research on environmental hazards

The Influence of Climate Change on Extreme Environmental Events

Climate change affects global temperature and precipitation patterns. These effects, in turn, influence the intensity and, in some cases, the frequency of extreme environmental events, such as forest fires, hurricanes, heat waves, floods, droughts, and storms.

Climatology, Earth Science, Ecology

Boise National Forest Fire

Research shows human-caused climate change has worsened the risk of extreme weather events like the wildfires of the western United States, such as this forest fire in the Boise National Forest, Idaho.

Photograph by David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Science Source

Climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human activities affects global temperature and precipitation . Records from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that the global average temperature has increased by at least 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1970s, and that by 2100, it could increase to around 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures. While the global effects of climate change may seem too small to be noticed by people living around the world, we have already experienced the effects of climate change through severe weather events, including forest fires, hurricanes , droughts , heat waves, floods, and storms. Computer modelling of real data has shown that the frequency and intensity of these events are influenced by climate change. There is a distinction that needs to be made when it comes to the relationship between climate change and extreme environmental events: Climate change has not been proven to directly cause individual extreme environmental events, but it has been shown to make these events more destructive, and likely happen more frequently,than they normally would be. This drastic change is due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions—primarily through the burning of fossil fuels for transportation, heat, and electricity—in the past 150 years. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, trap heat within Earth’s atmosphere, making the planet warmer. A warmer atmosphere affects the water cycle because warmer air can hold more water vapor . In fact, the air’s capacity to hold water vapor increases by 7 percent with an increase in temperature of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). This, along with warmer ocean temperatures, leads to heavier precipitation. Heavy precipitation can cause problems like flooding and landslides —where large amounts of soil or rock slide down a slope. An increase in intense precipitation comes with an increase in intense dry periods as well. Essentially, climate change causes wet places to become wetter and dry places to become drier by altering large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. Warmer temperatures on land lead to reduced snowpack , earlier snowmelt , and evaporation of water from freshwater bodies. Extreme heat can lead to more frequent, severe, and prolonged heat waves and droughts and can make forest fires worse. On top of that, wildfires are harder to put out when air temperature is high and soil moisture is low. The number of heat waves, heavy rain events, and major hurricanes has increased in the United States. Hurricane Katrina of 2005 and Hurricane Sandy of 2012 are two of the most costly hurricanes in the history of the United States. The number of hurricanes that have occurred over recent years has not been linked to climate change, but their intensity has. The wind speed of tropical storms is increased by warmer sea-surface temperatures; by the end of the century, scientists predict maximum wind speed will increase by 2–11 percent. Coastal cities that are vulnerable to hurricanes will also be impacted by the sea level rise of around 0.3–1.2 meters (0.98–3.94 feet) in the next century, which will worsen coastal storms and flooding. Without preparing for climate change–induced environmental hazards , an increasing number of people worldwide will lose their homes and be forced into poverty. An average of around 22.5 million people have been displaced per year by climate or weather-related events since 2008. One way to prepare for extreme environmental events is by using current and past data and records to create computer models that show the frequency and intensity of these events. These models can also be used to predict when and where future events will occur and how destructive they will be. With this information, we can prepare for extreme weather events by warning people living in high-risk areas and sending disaster relief . The impact of climate change can also be observed in models by simulating the effects of different concentrations of greenhouse gases on variables, such as wind, rainfall, temperature, and air pressure. Past models used to prove that there is a relationship between climate change and extreme environmental events were not always reliable. This was due to a lack of data as well as flaws in climate models at the time. However, climate models have become more reliable, and a new field of science has developed to determine how climate change directly impacts extreme weather events: extreme event attribution. Since 2004, scientists have published more than 170 studies on the role of human-induced climate change on 190 extreme weather events. Research has found that climate change has increased the risk of wildfires in the western United States, extreme rainfall in China, and drought in South Africa. Continuous research and improvement in the field of extreme event attribution may help us figure out more precisely how climate change impacts extreme weather events–and how we might change this course.

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October 19, 2023

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Related Resources

Introduction to Environmental Public Health Tracking

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Winter 2018

Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Essentials of Environmental Public Health Tracking is a learning module designed to:

• Provide you with information about how the environment affects public health and
• Teach you about the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program and its flagship product, the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Define environmental health
• Discuss environmental public health practice
• Describe the relationship between the environment and health
• Explain environmental public health surveillance
• Describe the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
• Identify types of environmental public health data available on the Tracking Network
• List examples of applications of environmental public health tracking data

INTRODUCTION

THE ENVIRONMENT IS…

The air we breathe,

The water we drink,

The food we eat, and

The places where we live, work, and play.

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• There is a connection between the environment and the health of individuals and communities.

Likewise, people can affect the health of the environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IS THE DISCIPLINE THAT…

• Focuses on the inter-relationships between people and their environment,
• Promotes human health and well-being, and
• Fosters a safe and healthful environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARDS?

• An environmental health hazard is a substance that has the ability to cause an adverse health event.
• This includes physical, chemical, and biological factors that are external to a person.
• Hazards can be natural or human-made.

EXAMPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS INCLUDE:

• Air contaminants
• Toxic waste
• Disease-causing microorganisms and plants
• Heavy metals
• Chemicals in consumer products
• Extreme temperatures and weather events

The most common environmental health hazards are air and water pollution.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS AIM TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND THEIR ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS THROUGH:

• Conducting research
• Developing standards, guidelines, and recommendations
• Implementing interventions and programs to address environmental health issues

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH EXAMPLE: ERIN BROCKOVICH

This is a real-life environmental health story about a woman who helped spearhead a case alleging contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium, which was suspected by residents of causing cancer in the southern California town of Hinkley.

Between 1952 and 1966, PG&E used hexavalent chromium in its cooling towers to fight corrosion. The wastewater dissolved the hexavalent chromium from the cooling towers and was discharged to unlined ponds at the site. Some of the wastewater percolated into the groundwater, affecting an area near the plant.

What she found out led to a record-breaking settlement for a group of class-action plaintiffs in 1996.

Though she was not an environmental health professional, Erin Brockovich did plenty of activities that are part of environmental health practice.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRACTICES INCLUDE:

• Collecting and monitoring data on environmental hazards and health effects
• Identifying environmental hazards
• Investigating environmental concerns
• Stopping or lessening hazards
• Assessing individuals’ exposure to hazards
• Researching possible health effects related to exposures
• Preventing and/or lessening health effects
• Diagnosing and treating health effects

ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

To give you a sense of the practice of environmental public health from a national perspective, watch this video from CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health about the work they do.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS & HEALTH EFFECTS

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS CAN AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH

Environmental hazards—like water and air pollution, extreme weather, or chemical exposures—can affect human health in a number of ways, from contributing to chronic diseases like cancer or to acute illnesses like heat exhaustion.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IS COMPLEX.

• There are gaps in information about how the environment affects human health.
• Some health effects are known, others are suspected.
• These health effects can be both short term (acute) and longer term (chronic).

WE KNOW SOME THINGS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND HEALTH EFFECTS.

Science has proven some links between health conditions and the environment. We know that:

• Poor air quality can trigger asthma attacks.
• Elevated blood lead levels in children can cause developmental disabilities.
• Vulnerable populations like the elderly and infants are most at risk for heat-related illnesses during heat waves.
• Extreme weather that causes power outages can lead to cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.

MANY LINKS BETWEEN HEALTH CONDITIONS AND THE ENVIRONMENT ARE SUSPECTED BUT NOT YET PROVEN.

Health problems with suspected links to environmental issues include:

• Certain cancers (i.e., bladder, liver)
• Asthma and other respiratory diseases
• Neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer’s disease
• Developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy or autism

AND, THERE IS A LOT THAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND HEALTH.

More research is needed to determine how exposure is cause for health concern and what levels of exposure are safe. For most chemicals, we do not know how low level environmental exposures affect our health.

ASSESSING EXPOSURES

After being exposed to an environmental hazard, it may be possible to detect how much of a substance has gotten into a person’s body. This is called biomonitoring.

BIOMONITORING

Most biomonitoring involves measuring the amount of a chemical or its breakdown product (metabolite) that is in a small sample of a person’s blood or urine.

The amount of the chemical or metabolite in a person’s  blood or urine depends on the amount of the chemical that has entered that person’s body. Exposure pathways include eating, drinking, breathing, and touching.

This amount represents the amount of a chemical that entered the body from all sources and through all exposure pathways combined.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BEING EXPOSED TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD DOESN’T MEAN THAT A PERSON WILL HAVE A NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECT.

[Illustration shows a cloud labelled ‘environmental hazard’. The cloud has an arrow dropping below it labelled “Exposure to hazard”. The arrow points to a family. An arrow to the right of the family is overlaid with a question mark, and that arrow points to a box labeled “Illness, injury, death”.]

THE EFFECT OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD ON INDIVIDUAL HEALTH IS INFLUENCED BY SEVERAL FACTORS:

[Illustration of 4 concentric circles surrounding a central circle labelled “Health Effect”. The top circle “Dose: How much of the hazard a person is exposed to”. The circle on the right: “Duration: how long a person was exposed”. Bottom circle “Exposure Route: How a person came in contact with the hazard (e.g., breathing, eating, drinking, touching)”. Left circle “Personal Traits: Factors like age, diet, genetics, health status, lifestyle, and sex”.]

