The Air Quality Paper (Module 3) - Air Quality Control & Protection

The Air Quality Paper (Module 3) - Air Quality Control & Protection
Name
Course
Environmental health
Date
Scenario: Construction Site Concerns It has been reported by many residents and businesses located adjacent to a large new construction area that they are being inundated with dust and exhaust from the heavy equipment working on the site. It has been reported by residents that they are experiencing increased complications related to respiratory irritations, asthma triggers and other health concerns
The air quality incident
There are construction site concerns as residents and businesses have reported that the construction activities near the construction area are bringing dust and exhaust from the heavy equipment working on the site. Many of the residents reported increased complications related to respiratory irritations, asthma triggers and other health concerns. The quality of outdoor air affects the residents and businesses and to ensure there is a clean and safe environment there is a need for there to be quality assessment to determine whether the construction site emits dust and exhaust that are above the maximum limit.
Dust and exhaust are causing air pollution and this affects the health of those living and working nearby the construction site mainly because of alterations in lung function, and discomfort in breathing. The atmospheric contamination represents a danger to health and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided guidelines on how best to protect the air quality as are the European Environment Agency and World Health Organization (WHO) The inhalation of pollutants in chronic exposure (long-term effects) especially of fine particles, is associated with lower life expectancy (Zagorodnov, Kokoulina & Klein, 2017). The air pollutants from the construction activities are likely to affect the quality of indoor air in the buildings nearby.
Potential human health effects of this incident
Cement as part of the construction dust represents little or no danger for a short time, but overtime exposure of wet or dry cement in the humid areas of the body can cause serious and potentially irreversible damage to tissues to the skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract due to allergic reactions and even chemical burns. Similarly, other substances in the dust and exhaust affect the human body tissues and airborne dust can cause immediate or delayed irritation or inflammation. Dermal contact increases the risk of irritation and allergy and potentially irreversible damage to skin tissues.
Inhalation can cause irritation of the nose, throat or lungs and even suffocation depending on the degree of exposure. Inhalation of high concentrations of dust can cause chemical burns. People with chronic obstructive disease can often experience worse conditions. When the lungs are constantly exposed to the danger of breathing dust, the lungs have defense mechanisms to removing dust particles weakens, increasing the risk of fine particles passing through the nose to the respiratory tract. Air pollution harms human health and the environment in general, but there would be need to show that the residents’ worsening health outcomes are linked to the construction activities.
There are various federal environmental statutes governing pollution in the US, but still there is a need to determine the effects of the air pollution. The Clean Air Act (1963, 1970) that was later amended highlighted the need to control air pollution from both the mobile and stationary sources (Kuklinska Wolska & Namiesnik, 2015). There are expectations that the construction site owners and workers exercise the duty of care to prevent air pollution to the surrounding areas, but providing that the construction company is culpable for failing to secure the construction site. Even when obliged to take certain measures to guarantee the health of the workers, the residents, and those working close by, there may be other reasons for the peoples’ health, which are worsened by dust and exhaust.
Core public health roles and responsibilities
The public health role and responsibilities is to reduce and limit exposure to the suspected pollutants and this is possible when they regulate pollutants, reduce emissions and to limit environmental harm. Public health is essential to maintain healthy homes and communities and this requires monitoring the impact of construction activities, investigation and educating the public on how best to reduce exposure. In doing so, the environmental health professionals protect the public from environmental hazards. The agencies also disseminate information on the incident and other similar incidents, which may help in future air pollution control.
The public health professionals respond to investigate complaints and monitor compliance, to ensure that there are no longer high levels of exposure. ...