Environmental Risk Discrimination

BHE314 TD TD1 Some argue that there are examples in which "disadvantaged minorities" bear a disproportionate amount of risk to environmental hazards. Do you believe that this is s true proposition or a false one? Please find evidence in the literature that supports or refutes this theory and share with us your conclusions. Please read the article at the following link: http://www(dot)piercelaw(dot)edu/risk/vol7/winter/wigley.htm Please feel free to do additional outside reading on the topic before responding. TD2 Natural disasters can have serious public health consequences in days and weeks following a disaster. Chose a recent major natural disaster such as the Wildfires in California, Tsunami Disaster in South and Southeast Asia, the Earthquake in Pakistan and Hurricane Katrina in the US. Based on what you've learned in this module, what sorts of health problems do you think were created in terms of food safety in the days and weeks following these disasters? TD3 As our drinking water supplies become scarce and as water resources become polluted due to human and industrial development, fears over the quality of drinking water have grown in the past few years. More and more people are turning to bottled water for their drinking water needs because they fear that drinking water from the tap is harmful. Americans spend millions of dollars on bottled water every year. Is bottled water safer than tap water? Please justify your position using information gathered from the literature. You are encouraged to do some research as you prepare your answer. TD4 One of the dilemmas confronting Health Departments at all levels is "Who do we serve notice to when there are significant housing problems?" In most states the landlord/owner is legally responsible for all of the habitability issues related to their rental units; however, the owner can legally charge the tenants for conditions which they caused, including those caused by their guests. Here's the question for this Module's discussion. Should the owner/landlord be held legally responsible by health departments for damaged to a rental unit which was caused by the tenant or their guests? (This means that even though the inspector has full knowledge that the damage was caused by the tenant, it is the landlord/owner to whom the abatement notice is issued.) Why does a health department issue a notice to the landlord/owner and not the tenant? Please post your response and critique that of another student with whom your response may disagree. Respond to the TD topic before the conclusion of this Module. TD5 One of the issues which plague local government and military bases is community noise control. This problem is especially a problem in residential areas. Usually, the standard for enforcement is whether or not "a reasonable person is annoyed by an intruding sound." If so than the intruding noise is deemed to violate nuisance statutes or laws. 1) In your opinion should all noise from amplified sound sources be subjected to the same standard or should the standard vary by type of noise or by specific sources of noise? (Noise is defined as "unwanted sound.") For example, should noise levels from car sound systems meet the same standards as noise from a "Boombox" at a family gathering.2) Is it reasonable to enforce a community noise standard that does not allow for an intruding sound to be "audible" by the complaining party? Please post your response by conclusion of this Module. Separate each TD by TD1, TD2, TD3, TD4, and TD5