EXAMPLE: CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING

Populations are at increased risk for carbon monoxide poisoning during extreme weather events that can cause power outages. Without power, people may use charcoal or gas grills indoors to cook or keep warm. Doing this may expose them to carbon monoxide (CO) through the air they breathe. While everyone in the home may be exposed to the gas, not everyone will get CO poisoning. The likelihood of poisoning depends on the amount of CO a person is exposed to, how long a person is exposed to CO, and an individual’s characteristics like age or having chronic health problems.

Learn more about CO poisoning, prevention, clinical management, and more.

[An illustration with a DANGER! label. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can’t be seen, can’t be smelled, can’t be heard, can be stopped!]

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND HEALTH EFFECTS

The following diagram will help illustrate the point that being exposed to an environmental hazard does not mean that a person will become ill.

Likewise, being able to measure amounts of an environmental chemical in a person’s blood, saliva, urine, or other body fluids or tissues does not mean that a person will become sick.

[An illustration of a flow chart. On the left is a cloud labelled “Environmental Hazard” with an arrow below it labelled “Exposure to hazard” pointing to a family. To the right of the family is a diamond shaped decision symbol labelled “Measurable in the body?” Above that decision symbol is a circled “Yes” and below is a circled “No”.  Both the Yes and No circles each point to three boxes labelled “Health Effect”, “Unknown Effect”, and “No Health Effect”.]

KNOWLEDGE CHECK 1

Read each question and click on the best answer from the choices provided.

1. Which of the following is true about environmental health?

a.There is a lot we do not understand about the connections between the environment and health.

b.Environmental health effects are chronic only.

c.The most common environmental hazards are air and noise pollution.

d.For most chemicals, we know that low level environmental exposures affect our health.

e.None of the above

[The correct answer is   a.There is a lot we do not understand about the connections between the environment and health.]

2. Which of the following influence the effect an environmental hazard can have on an individual’s health?

a. Personal traits

c. Exposure route

d. Duration

e. All of the above

[The correct Answer is “e. All of the above.”]

THE HEALTH-ENVIRONMENT CONNECTION

UNDERSTANDING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH IS IMPORTANT.

The more we know about the health consequences of an environmental hazard, the better we can protect public health through policies, education, and interventions. Let’s take a closer look at the relationship between air pollution and health.

EXAMPLE: AIR POLLUTION AND HEALTH

• Outdoor air quality

Since the 1950s, air quality has been a major public health and environmental concern. Local, state, and national programs have helped us learn more about the problems and how to solve them.

National air quality has improved since the early 1990s, but many challenges remain in protecting public health and the environment from air quality problems.

Particle pollution

Particle pollution, or particulate matter, consists of particles that are in the air, including dust, dirt, soot and smoke , and little drops of liquid .

Some particles, such as soot or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen. Other particles are so small that you cannot see them.

Particle pollution includes:

• PM10: coarse, inhalable particles with diameters 10 micrometers and smaller
• PM2.5: fine, inhalable particles with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller
• Ultrafine particles that are smaller than 0.1 micrometers.

How big is particulate matter?

[Illustration titled: “Fine Particulate Matter Size comparison”, with depictions of a human hair (about 70 micrometers wide), a grain of sand (about 50 micrometers wide), PM10 (less than 10 micrometers wide), and PM2.5 (less than 2.5 micrometers wide).

Sources of particulate matter

The composition of these particles can vary based on location, season, and whether they are from primary or secondary sources.

[Illustration with two stacked boxes labelled “Primary Sources” and “Secondary Sources”. Primary sources give off particulate matter directly. Examples include: forest fires, road dust, electrical power plants, industrial processes, cars & trucks. Secondary sources give off gases that react with sunlight and water in the air to form particles. Examples include coal-fired power plants, and car and truck exhaust.]

Particulate matter & health

Particles bigger than 10 micrometers can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat but do not usually reach your lungs.

Fine and ultrafine particles less than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5 or smaller) are the most concerning because they are most likely to cause health problems. Their small size allows them to get into the deep part of your lungs and even into your blood.

Particulate matter & health effects

Being exposed to any kind of particulate matter has been linked to:

• Increased emergency department visits and hospital stays for breathing and heart problems
• Breathing problems
• Exacerbated asthma symptoms
• Adverse birth outcomes (e.g. low birth weight)
• Decreased lung growth in children
• Lung cancer
• Early deaths

People who are at the highest risk of being bothered by particulate matter include:

• People with heart or lung diseases will feel the effects of particulate matter sooner and at lower levels than less sensitive people
• Older adults may not know they have lung or heart disease. When particle levels are high, older adults are more likely than young adults to have to go to the hospital or die because the exposure to particle pollution has made their heart or lung disease worse.
• Children are still growing and spend more time at high activity levels. When children come in contact with particle pollution over a long period of time they may have problems as their lungs and airways are developing. This exposure may put them at risk for lowered lung function and other respiratory problems later in life. Children are more likely than adults to have asthma and other respiratory problems that can worsen when particle pollution is high.
• Infants’ lungs continue to develop after birth and can be affected by air pollutants.

Improving air quality improves health.

Lowering particulate matter levels would prevent deaths, mostly from heart attacks and heart disease.

According to 2012 data, a 10% reduction in PM 2.5 could prevent:

• 376 deaths per year in a highly populated county, like Los Angeles County;
• Almost 1,500 deaths every year in California; and
• Over 12,700 deaths across the nation.

Case Study: MASSACHUSETTS

Asphalt production releases several dangerous pollutants into the air. These pollutants are known to cause some cancers. For people living nearby, the pollutants might also aggravate respiratory conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Protecting air quality in Massachusetts

The Town of Norwood’s Board of Health asked the Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking Program for help in deciding whether to allow construction of a new asphalt plant within the town limits.

Data from the state tracking network informed policymakers about the potential effects of asphalt production on public health. Ultimately, based in part on the data and recommendations provided by the state tracking program, construction was approved. Norwood’s Board of Health worked with the company to establish certain conditions for the site during development and operation that would help protect public health.

Watch this video to see how the Massachusetts Tracking Program worked with local health officials to protect air quality in Norwood with the arrival of a new asphalt plant. It’s important to have data that can inform regulations maintaining public and environmental health.

Knowledge Check 2

Read each statement and click whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

1.  National air quality has improved since the early 1990s, but many challenges remain in protecting public health and the environment from air quality problems . True or False?

2.  Fine and ultrafine particles are not concerning because they are too small to cause health problems. True or False?

[Answers: question 1 true, question 2 false.]

Monitoring Environmental Health

A KEY DISCIPLINE WITHIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS EPIDEMIOLOGY.

Epidemiology is defined by CDC as:

• The study of the origin and causes of diseases in a community, and
• The scientific method of investigation to get to the root of health problems and outbreaks in a community.

Watch this video to learn more about the basics of epidemiology  from CDC’s Public Health 101 series

ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Epidemiologists in environmental health…

• Identify the number of persons who have a particular disease or illness.
• Measure or estimate whether those persons have come in contact with an environmental hazard.
• Compare the number of persons who have a health problem to their potential exposure.
• Study the same kinds of health problems in people who have not come in contact with an environmental hazard and compare results to those who have not been exposed.

Read about examples of CDC’s environmental epidemiology activities, such as:

• E-cigarette study sparks national attention around e-cigarettes and nicotine toxicity
• Rise in Colorado ED visits launches epi investigation associated with synthetic marijuana
• Epi investigation finds steroid-laced vitamins and minerals; Purity First offers product recalls

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/successstories_combined.html

DATA ARE ESSENTIAL TO PUBLIC HEALTH.

As mentioned earlier, environmental causes of chronic diseases can be hard to identify. Measuring amounts of hazardous substances in our environment in a standard way, tracing the spread of these over time and area, seeing how they show up in human tissues, and understanding how they may cause illness is critical.

PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE IS…

The continuous, systematic collection , analysis , and interpretation of health-related data needed for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.

Watch this video to learn more about the basics of public health surveillance from CDC’s Public Health 101 series

ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE DATA

There are several types of data that are important and useful to environmental public health practice. Click on a data source to learn more!

• Environmental Hazard Data
• Exposure Data
• Health Data
• Population Data

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD DATA

The main types of hazard data that systems contain include the following:

Site specific: Samples, observations, inspection reports, or source/compliance tests conducted at a specific location.

Modeling : A mathematical method using known information to make simulations, estimates, or predictions about a system or condition. For example, modeled air data are used to estimate levels  of ozone and particulate matter in the air. These data are applied to areas that don’t have air quality monitors and to fill in time gaps when monitors may not be recording data.

Environmental monitoring: Periodic or continuous surveillance or testing. Data are gathered from fixed points within the environment (e.g., air monitoring stations, routine groundwater sampling, or monitoring of wells) to determine pollutant levels.

Facility: Any facility that emits pollutants into the environment is required by law to keep detailed records of these emissions and to report them to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Extensive hazard data are generated from internal records of these facilities and from their publicly available reports.

