now thinking of trying the natural deodorant process again, in addition to usi...