Environmental and Occupational Health
Environmental and occupational health examine how physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial exposures affect population and worker health.
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Environmental and Occupational Health
Subject Summary
The public overview below follows the supplied PhysioVeda Academics subject summary.
Environmental and occupational health examine how physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial exposures affect population and worker health.
Environmental health addresses air, water, food, housing, climate, waste and the built environment, while occupational health focuses on hazards arising from work and methods to prevent injury or disease.
Risk assessment links hazard identification with dose-response, exposure and risk characterization; prevention is strongest when hazards are removed or controlled at source.
The hierarchy of controls prioritizes elimination, substitution and engineering measures before administrative controls and personal protective equipment.
This summary follows the uploaded PhysioVeda Academics outline from environmental determinants and risk assessment through workplace hazards, surveillance, return to work and health policy.
Whole-subject high-yield numbers
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| Hierarchy of controls | Elimination -> substitution -> engineering -> administrative -> PPE |
| Exposure routes | Inhalation, ingestion, dermal/mucosal absorption, injection |
| Noise dose | Depends on sound level and duration |
| Risk | Function of hazard and exposure |
| Surveillance | Tracks exposure and/or health effects over time |
| Primary prevention | Control hazard before disease or injury occurs |
Core references
- Frumkin H, ed. Environmental Health: From Global to Local. 3rd ed. Jossey-Bass; 2016.
- LaDou J, Harrison R, eds. CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 6th ed. McGraw Hill; 2021.
- Levy BS, Wegman DH, Baron SL, Sokas RK, eds. Occupational and Environmental Health. 7th ed. Oxford University Press; 2017.
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