HEALTH DATA

Rich data exist on most health conditions—from chronic to acute illnesses to injuries and disabilities.

These data come from a variety of sources including the census, electronic medical records, national surveys, surveillance systems, and vital statistics.

Some data are collected by state agencies and some by federal agencies. It can be very difficult to compare data collected by different groups because the data may not be collected or analyzed the same way. There may also be privacy issues that prevent agencies from sharing data, especially health data.

Health Data Sources

• Demographics, socioeconomics

Electronic medical records

National surveys

• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

Surveillance systems (state and national)

• Disease registries, immunization records

Vital statistics

• Births, deaths

EXPOSURE DATA

Biomonitoring is critical in measuring the impact of environmental exposure on individuals.  Most biomonitoring involves measuring the amount of a chemical or its breakdown product (metabolite) that is in a small sample of a person’s blood or urine. Other biological substances that may be used in biomonitoring include hair, nails, semen, breast milk, saliva, or adipose tissue (fat).

Biomonitoring Data Sources

• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
• National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals

POPULATION DATA

Population characteristics can help predict the possible end results of health problems and the risk for certain diseases or of public health emergencies and associated risks. They can also show how diseases can develop and change over time and from one place to another. The main source of population data is the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population data include:

• Demographics
• Health status
• Socioeconomic factors

ACCESSING QUALITY AND COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DATA CAN BE DIFFICULT.

• Environment and health data are often separated, both physically and philosophically.
• However, CDC has addressed this challenge through the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program.

CDC’S ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH TRACKING PROGRAM…

Connects environmental and public health data and information to drive innovative programs that improve health, save lives, and enable efficient use of resources.

BETTER INFORMATION FOR BETTER HEALTH

At the local, state, and national levels, the Tracking Program uses a network of people and information systems to deliver a core set of health, exposure, and hazards data, information summaries, and tools to enable analysis, visualization, and reporting of insights drawn from data.

The Tracking Network is more than just data – it’s also a network of people and resources.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH TRACKING NETWORK

The Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a product of CDC’s National Tracking Program. www.cdc.gov/ephtracking

ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

• CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is an environmental public health surveillance system.
• It is a dynamic, online system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national, state, and city sources.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Hazard, exposure, and health effect data are standardized and integrated into the National Tracking Network.  In many states and at the national level environmental and health data are kept in separate systems, which makes it difficult to combine them for meaningful analysis.

Once these data are integrated into one system , (orange circle), they can be analyzed, interpreted, and disseminated to the many stakeholders who want access to this type of information. Stakeholders (purple circle) include a wide variety of audiences.

GOAL OF TRACKING

The overarching goal of the Tracking Network is to improve and protect public health by giving scientists, researchers, public health professionals, and policy makers access to data that were previously not available in standardized formats. This allows them to monitor trends over time and to see where resources are needed for further research or public health interventions.

Tracking Environmental Health Data for Public Health Decision Making

Watch this CDC Public Health Grand Rounds Presentation to learn how the Tracking Program is addressing the lack of environmental health data and how the program has informed public health decision making and action at the state and local levels.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK 3

1. The overarching goal of the Tracking Network is to improve and protect public health by making data that were previously not available accessible in standardized formats. True or False?

2. Environmental hazard data may be modeled, monitored, site-specific, or facility. True or False?

[Answers: both statements are true.]

Tracking Network Content

TRACKING NETWORK DATA SOURCES

Tracking Network data come from a variety of national, state, and city sources.

TRACKING GRANTEE DATA

Grantee health departments currently provide data on hospitalizations and emergency department visits, birth defects, and community drinking water. In addition, some Tracking Fellowship recipients provide data on hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

Tracking Grantees

CDC funds state and local health departments to build and implement local tracking networks. These state and local data systems feed into the national Tracking Network. https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showStateTracking

NATIONAL DATA SOURCES

• Autism & Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
• National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey
• National Toxic Substance Incidence Program
• National Vital Statistics System
• United States Cancer Statistics

U.S. Government Agencies

• Census Bureau
• Department of Education
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• National Aeronautics & Space Administration
• National Cancer Institute
• National Center for Education Statistics
• National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
• American Association of Poison Control Centers

TYPES OF CONTENT ON THE TRACKING NETWORK

• Environmental Hazard
• Health Effects
• Population Health

Environmental hazard data play a vital role in tracking efforts. Understanding the distribution and concentrations of pollutants in the environment increases public health professionals’ ability to understand the role these hazards play in peoples’ health and to develop ways to help people stay healthier.

Environmental Hazard Data on the Tracking Network

• Climate change
• Community characteristics
• Community design
• Pesticide exposures
• Toxic substance releases
• Water quality

CLIMATE CHANGE DATA

CDC’s Tracking Network uses data from many sources to track the effects of climate change. While there are a number of indicators related to climate change, the Tracking Network currently has data on extreme heat and flood vulnerability.

CDC scientists are working with other organizations, agencies, and partners in the United States and around the world to monitor climate change and its health effects.

It is important to note that linking climate change to a specific health problem is difficult. For example, a person having a heart attack may have other health conditions not related to heat exposure. However, the information CDC has used is a good starting point to track how climate change can affect health.

CDC’s Climate and Health Program looks for people in places who could be most affected by climate change. The program uses forecasts of future climate change trends and studies how diseases have spread in similar conditions in the past to find and respond to possible health threats now and in the future. Although scientific understanding of the effects of climate change is still emerging, there is a pressing need to prepare for potential health risks.

COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS DATA

Community characteristics can include information about an area’s natural features, such as how much land is covered by forests or water, and its human-made features like types of housing and locations public service buildings. The Tracking Network has data about some of these community characteristics.

Community characteristics data can be used with Tracking Network data on Populations and Vulnerabilities to plan effective public health responses to public health emergencies.

Understanding community characteristics, including resources and vulnerabilities, can help public health professionals:

• Identify threats, hazards, and at-risk populations.
• Evaluate potential impact of threats or hazards within the context of a community’s population, climate, built environments, infrastructure, and resources.
• Determine potential resource needs and public health actions which could lessen or prevent sickness, injury, or death in the event of a public health emergency.

COMMUNITY DESIGN DATA

Public health problems in the United States, such as motor vehicle-related injuries, obesity, physical inactivity, and breathing and heart problems related to air pollution, are all influenced by the design of our communities.

Designing communities that encourage healthy choices is critical to improving the health and quality of life of community members.

The Tracking Network has data on elements of community design including motor vehicle-related fatalities, types of transportation to work, and commute times, which can help inform community design decisions.

DROUGHT DATA

Understanding drought trends is important for public health professionals, water and sanitation officials, and policy makers for community planning purposes. Although many factors influence how drought will affect a community, drought trend data and other related indicators can be used to prepare for and prevent potential health risks.  The Tracking Network has data on drought duration and severity in the United States.

OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY DATA

Tracking air pollution can help people understand how often they are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution. Having these data can also help public health professionals or policymakers understand which areas may be most in need of prevention and control activities. The Tracking Network hosts several types of air quality data.

AIR QUALITY DATA: MONITORED AND MODELED

Monitored Data

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides air pollution data about ozone and particulate matter (PM2.5) to CDC for the Tracking Network.
• The EPA maintains a database called the Air Quality System (AQS) which contains data from approximately 4,000 monitoring stations around the country, mainly in urban areas. While data from the AQS is considered the “gold standard” for determining outdoor air pollution, the data are limited because the monitoring stations are usually in urban areas or cities and they only take air samples for some air pollutants every three days or during times of the year when air pollution is very high.

Modeled Data

• CDC and EPA have worked together to develop a statistical model (Downscaler) to help fill in the AQS data gaps.
• With modeled data, the Tracking Network is able to create indicators for counties that do not have monitors (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), and
• fill in time gaps when monitors may not be recording data.
• The best way to use modeled air data is in conjunction with actual monitoring data.

AIR QUALITY DATA: NATIONAL-SCALE AIR TOXICS ASSESSMENT DATA

Another type of air quality data is from the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment ( NATA ). NATA is EPA’s ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the United States. Data from this system are used to calculate the Tracking Network’s Air Toxics indicators for benzene and formaldehyde.

NATA was developed as a tool to inform both national and more localized efforts to collect air toxics information, characterize emissions, and help prioritize pollutants/geographic areas of interest for more refined data collection and analyses. The goal is to identify those air toxics which are of greatest potential concern in terms of contribution to population risk.

AIR QUALITY DATA: ATMOSPHERIC REMOTE SENSING MODELED PM2.5

A third type of air quality data comes from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA provides atmospheric sensing data from their satellites to CDC for this project.

Scientists from CDC, NASA, and Emory University are working together to determine how these data can be used with other air pollution monitoring data to measure fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in outdoor air.

AIR QUALITY DATA: MORTALITY BENEFITS OF REDUCING PM2.5 LEVELS

The next type of air quality data on the Tracking Network uses methods developed by the EPA and others to estimate how lowering air pollution levels can affect health. To calculate these estimates, CDC uses modeled air data for fine particulates, death data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and information about the relationship between change in air pollution and how that influences health effects from scientific literature.

