Environmental Diseases

Environmental diseases are illnesses and conditions that result from manmade environmental problems.

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring described an environment ravaged by pesticides:

Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of birds, and early mornings are strangely silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song.

Carson questioned the use of pesticides, particularly DDT, and described how people were slowly destroying the world around them. Carson and her ideas were attacked from many sides, and one chemical company tried unsuccessfully to stop the book from being published.

Silent Spring marked the beginning of the environmental movement. The public listened to Carson, and ultimately, the government listened too. In 1972, the United States banned the use of DDT because it had been linked to cancer in laboratory studies with mice.

What Are Environmental Diseases?

Illnesses and conditions caused by factors in the environment are collectively called environmental diseases. Pesticides, chemicals, radiation, air pollution, and water pollution, are some of the manmade hazards that are believed to contribute to human illnesses. Potential illness-causing agents are everywhere: at home, at work, and at play. However, the likelihood of an individual developing a specific disease depends on the hazards present in their particular environment and their genetic susceptibility to a specific hazard. For example, x-ray technicians are at risk for radiation-induced illnesses, whereas coal miners are prone to lung diseases caused by inhalation of dust. Proper use of safeguards can prevent these and other environmental diseases.

Myth Versus Reality: Proving Cause and Effect

People like Rachel Carson have made Americans aware of the potential health consequences of many everyday processes and products. Because many things present in the environment have the potential to cause illness in some susceptible people, environmental diseases often are controversial. Unfortunately, when a large group of people begin claiming that something in the environment is making them sick, fear can grow into a myth without any proof. For example some people believe that exposure to high-voltage electric power lines causes cancer. So far, however, there is no conclusive evidence that this is true.

For scientists, showing that something in the environment is the cause of a disease is a difficult process that can take many years.

Reality: What Are Some of the Common Environmental Diseases?

Lung Diseases

Any substance other than air that is breathed into the lungs has the potential to cause damage to these organs. For example, air pollution, including smoke from other peoples' cigarettes (secondhand smoke), and workplace chemicals can lead to lung diseases. Examples of lung diseases include:

• Asthma (AZ-ma), a condition in which breathing is difficult, affects millions of Americans. Environmental triggers for asthma are everywhere and include naturally occurring triggers such as animal dander, plant pollen, dust, and mold, and manmade triggers such as chemicals. Not everyone is sensitive to these triggers, but many people are sensitive to some of them.
• Black lung disease is an illness in which coal miners' lungs become coated with coal dust, causing a chronic condition in which breathing becomes difficult and painful.
• Bronchitis (brong-KY-tis), an inflammation of the airways of the lungs, can be caused by breathing in certain chemicals or smoke. Welders and fire fighters are some of the people at risk for this condition. Smokers are also at increased risk for the development of bronchitis and lung cancer.
• Breathing asbestos (a natural mineral fiber) can lead to asbestosis (as-bes-TO-sis), a severe lung disorder, and lung cancer. Schools, homes, and businesses that have asbestos in them as a fire retardant put people at risk when the asbestos dust begins to leak into the air during repairs and renovations. These buildings used asbestos in the walls and ceilings as insulation before laws were passed to ban their use.
• Silicosis (sil-i-KO-sis) is a lung disease caused by exposure to the silica dust in clay. Pottery workers are at risk of developing this disease.

Cancers

In addition to lung cancer, other cancers have been linked to environmental toxins (poisons). For example, pesticides, herbicides, and radioactive substances have the potential to cause cancer. There are almost 2,000 chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer. Of these, only several hundred have had their use restricted by law in the United States.

Asbestos, chromium, and coal tar have been linked to lung cancer. Construction workers, welders, and steelworkers may be repeatedly exposed to these compounds. People working in plastics manufacturing are at risk for liver or bladder cancer. People who work with radioactive substances are at increased risk for cancer caused by radiation. Fortunately, legal restrictions and careful oversight of hazardous materials can reduce risks.

Birth Defects

Infertility^*, miscarriage^*, stillbirth (the baby is born dead), childhood cancer, and birth defects may have links to various environmental toxins. When a pregnant woman is exposed to lead, her child has a higher than usual risk of being born with behavior and nervous system problems. Exposure to radiation, chemical wastes, pesticides, solvents, paints, lead, and methyl mercury all can cause problems in a developing fetus^*.

Chemical Poisonings

Lead is a serious environmental hazard to children in many parts of the world, including the United States. It affects children's mental and physical development, and high doses can cause paralysis and death. People can be exposed to lead through lead paint, leaded gasoline, lead water pipes, and certain ceramics. Although lead is no longer used in most of these products in the United States, it can still be found in older homes and in some imported products.

The metals mercury and cadmium can cause nerve damage, cancer, and liver and skin diseases. Mercury has been used since the beginning of the nineteenth-century in many industrial processes. In earlier times, people who worked with mercury were often unknowingly poisoned. Mercury can accumulate in the food chain and present a health risk. For example, some fish in the Great Lakes are contaminated with mercury they acquired through eating plants and other fish. Eating a lot of these contaminated fish can transfer unhealthy levels of mercury to a person. The effects are cumulative, (build up), because the body cannot rid itself of mercury. Mercury can be found in fluorescent lights, latex paint, batteries, dental fillings, and mercury thermometers.

Other sources of environmental poisoning can arise from the manufacture of refrigerants, plastics, and other industrial products and from the manufacture and misuse of pesticides.

Can Environmental Diseases Be Prevented?

Regulations protecting people from environmental hazards vary widely from country to country. In the United States, Congress has enacted laws to protect workers from intentional and accidental exposure to environmental hazards. For example:

• The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was established in 1971 to set standards for health and safety in the workplace.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also established in 1971 to enforce rules and regulations based on NIOSH's findings.
• In 1983, OSHA required industries to make full disclosure to their workers about the dangerous chemicals used in their facilities and to teach workers how to protect themselves from these hazardous substances.
• In 1987, the 1983 standards were extended to include more workers. Later, a regulation to set standards to prevent occupational exposure to infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis B and C was added.

Chemical discharges from some industrial plants are an important cause of water pollution.

© Ray Pfortner/Peter Arnold, Inc.

User Contributions:

The following comments are not guaranteed to be that of a trained medical professional. Please consult your physician for advice.

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