Environmental Health

Environmental contamination of pathogenic viruses is a common occurrence and leading to a number of skin, enteric, and respiratory infections in occupational, nosocomial, and community settings. Viruses with environmental transmission routes have varied abilities to survive and persist in environmental mediums to aiding in their transmission to susceptible hosts.

Background: Power plants are primary emitters of greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants, which are associated with harmful health impacts including increased risk of premature mortality.

Introduction: Gentrification is a public health crisis and significant environmental injustice. Rapid gentrification of Seattle unequally burdens and displaces families of color further south in King County. Gentrification changes the environment, forcing readjustments that can compromise the continuity of education, healthcare, housing and employment.

Dementia has been considered a major global public health priority (WHO, 2012). It is very common in older adults (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015b; Seshadri & Wolf, 2007; Weuve et al., 2014) and characterized by the progressive and irreversible loss of memory and mental abilities (Alzheimer’s Association, 2008).

Biosolids are nutrient-rich residual organic matter derived from wastewater treatment. The majority of biosolids in Washington are land applied, with the remaining landfilled or incinerated. In land application, biosolids are mostly applied on agricultural lands or forests as a soil amendment and fertilizer.

Diarrheal disease remains a persistent global health threat and is ranked as the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five, with approximately 525,000 child deaths worldwide annually.

Phthalates are a class of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals found in commonly used products, leading to widespread human exposure. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the adverse association between phthalates and asthma, a leading chronic condition among children.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are detoxification enzymes important in cellular protection through their metabolism of endogenous and exogenous substrates such as chemotherapeutic agents, insecticides, herbicides, and byproducts of oxidative stress.

Background: Dengue fever (DF) is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease, with an estimated 390 million infections a year, globally. In 1994, Saudi Arabia reported their first confirmed case of DF in the western coastal city of Jeddah.

Climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration of wildfires. To reduce personal exposure to wildfire smoke and resulting adverse health effects, N95 respirators are increasingly used by the general public to filter out fine particles (PM2.5) present in smoke.

Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD), affect over 47 million people worldwide, and this number is anticipated to reach 131.5 million by 2050.

Decisions made in the energy and natural resources sector can affect public health. This report reviews the characteristics and assesses the effectiveness of health impact assessments (HIAs) conducted in this sector. A total of 30 HIAs conducted in 14 states in the United States were identified using a targeted literature search.

Global oceans play an important role in many aspects of human life. We build our homes on the shores, take our food from the waters, and create our economies from the wealth of resources in marine waters.

Objectives: Suicide and unintentional deaths related to firearms are a problem in the United States. Findings cited by the National Center for Health Statistics show a 33% increase in the U.S. suicide rate over the past two decades.

Background: Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) as a process for natural gas extraction has potential to expose nearby residents to environmental hazards, but the extent of the hazard remains poorly understood.

Introduction: The incidence rates of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and cutaneous malignant melanoma are rapidly increasing. While inhaled particulate matter (PM) has been classified as a lung carcinogen, the associations between ambient PM (either PM2.5 and PM10) and skin cancers have not been studied thoroughly.

Typhoid fever continues to be a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries with limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Introduction

The purpose of the document I helped create within my practicum project was to facilitate environmental protection-related connections and advance shared action to ensure customary and traditional subsistence activities can be maintained, improved, and sustained for generations to come.

Since time immemorial, First Nations shaped the environment around them to create and maintain highly productive societies. Today with the growing threats of a changing climate and continued nearshore development, important traditional resources may not be available for future generations.

Using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), this research analyzed human cadaver hair for gadolinium and mice hair samples for cadmium. This project combined fundamental bench science (analytical chemistry and animal studies), and insight into exposures to an emerging contaminant.

Background: The efficacy of the high-efficiency particle arresting (HEPA) air cleaner and its related health benefits have gotten some attention, yet the number of studies on this topic is still modest.

Background: The US Safe Drinking Water Act does not regulate private wells, leaving over 42 million US residents with little regulatory oversight of their water quality. Trends in public water systems suggest that private wells in Latinx communities may have higher nitrate concentrations than wells in other communities.

Purpose of the Study: Older adults are more susceptible to adverse health outcomes during and after a disaster compared with their younger counterparts.

With current evidence of increased chemical contamination and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in environmental samples from the Salish Sea, it is important to examine its resident wildlife to further investigate the detrimental effects of these anthropogenic pressures.

Background: Worldwide, dengue fever is the most common arboviral disease in humans with an estimated 50–100 million dengue infections annually.

Pediatric care guidelines recommend assessment of children for lead exposure during routine child care in the first two years of life. In Washington State, pediatric lead screening rates are among the lowest in the nation.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the persistence of poliovirus type 2 (PV2) and type 3 (PV3) in domestic wastewater and sediment.

Background: The built environment affects the health of a community in a multitude of ways. One of those ways is through changing an individual’s exposure to environmental contaminants, such as bacterial pathogens. Another is through the availability of food.

In early February 2018, a contractor performing restoration work on a communications tower in Seattle,