These data summarize the estimated number of deaths prevented and percent change in deaths associated with lowering PM 2.5 concentration levels. They can be used to help:

• Identify areas where interventions to reduce air pollution could result in meaningful health improvements.
• Inform policy or programmatic decisions about improving air quality, which can reduce illness and death.

PESTICIDE EXPOSURE DATA

Scientists do not yet have a clear understanding of the chronic health effects of pesticide exposures. However, pesticide exposure data on the Tracking Network can be used to estimate the extent of pesticide-related illnesses and identify trends and patterns of reported pesticide exposures over time and in different geographic regions.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) works with the nation’s poison centers throughout the United States to monitor poisonings and their sources.

The pesticide exposure data used on the Tracking Network come from the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

TOXIC SUBSTANCE RELEASES DATA

Despite efforts to prevent toxic substance incidents, accidental releases occur routinely wherever substances are stored, used, or transported. These incidents can be harmful for human health and the environment.

The toxic substance release data on the Tracking Network are from the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) National Toxic Substance Incident Program  (NTSIP).

Tracking Network data can be used to:

• Track toxic substance release incidents reported by state health departments.
• Monitor trends in acute toxic substance release incidents from various areas across the United States.
• Examine patterns and trends in locations of reported toxic substance releases, types of industries and substances involved, contributing factors, and the resulting injuries and public health actions (e.g., evacuations, decontamination).
• Better understand the causes of incidents and injures, which can help public health officials focus prevention efforts and prepare for future toxic substance emergencies.

WATER QUALITY DATA

Drinking water quality is an important public health issue because contamination in a single system can expose many people at once. Drinking water protection programs at the state and national levels play a critical role in ensuring high-quality drinking water and in protecting the public’s health.

The Tracking Network has data and information about the levels of several contaminants that can be found in drinking water. While they are not gathered specifically to assess the level of exposure or to track changes in water quality over time, they can be used to determine the potential for public health impacts from contaminant levels of concern.

HEALTH EFFECTS DATA

Health effect data also play a vital role in tracking efforts. Understanding the trends in health effects related to environmental hazard exposures increases public health professionals’ ability to prioritize resources and plan interventions and programs to protect public health.

Health Effects Data on the Tracking Network

• Birth defects
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Childhood lead poisoning
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Developmental disabilities
• Heart disease
• Heat Stress Illness
• Reproductive and birth outcomes

ASTHMA DATA

The Tracking Network includes data on asthma hospitalizations and asthma prevalence, which is the number of people diagnosed with and living with asthma. These data are useful in providing estimates about the geographic distribution and effects of asthma among different populations. They can be used to plan and evaluate asthma interventions.

Hospitalization data come from Tracking grantees and asthma prevalence data come from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS ).

BIRTH DEFECTS DATA

Birth defects data on the Tracking Network come from several grantee states. Not every state collects birth defects data. Among the states that do collect birth defects data, not all of their surveillance systems collect data in the same way; so you should not compare information from one state to another.

Comparisons that can be made within a state include:

• Frequency of birth defects by area such as county,
• Frequency of birth defects over time, and
• Frequency of birth defects by race or ethnicity and changes in these measures over time.

CANCER DATA

Cancer surveillance systems are the most well-established and extensive disease surveillance networks in the United States. The Tracking Network is making cancer incidence data easier to use by integrating the information with other health outcome data and environmental data.

In addition, the Tracking Network can add to existing public health surveillance of cancer by examining potential ecological relationships with environmental exposures.

Cancer data on the Tracking Network come from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program and CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries.

CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING DATA

The Tracking Network uses several sources to get state and local data about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. These sources include Tracking grantees’ hospital and emergency department databases and death certificate data collected by CDC’s National Vital Statistics System.

Tracking CO poisoning in a standard way over time can help us:

• Better understand the health consequences of CO poisoning across the United States,
• Learn about the effects of long-term exposures to low levels of CO,
• Monitor trends,
• Identify high risk groups, and
• Determine the impact of public health policy aimed at preventing CO poisoning.

CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING DATA

The Tracking Network uses several sources to get state and local data about lead poisoning, including data collected by state and local childhood lead poisoning prevention programs. It provides information about blood lead testing and blood lead levels among children born in the same year, known as a birth cohort.

The Tracking Network also uses U.S. Census data to provide information about the number of homes built before 1950 and the poverty level in a specific area. Living in homes built before the 1950s and living in poverty have been identified as risk factors for elevated blood lead levels in children.

Having measures for blood lead levels and a measure for age of housing together on the Tracking Network can help assess testing within areas of high risk.

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) DATA

The Tracking Network uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, hospital and emergency department databases provided by state and/or local health departments, and death certificates from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics to calculate state and local data about COPD.

Tracking COPD in a standard way will help us:

• Assess the burden of COPD;
• Examine trends over time;
• Identify high-risk groups in need of targeted intervention;
• Assess geographic differences; and
• Enhance prevention, education, and evaluation efforts.

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES DATA

No nationwide system actively tracks all developmental disabilities. The Tracking Network is currently using two developmental disabilities data sources: CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, and the Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

ADDM Network : Monitors autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental disabilities for several locations across the country in order to estimate the population prevalence of ASDs among 8-year-old children.

IDEA : Provides an estimate of children who are receiving public special education services in the United States. IDEA data are collected for regulatory purposes and implementation varies from state to state.

Although causes of specific developmental disabilities are often not known, these disabilities were chosen because some scientific evidence suggests environmental exposures may play a role in developing these conditions.

HEART DISEASE DATA

Currently, the United States does not have a single heart attack surveillance system, nor does a surveillance system exist for coronary heart disease in general. The Tracking Network hosts mortality data for heart attack and ischemic heart disease from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics as well as heart attack hospitalization data from Tracking grantees.

Tracking heart disease will help with:

• Examination of time trends;
• Identification of any seasonal patterns;
• Assessment of geographic differences;
• Evaluation of differences in heart disease by age, gender, and race/ethnicity; and
• Determination of populations in need of targeted interventions.

HEAT STRESS ILLNESS DATA

CDC tracks the effects of extreme heat by collecting and reviewing the number of health conditions reported from local hospitals and the number of deaths reported from state health departments. Reviewing these national data helps public health professionals:

• Make comparisons between environmental conditions and health problems.
• Identify populations and areas with high risk for heat-associated death.
• Gain a better understanding of trends in heat-related deaths over time.
• Compare states and counties to plan interventions.
• Identify communities at risk and the groups of people that may be at risk.

This MMWR   summarizes heat stress illness hospitalizations data from the Tracking Network .  Heat Stress Illness Hospitalizations – Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, 20 States, 2001-2010, MMWR. December 12, 2014 / 63(SS13);1-10.

REPRODUCTIVE AND BIRTH OUTCOMES DATA

In order to understand better the role that environmental exposures play in reproductive and infant health problems, the Tracking Network collects and displays data on:

• Fertility and infertility
• Infant and perinatal deaths
• Sex ratio (the ratio of male to female births)
• Premature births
• Low birthweight

Vital statistics data collected by CDC are used to estimate these measures.

POPULATION HEALTH DATA

Population health data can provide context about relationships between exposures and health effects.

Information about age, sex, race, and behavior or lifestyle may help us understand why a person has a particular health problem.

Data sources for population characteristics data on the Tracking Network include CDC’s National Vital Statistics System and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Types of Population Health Data on the Tracking Network:

• Biomonitoring: Population exposures
• Lifestyle risk factors
• Populations & Vulnerabilities

BIOMONITORING DATA

Biomonitoring data come from CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES ).

Biomonitoring data can be used to:

• Find out what chemicals people are exposed to and the levels of the chemicals found.
• Evaluate prevention efforts.
• Determine if exposure levels are different among potentially vulnerable groups.

The environmental chemicals included on the Tracking Network were selected for one or more of the following reasons:

• At least half of the U.S. population has enough of the specific chemical in their blood or urine to measure.
• They have widespread environmental sources of exposure.
• The data are related to other data on the Tracking Network or other environmental data sources such as drinking water or air quality data.
• We can likely reduce exposures to these chemicals through changes in policy, regulations, or personal behaviors.

LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS DATA

When examining chronic diseases and their potential connection to the environment, it is important to consider other health risk factors that could play a role in their development.

These data can be used by public health professionals to:

• Determine if certain health outcomes are related to the environment or if they could also be due to lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and lack of physical activity.
• Determine the best public health actions to reduce modifiable lifestyle risk factors in their communities.

The lifestyle risk factor data available on the Tracking Network are collected as part of CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS ) .

POPULATIONS AND VULNERABILITIES DATA

Certain factors, like sex, age, or income can influence health, the risk for certain diseases, and the risk for being seriously affected by public health emergencies. The same is true for populations.

Knowing a population’s characteristics, including their vulnerabilities and resources, can help public health professionals determine possible effects of health problems or environmental conditions on disease trends and patterns over time and across locations.

These data can show which areas or population groups are likely to be:

• At-risk for acute and chronic illnesses.
• Exposed to different chemicals in the environment.
• Race and ethnicity.
• Affected by a public health emergency.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK 4

1. The Tracking Network has data on all of the following environmental hazards EXCEPT:

b.Community design

c.Indoor air pollution

d.Outdoor air pollution

[Answer: C – indoor air pollution]

2. The Tracking Network has data on the following health effects: 

a. Adult lead poisoning, asthma, birth defects, heat stress illness

b. Cancer, COPD, chronic kidney disease, heart disease

c. Asthma, developmental disabilities, heart disease, heat stress illness

d. Birth defects, birth outcomes, cancer, foodborne illness

[Answer: C – Asthma, developmental disabilities, heart disease, heat stress illness]

3. Population health data on the Tracking Network include: a. Biomonitoring b. Demographics c. Lifestyle risk factors d. Socioeconomics e. All of the above

[Answer: E – All of the above]

Accessing the Tracking Network

USING THE TRACKING NETWORK

On the Tracking Network , you can view maps, tables, and charts through the Data Explorer .

Contextual Information about each content area is also provided, covering:

• General information about the topic
• Exposure and risk information
• Prevention tips
• Information about why the topic is included on the Tracking Network
• Potential uses for the data

DATA EXPLORER

The Tracking Network’s Data Explorer allows you to access the hazard, health, and population data just described.

TO ACCESS THE DATA

The first step is to select your content.

• Select the content area you are interested in.
• Select an indicator.
• Select a measure.

1.Once you’ve selected your content, you will need to select the geography.

2.Next, select the timeframe.

3.Some of the data have advanced options, like breakdowns by age, race, or gender. Advanced options are selected last.

VIEWING THE DATA

Tracking Network data can be viewed in maps, tables, and charts. Users can customize the maps, tables, and charts. Examples include adjusting the zoom, changing map backgrounds and color schemes, sorting and hiding table columns, and selecting different chart types.

The Tracking Network provides metadata , or data about the data, for all indicators. Metadata describe the content, quality, and context of a dataset and provide links to additional information such as quality assurance documents and data dictionaries.  Once you have completed your search through the Data Explorer, the metadata will help you decide if it meets your needs.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

In addition to data and contextual information, the Tracking Network provides a number of tools to help users better understand and use environmental health data. Some of the tools you will find are:

• Info by Location
• Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Toolkit

TOOLS: INFO BY LOCATION

Info by Location is a data tool that provides a snapshot of environmental health issues by county. Data come from the Data Explorer but are presented in an infographic format.

TOOLS: HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT (HIA) TOOLKIT

Tracking Network data may be used in several HIA steps, including community engagement, scoping, assessment, and evaluation. The Tracking Program has developed a data guide which provides suggestions for how to use data from the Tracking Network in an HIA.

An HIA is a process to evaluate the potential positive and negative public health effects of a plan, project, or policy before it is approved, built, or implemented.

Tracking in Action

WHY U SE THE TRACKING NETWORK?

1.Search environment and health data easily in one place.

2.Find contextual information and resources about how the environment may be affecting public health.

3.Use that information for a range of personal and public health actions.

USES FOR TRACKING NETWORK DATA

• Quantify the magnitude of a public health problem
• Detect unusual trends in health, exposures, and hazards
• Identify populations at risk of environmentally related diseases or of exposure to hazards
• Generate hypotheses about the relationship between health and the environment
• Direct and evaluate control and prevention measures and individual actions
• Facilitate policy development
• Educate the public so they can take action to protect their health and the health of their families

TRACKING IN ACTION

There are many examples of how environmental public health tracking data from the Tracking Network have been used to improve public health across the United States.

Let’s take a closer look at three examples from Tracking Program grantees.

CASE STUDY: CALIFORNIA

Lack of Data Limits Delivery of Breast Cancer Services and Education

Breast cancer is a public health concern in California. Breast cancer data are usually analyzed and reported for the state as a whole or at the county level. Not having city or neighborhood level data makes it difficult for public health professionals and health care providers to identify specific areas that are most in need of breast cancer services.

CA Tracking Program Uses Small-Area Mapping

The California Tracking Program worked with an advisory group to determine that the best way to map breast cancer data for the state is to show data not limited by county boundaries.

Mapping data to smaller area showed places with elevated rates of invasive breast cancer, including portions of East Ventura and West Los Angeles. This was surprising because Ventura and Los Angeles Counties had not shown consistently elevated rates of invasive breast cancer when shown in previous county-level maps.

Small-Area Mapping Identifies Vulnerable Population

The tracking program enhanced the cancer data by providing and analyzing demographic data for the areas with elevated rates, which was a key recommendation from the advisory group.

Doing this highlighted that, compared to breast cancer patients across California, the women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the East Ventura/West Los Angeles area were more likely to be uninsured or receiving government assistance at the time of diagnosis.

Targeted Outreach and Education for Underserved Patients

The Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center, located in East Ventura, used the mapping results to focus some of their outreach and education on low-income clients. They incorporated breast cancer–specific messages into other hospital education and outreach efforts. The tracking program’s maps helped them identify and focus efforts on meeting the needs of women in their community.

CASE STUDY: FLORIDA

The Florida Department of Health had been sampling drinking water wells in the central part of the state for arsenic based on suspected areas of concern. They found that about 1 out of every 3 Hernando County drinking water wells tested had elevated levels of arsenic.

As a result, the Florida Department of Health in Hernando County and the Florida Tracking Program conducted a year-long study in “hot spot” areas that had a higher risk of arsenic exposure from well water.

2013 Hernando County Arsenic Study

Read the full report summarizing the Florida Tracking Program’s year-long study of arsenic exposure from well water .

Report found under “Notable Projects” on the left-hand side.

Florida Tracking Program Leads Study to Determine Health Risks

The Florida Tracking Program led the well water project in Hernando County with help from the local department of health. The study looked at whether using filters on kitchen water faucets could reduce a person’s exposure to arsenic.

Results from the study confirmed that using filters is an effective way to reduce exposure to elevated levels of arsenic. Also, study results showed that other exposures to arsenic in water from non-filtered locations in the home, such as bathrooms, did not significantly increase the level of arsenic found in a person’s body.

Study shows filters can reduce arsenic exposure

During the study, two households had such high levels of arsenic in their well water that they qualified for free bottled water or filters.

Before the study, these households were not aware of the high arsenic levels and the need for a filter to reduce exposure.

Al Gray, Environmental Manager at the Florida Department of Health in Hernando County, says that the strong collaborative relationships among the affected communities, the Florida Tracking Program, and local media contributed to the success of the study.

CASE STUDY: MISSOURI

The elderly are among the most vulnerable to heat illness during a heat wave. Knowing this has prompted public health practitioners to develop prevention messages, community outreach programs, and other interventions to help keep seniors safe during extreme heat events.

Making Missouri cooling centers easier to find

In the summer, cooling centers can be critical for keeping people, especially seniors, from getting heat related illnesses. The CDC-funded Missouri Environmental Public Health Tracking Program and the Division of Senior and Disability Services joined forces to develop an online map of cooling centers available to all Missourians. This interactive map allows Missouri residents to locate a cooling center close to their homes.

Watch this video to see how the Missouri Tracking Program worked with local health officials to create an interactive, dynamic online map that makes cooling centers easy to find.

BEYOND DATA: FACES OF TRACKING

The Tracking Network is more than just data – it’s also a network of people and resources that transform data into public health action.

Tracking programs provide essential environmental health infrastructure and expertise to keep communities safe and help improve where we live, work, and play.

Faces of Tracking showcases the people who have been impacted by Tracking, or have used Tracking data to enact public health change across the United States.

Review of Key Points

• Environmental health is the discipline that focuses on the interrelationships between people and their environment, promotes human health and well-being, and fosters a safe and healthful environment.
• There are gaps in information about how the environment affects human health. Some health effects are known, others are suspected.
• Exposure to environmental hazards does not necessarily mean that a person will get sick.
• The effect of an environmental hazard on individual health is influenced by several factors: dose, duration, exposure route, and personal traits.
• The more we know about the health consequences of an environmental hazard, the better we can protect public health through policies, education, and interventions.
• CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program connects environmental and public health data and information to drive innovative programs that improve health, save lives, and enable efficient use of resources.
• The Tracking Program uses a network of people and information systems to deliver a core set of health, exposure, and hazards data, information summaries, and tools to enable analysis, visualization, and reporting of insights drawn from data.
• The Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a product of CDC’s National Tracking Program. It is a dynamic, online system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national, state, and city sources.
• Content on the Tracking Network includes environmental hazards, health effects, and population health.
• Search environment and health data easily in one place.
• Find contextual information and resources about how the environment may be affecting public health.
• Use that information for a range of personal and public health actions.
• Quantifying the magnitude of a public health problem
• Detecting unusual trends
• Identifying populations at risk
• Generating hypotheses
• Directing and evaluating control and prevention measures and individual actions
• Facilitating policy development
• Educating the public so they can take action to protect their health and the health of their families

Be a data explorer – Better information for better health

www.cdc.gov/ephtracking

For more information please contact Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)/TTY: 1-888-232-6348

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What is the environment in environmental health research? Perspectives from the ethics of science

Affiliation.

• 1 Department of Philosophy, Cogut Institute for the Humanities, Brown University, Providence, RI 02902, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
• PMID: 34218158
• DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.05.018

Environmental health research produces scientific knowledge about environmental hazards crucial for public health and environmental justice movements that seek to prevent or reduce exposure to these hazards. The environment in environmental health research is conceptualized as the range of possible social, biological, chemical, and/or physical hazards or risks to human health, some of which merit study due to factors such as their probability and severity, the feasibility of their remediation, and injustice in their distribution. This paper explores the ethics of identifying the relevant environment for environmental health research, as judgments involved in defining an environmental hazard or risk, judgments of that hazard or risk's probability, severity, and/or injustice, as well as the feasibility of its remediation, all ought to appeal to non-epistemic as well as epistemic values. I illustrate by discussing the case of environmental lead, a housing-related hazard that remains unjustly distributed by race and class and is particularly dangerous to children. Examining a controversy in environmental health research ethics where researchers tested multiple levels of lead abatement in lead-contaminated households, I argue that the broader perspective on the ethics of environmental health research provided in the first part of this paper may have helped prevent this controversy.

Keywords: Environmental health; Environmental justice; Research ethics; Science and values.

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

• Environmental Health*
• Public Health
• Social Justice*

Foundation Established

Environmental hazards (nutrient competitors).

The Foundation is interested in projects that evaluate the effects of environmental hazards on infants and young children. Applied research projects that document the impact of, or ameliorate effects of, environmental hazards on the growth and development of infants and young children are the focus of this area of interest.

Typical projects funded in this area of interest may include projects aimed at:

• Exposures and their effects on infants and toddlers
• Methods to lessen the effects of exposures

Note that the Foundation does not restrict this area to the ‘natural environment’ but considers exposures within the infant’s or toddler’s environment, whether manmade or natural. These exposures may be caused by hazards within the NICU environment (noise, light, medical equipment, etc.), the home environment (carpeting, plastics, etc.), or exposures from breastmilk caused by parental behavior (marijuana, drugs, etc.).

Recent projects include:

Roberto Garofalo, MD

University of texas medical branch.

$342,069 for a study of anti-COVID antibodies in human milk

Vivian Valcarce, MD

University of florida.

$20,000 for a study of human milk antibody response after maternal COVID vaccination

Angelica Meinhofer, MA, PhD

Weill cornell medical college.

$250,000 over 2 years to study mortality, morbidity, and healthcare utilization among newborns with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome

Research Focus Areas

• Pediatric Health
• Pediatric Nutrition
• Environmental Hazards

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A review of the effects of environmental hazards on humans, their remediation for sustainable development, and risk assessment

• Published: 01 June 2023
• Volume 195 , article number  795 , ( 2023 )

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• Neelam Gunjyal 1 ,
• Swati Rani 2 ,
• Behnam Asgari Lajayer 3 ,
• Venkatramanan Senapathi 4 &
• Tess Astatkie 3  

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In the race for economic development and prosperity, our earth is becoming more polluted with each passing day. Technological advances in agriculture and rapid industrialization have drastically polluted the two pillars of natural resources, land and water. Toxic chemicals and microbial contaminants/agents created by natural and anthropogenic activities are rapidly becoming environmental hazards (EH) with increased potential to affect the natural environment and human health. This review has attempted to describe the various agents (chemical, biological, and physical) responsible for environmental contamination, remediation methods, and risk assessment techniques (RA). The main focus is on finding ways to mitigate the harmful effects of EHs through the simultaneous application of remediation methods and RA for sustainable development. It is recommended to apply the combination of different remediation methods using RA techniques to promote recycling and reuse of different resources for sustainable development. The report advocates for the development of site-specific, farmer-driven, sequential, and plant-based remediation strategies along with policy support for effective decontamination. This review also focuses on the fact that the lack of knowledge about environmental health is directly related to public health risks and, therefore, focuses on promoting awareness of effective ways to reduce anthropological burden and pollution and on providing valuable data that can be used in environmental monitoring assessments and lead to sustainable development.

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Introduction

Expeditious industrialization has led to a situation where our natural resources (water, soil and air, fossil fuels) are becoming polluted as well as getting exhausted at an alarming rate. There is pressing need to find environment friendly solutions to the problems emanating from the processes generating environmental hazards (EH) for sustainable development roadmap (Tsatsaris et al., 2021 ; Shahi Khalaf Ansar et al., 2022 ). Various types of pollutants, organic and inorganic, have found ways to persist in the environment and be a part of the food chain. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and chromium (Cr); pesticides; organic pollutants; microplastics; and emerging contaminants are posing challenges to the human health. They are responsible for various types of cancer, allergies, and neurological and cardiovascular disorders resulting in a large number of deaths worldwide. So, in order to alleviate the harmful effects of EH, various biological-, plant-, and chemical-based remediation techniques have been developed. In microbial bioremediation, microbes such as bacteria and algae can be utilized for the development of remediation processes (Prüss-Üstün et al., 2006 ). Other bioremediation techniques such as phytoremediation involves the use of various plants that have the ability to sequester the pollutants from soil and water, thereby lowering their bioavailability (Kavusi et al., 2023 ). Toxic compounds can also be removed using another bioremediation technique called mycoremediation. There are also some in situ and onsite chemical remediation techniques that have been used for removing hazardous chemicals (Ratnapradipa et al., 2015 ).

In the race for economic development and prosperity, our earth is becoming more polluted with each passing day. Technological advances in agriculture and rapid industrialization have drastically polluted the two pillars of natural resources, soil and water. Toxic chemicals and microbial contaminants created by natural and anthropogenic activities are rapidly evolving into EH with increased potential to affect the natural environment and human health. This review has attempted to describe the various agents (chemical, biological, and physical) responsible for environmental contamination, remediation methods, and also risk assessment techniques (RA). The main focus is to find ways to mitigate the harmful effects of EHs through the simultaneous application of remediation methods and RA for sustainable development. It is recommended to apply the combination of different remediation methods using RA techniques to promote recycling and reuse of different materials and resources for sustainable development. The report advocates the development of site-specific, farmer-driven, sequential, and plant-based remediation strategies, as well as policy support for effective decontamination. Environmental hazards stress the natural environment. They pollute natural resources such as water, air, and soil. There are numerous classifications of environmental hazards, including (i) anthropogenic-anthropogenic, (ii) human–human exposure, and (iii) microbial-microbial activity. Anthropogenic activities include abrupt recycling of waste (including e-waste), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals. Waste disposal, nano-mineralogy, geochemistry of ultrafine particles in construction debris, poor management of landfills, use of pesticides, and contamination of soils are some of the evolving causes of pollution that affect the human–environment system. All of these activities have negative impacts on the environment and public health. Humans are exposed to various potential risks, including waterborne and airborne diseases, skin diseases, Lyme disease, and musculoskeletal disorders. The most important factor affecting the environment is microbial activity, and the role of the microbiome in wastewater is a source of pathogens that greatly affect public health. This review also focuses on the fact that the lack of knowledge about environmental health is directly proportional to public health risks. However, environmental risks can be identified through a variety of surveys, including health and socioeconomic surveys, site visits, group discussions, and surveys of relevant pathogens. In addition, quantitative microbial risk assessment and stakeholder mobilization will support epidemiological and entomological surveys using a variety of sources. Therefore, this review focuses on promoting awareness of efficient and effective ways to reduce anthropological exposure and pollution and on providing valuable data that can be used in environmental monitoring that will lead to assessments and sustainable development.

Environmental hazards and their remediation

At the present time, environmental degradation; climate change; and natural calamities such as soil erosion, famine, floods, and rising sea level are the most common problems that restrain the path towards sustainable development (Li, 2020 ; Haseeb & Azam, 2021 ). The anthropogenic activities and climate change are catalysts for environmental hazards and these activities affect human life badly; moreover, they negatively impact the social, economic, and environmental status of the area (Tsatsaris et al., 2021 ). Most South Asian countries are trying to monitor and regulate environmental hazard to improve sustainable development (Sabir et al., 2020 ). If we want to achieve sustainable development goals and produce food energy, then we must control environmental hazards.

Bioremediation

Phytoremediation is a type of bioremediation, a solar-powered, completely natural technology that can be used “in situ” to remediate soil and water contaminated with heavy metals. Phytoremediation also has environmental and socioeconomic advantages over other physical and chemical remediation methods (Xu et al., 2023 ). Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and environment friendly method of wastewater treatment using hyperaccumulating plants (Rezania et al., 2021 ; Yadav et al., 2018 ). They translocate pollutants from soils and water bodies to their roots, stems, and leaf parts (Hu et al., 2020a , 2020b ; Prasad et al., 2021 ). Recently, phytoremediation technology has received a significant boost as more and more studies are conducted on the effectiveness of plants in removing pollutants. Based on the localization of aquatic plants, they have been classified as free-floating, emergent, and submerged (Ali et al., 2020 ; Yadav et al., 2017a , 2017b ). Although many excellent review articles have been published on this topic to date, these articles provide somewhat scattered information as some discuss different phytoremediation techniques, i.e., phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytoevaporation, and rhizodegradation (Maghsoodi et al., 2019 ; Dolatabadi et al., 2021 ; Kavusi et al., 2023 ), while others describe influencing factors (Rahmati et al., 2022 ; Karimi et al., 2022 ). Many studies have also focused on uptake and tolerance mechanisms (Asgari Lajayer et al., 2017 ; Beigmohammadi et al., 2023 ; Devi et al., 2023 ). Scientists have shown great interest in improving a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique known as phytoremediation (in situ remediation of contaminated soils, waters, sediments, and ecosystems by plants) (Aliyari Rad et al., 2023 ). Phytoremediation of contaminated sites appears to be technically effective for site-specific remediation, and the applicability of this potential technology may enhance its impact from a social perspective. Development of stepwise remediation protocols for contaminated sites containing multiple contaminants and maximally beneficial metal recovery processes from bio-ore developed new transgenic plants with enhanced capacity for metal uptake, transport, accumulation, and detoxification.

Microbial remediation, also a type of bioremediation, refers to the use of indigenous/exotic microbes for remediation purposes (Karimi et al., 2022 ). Microbial remediation is considered a natural, safe, and effective environmentally friendly technology with low energy consumption and low operating costs (Delangiz et al., 2022 ). Most importantly, microbial remediation does not pose environmental and health hazards. According to a research study, bacterial species such as Alcaligenes sp., Bacillus firmus , Bacillus licheniformis , Enterobacter cloacae , Escherichia coli , Micrococcus luteus , Pseudomonas fluorescens , and Salmonella typhi showed adsorption potential of Pb from the contaminated resources (Puyen et al., 2012 ; Basha and Rajaganesh, 2014 ; Kang and So, 2016 ; Jin et al., 2018 ; Jacob et al., 2018 ). The fungal biomass of Lepiota hystrix , Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus terreus , and Trichoderma longibrachiatum has been reported as a potential biosorbent (Dursun et al., 2003 ; Jacob et al., 2018 ; Kariuki et al., 2017 ). The algal species Palmaria palmata , Spirulina maxima , Spirogyra hyaline , Cystoseira barbata , Cladophora sp., Chara aculeolata , Nitella opaca , and Ulva lactuca are identified as efficient biosorbents (Ibrahim et al., 2018 ; Jacob et al., 2018 ; Sooksawat et al., 2013 ). The process depends on environmental conditions and the use of nutrients, oxygen, and other additives to stimulate microbial activity for Pb remediation (Gong et al., 2012). This approach is based on the microbes associated with the rhizosphere such as Bacillus , Beijerinckia , Burkholderia , Enterobacter , Erwinia , Flavobacterium , Gluconacetobacter , Klebsiella , Pseudomonas , and Serratia (Babu et al., 2013 ; Sheng et al., 2008 ; Tak et al., 2013 ). Babu and co-workers (Babu et al., 2013 ) inoculated soil with rhizosphere bacteria of Pinus sylvestris and found significant increase in biomass, chlorophyll content, number of nodules, and Pb accumulation in Alnus firma seedlings. Thus, the above techniques are very useful tools for the remediation of EH from the polluted sites and have gained worldwide acceptance. However, there are still many limitations that need to be addressed and leave room for future work.

Limitations of remediation techniques and sustainable development

To get the maximum utilization of phytoremediation potential (agro-mining), a comprehensive understanding about the fate of metal ions, especially metal uptake and its transportation, trafficking across plant cell membranes along with storage, distribution, sensitivity, tolerance, and its role in rhizosphere interactions under various environmental conditions, is needed. Plant breeders, biotechnologists, physiologists, agronomists, soil scientists, biochemists, and environmentalists need to collaborate to generate solid approaches to develop transgenic plants and enhance the potential of existing crop species to perform better remediation activities of metal toxins. Factors such as higher biomass production, increased utilization of inputs, optimum/enhanced crop growth rates, increased rate of photosynthesis, enhanced metal toxicity tolerance, improved bioavailability of heavy metals with increased sink capacity, and adaptation to a variety of different climatic conditions are all more pronounced in ever-changing environments and scenarios. These factors can make phytoremediation difficult. Recent scientific developments in nanoscience research open the way to cost-effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable remediation approaches. A nanotechnological approach has been successfully used in soil, sediments, solid waste, and a wastewater remediation (Adeleye et al., 2016 ; Kumar et al., 2019 ) process. Nano-materials are dynamic, efficient, and broadly applicable with economic expediency (Kumar et al., 2019 ; Wernisch et al., 2013 ). Nanoparticles (1–100 nm) provide very high adaptability for both in situ and ex situ remediation approaches (Kumar et al., 2019 ). Nano-adsorbents, i.e., activated carbon, alginate biopolymer, clay materials, silica, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs), metal oxides, and nano-titanates, have been utilized to remove heavy metals (Kumar et al., 2019 ; Yadav et al., 2017a , 2017b ; Yong-Mei et al., 2010 ). The researchers showed that nano-materials can enhance the accumulation of metals by improving the cell wall permeability, co-transportation of nano-materials with heavy metals, and transporter gene regulation (Kumar et al., 2019 ; Srivastav et al., 2018 ). A targeted approach is needed to realize the potential of remediation technologies because green technologies are an ideal way to save energy and reduce carbon emissions, and they play a critical role in economic and sustainable development. However, political issues affect sustainability by limiting innovation and adoption of green technologies (Desheng et al., 2021 ). On the other hand, the adoption of green technologies can help to minimize EH levels by using alternative fuels rather than the conventional fossil fuels (Chaves et al., 2021 ). Europe has proposed a strategic framework for the sustainable development of marine renewable energy (Akbari et al., 2021 ). The framework predicts crises in emerging sustainability and attempts to find solutions (Stupak et al., 2021 ). Horizon scanning exercises have been used to explore issues and confirm the need for sustainable development in Asia, as part of the Global Horizon Scanning project (Leung et al., 2020 ).

Risk assessment

Risk assessment means the determination of the probability that an adverse effect will result from a defined exposure and includes hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose–response assessment, and risk characterization. During the 1970s, risk assessment started to be applied progressively to understand the impacts of stressors on the environment. The initial cause for this is related to the effect of insecticides on eco-friendly species. The term risk evaluation is currently applied in an ever-increasing range of domains such as finance, health care provision, transport, and industrial safety. Despite the wide use of the term risk assessment by researchers, there are significant alterations in the way that risk assessment is carried out depending on the nature of the biochemical, organic, or physical agents involved (stressor) and the nationwide expert necessitating the assessment (Susanto & Meiryani, 2019 ). Risk assessment includes several procedures including those shown in Fig.  1 .

The pyramid framework for environment risk assessment research

Risk is the possibility of a negative outcome of an action, such as loss of livelihood, property, employment, environment, and its impact on society. The nature and extent of risk must be determined, and the tool for doing so is called “ risk assessment ”. It is an important tool for developing effective disaster risk management strategies and involves identifying, estimating, and ranking the risk (Fig.  2 ). The approach to risk assessment is determined by a government-elected representative or principal. Risk assessment is a layered, scientific, and transparent process that can be repeated as needed (Rovins et al., 2015 ). To proceed with risk assessment, information must be clearly articulated about the understanding of the potential risks and their magnitude, the objectives of the risk assessment, the methods and techniques for risk assessment, the responsibility and authority for initiating the risk assessment, the resources required for risk assessment, reporting, and reviewing the risks.

A paradigm of quantitative microbial risk assessment

Three important steps of risk assessment are as follows:

Risk identification—assess the existing risks and evaluate them through systematic inventory for data and information framework.

Identify the nature, location, intensity, and likelihood of the prevailing hazards.

Understand the livelihood and elements at risk.

Determine the extent of risk to withstand the hazard.

Risk analysis and risk evaluation—estimate the probable loss to the population, property, and business of the society and the cost-effective risk evaluation by setting priorities, resources, and disaster reduction programs.

Classification of risks

Operational risk.

Operational risk is the risk resulting from the non-functioning of the internal part of the company and other reasons such as manual errors and system failures. It is the most common risk, and the causes are in accounting, operational activities for goods and services, information technology system, and human resource management system (Susanto & Meiryani, 2019 ).

Financial risk

This kind of risk is generally faced by investors, because of shares and bonds that cannot afford interest or loan principal amount (Susanto & Meiryani, 2019 ).

Strategic risk

This risk results from a series of events that can have an unexpected result or can reduce the ability of the manager to apply his/her ideas and strategies (Susanto & Meiryani, 2019 ).

Factors affecting environmental health

The environment can be referred to as the set of natural, physical, chemical, and biological elements that are external to the human body, as well as the factors that influence related behaviors. Environmental health is influenced by several factors, including air, water, and soil pollution; ultraviolet radiation; occupational hazards; land use patterns; roads and housing; agricultural and irrigation patterns; drug, alcohol, and tobacco use; food availability and nutrition; and the presence of natural water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands (Prüss-Üstün et al., 2006 ). As shown in Table 1 , there are several vector-borne diseases that pose environmental health risks.

Air pollutants

The introduction of toxic substances and the presence of pollutants above normal levels can degrade air quality. According to the World Health Organization (WHO,  1995 ), the six most important air pollutants are particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and lead. In addition to human health, groundwater, soil, and air are also severely affected by air pollution. Particulate matters  < 10 µm (PM10) can enter the lungs and reach the arteries. PM 2.5 µm in size (PM2.5) can cause acute nasopharyngitis, infant mortality, and cardiovascular disease (Azimi-Yancheshmeh et al., 2021 ). Ozone as a pollutant reduces the growth of plant microflora and alters the species composition of animal species. It also increases DNA damage in epidermal keratinocytes, leading to a weakening of cellular function.

Carbon monoxide affects greenhouse gases, which are highly linked to global warming and climate change. It also causes an increase in soil and water temperature and extreme climatic conditions. Similarly, NOx affects the respiratory system causing coughing, sneezing, and bronchospasm and decreases crop yield, whereas emission of SOx from fossil fuel consumption and industrial activities affects both human and plant health (Manisalidis et al., 2020 ). On the other hand, increased UV radiations due to ozone layer depletion have serious consequences on living organisms. Reportedly, there is a 15–20% increase in UV exposure due to a 10% reduction in ozone. Adverse effects of increased UV radiations have been reported on plant growth, immunity, and photosynthesis. Aquatic life is also highly affected due to UV radiations (WHO, 1995 ). Furthermore, drug and alcohol consumption also pose a risk to the environment as it involves constant exploitation of vegetation; but, they cannot be tarnished all at once because they provide revenue to the government.

Water pollutants

Nowadays, the protection and conservation of water is a major issue worldwide (Yang et al., 2023 ). Water use by urban and rural households, industrial and mining activities, and for agricultural purposes generates huge amounts of wastewater. It contains toxic elements such as nitrogen and heavy metals (Pb, NO 3 , Cr, Cu) and poses a serious threat worldwide. These chemical pollutants make water unfit for human consumption and deteriorate various water parameters such as dissolved oxygen, hardness, alkalinity, pH, conductivity, salinity, and turbidity, ultimately affecting human health and the environment (Paschke et al., 2008 ). Therefore, water pollutants pose a serious threat to human and environmental health. Water pollutants can be divided into dissolved and non-dissolved pollutants. Dissolved pollutants can be further divided into macroscopic, organic, and inorganic pollutants, while non-dissolved pollutants can be divided into suspended, colloidal, and floating pollutants (see Fig.  3 ).

Classification of water pollutants

Assessment of pollutant level and potential health risks to humans and environmental health

There are various organic and inorganic pollutants from different sources such as air, water , soil and foodstuffs that have health risks in humans (Table 2 ). Some persistent organic matters including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), legacy brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) are found in breast milk, potentially risking the health of infants, especially under the age of 6 months. It is seen that infants born in coastal areas suffer from DDTs, PCBs, and HCB. These persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and the presence of PCBs in breast milk adversely affect human health; therefore, to get rid of these pollutants, we need to extend the safer limit at a national level and implement regular surveillances of pollutants (Hu et al., 2020a , 2020b ). Moreover, heavy metals were detected in raw cow milk and they affect human health according to the hazard quotients (Boudebbouz et al., 2020 ). With the help of a survey, POPs were found in soil, water, and Amaranthus viridis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ngweme et al., 2020 ). The estimated daily intake (EDI) of pollutants by leafy vegetables possesses a threat to the potential health risks in a human; hence, it is very important that pesticides and fertilizers are used in a controlled manner, simultaneously focusing on framework and control measures (Ngweme et al., 2020 ).

Microplastics (MP) are an emerging problem. They are found in soil and aquatic ecosystems and therefore have a direct impact on the human food chain and human health (Delangiz et al., 2022 ; Tian et al., 2022 ; Zhou et al., 2020 ). Pharmaceutical compounds and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been detected by SPE protocol and HPLC–ESI–MS/MS detection, and these compounds pose a risk to water and the environment (Li et al., 2021 ). Heavy metal pollution is a global problem, as shown in the report covering three decades (1989–2018). Most developing countries contribute to heavy metal pollution, and China alone is responsible for nearly half of the total increase in heavy metal pollution over the past decade. In areas where e-waste is recycled, the major health concern is dust and Pb pollution, but in developing countries, the problem of heavy metal pollution is overlooked (Shi & Wang, 2020 ). Exposure pathways such as carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were present in local regions and some hotspots (Han et al., 2020 ). The health effects in an environmental perspective through the World Health Organization’s quality of life-based questionnaire demonstrate that the lives of people living in forest areas are better than those living in urban areas (Prüss-Üstün et al., 2006 ). The concentration of air pollutants such as NO, NO 2 , NOx, SO 2 , CO, PM2.5, and PM10 is higher in an urban environment than in a forest environment (Tsao et al., 2014 ), and environmental epigenetics also has an impact on human health and the environment (Tiffon, 2018 ).

Water quality assessment

Rivers are the basic source of our drinking water and daily needs. In addition, rivers are polluted with pathogens due to sewage treatment plants and treated wastewater, which is the main source of fecal matter. Sewage treatment plants and wastewater are discharged directly into river watersheds and soils. This leads to the proliferation of various microbes in river water that directly affect the quality of drinking water. The various key factors such as (i) climate change and demographic changes, (ii) increasing population, and (iii) increase in sewage treatment plants need to be studied. One way to quantify and reduce human health impacts is through quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) modeling, a probabilistic and deterministic approach that helps to determine the outcome. This involves a continuous assessment of impending changes and pollution regulator procedures. An integrative modeling agenda for a river discharged from a wastewater treatment plant has been established for a longer period of water safety planning that can also be used for all river basins and different categories of pollution sources (Demeter et al., 2021 ).

Groundwater contamination is a worldwide problem, and onsite groundwater testing can be helpful in conducting groundwater risk assessments. To avoid the groundwater contamination situation in Tunisia, local governments have taken measures to ensure that municipal wastewater is treated before it is discharged into the sea (Alibi et al., 2021 ). Therefore, an assessment is required before using groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes, which must be in accordance with the WHO regulations for drinking water (Abdelhafez et al., 2021 ).

The Ganga River covers about 21% of India’s land area, but the water quality of the Ganga is rapidly deteriorating. Although the water quality of the Ganga is still acceptable during the summer and winter months, it deteriorates severely during the monsoon season; therefore, monitoring and assessing the water quality of the Ganga is a priority (Kumar et al., 2021 ; Muduli et al., 2021 ). However, high nitrate and fluoride concentrations in drinking water pose a risk to human health. However, the assessment of non-carcinogenic risk to human health can help to determine the permissible limit for nitrate and fluoride in drinking water. Continuous groundwater monitoring and water assessment reduce human health and public health risk. Public health programs and dissemination of information to all stakeholders can help control human health risk. Regular water assessments help to implement safety measures against waterborne diseases (George & Nagaraja, 2021 ; Hossain et al., 2021 ; Jandu et al., 2021 ; Sharma et al., 2021 ).

Challenges for the environmental health and risk awareness process

There are several challenges to environmental health. Currently, we are suffering from the pandemic COVID-19. During the pandemic, the use of plastic, PPE, medical masks, and gloves has greatly increased. Therefore, not only is the COVID-19 pandemic a challenge to environmental health, but the precautions taken also pose a significant threat to environmental health (Silva et al., 2020 ). Humans are exposed to harmful chemicals through food, consumer products, and environmental factors. Therefore, the main challenges are to reduce this chemical exposure and to identify the toxic compounds that enter the environment. One method for doing this is to apply in vitro testing using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to study the exposure and health effects of chemical mixtures in biological samples. Various diseases such as heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, stroke and cerebrovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, typhoid fever, diarrhea, Lyme disease, and jaundice greatly affect human health, and these diseases are rapidly increasing.

A system dynamics approach is typically used to assess risk factors and examine the impact of different entanglements, spreading awareness, and reducing risk. This model replicates historical trends in Lyme disease and is also useful for anticipating Lyme disease and for education programs to increase awareness. This model calculates the risk of exposure to Lyme disease (Sharareh et al., 2017 ). High concentration of Cd and Pb in vegetable gardens is very dangerous. A soil environment study conducted in northern France to check the condition of kitchen gardens was used to raise public awareness and provide functional guidance (Pelfrêne et al., 2019 ).

A system dynamics approach is typically used to assess risk factors and examine the impact of different entanglements, spread of awareness, and risk mitigation. This model replicates historical trends in Lyme disease and is also useful for anticipating Lyme disease and for education programs to increase awareness. This model calculates the risk of exposure to Lyme disease (Sharareh et al., 2017 ). The high concentration of Cd and Pb in the soil pollutes the environment, posing a direct threat to environmental health. A soil environment study conducted in northern France to check the status of vegetable gardens was used to raise public awareness and generate functional evidence for public outreach (Pelfrêne et al., 2019 ).

Socioeconomic, integrated, and harmonized approach

The socioeconomic scenarios, the new framework, and the integrated approach have been developed over the last decade. They will help to inform important research and climate-related decisions. The impact of extreme climate change in countries such as China and Japan can be seen in the disrupted electricity supply, which ultimately affects human health and the environment. The generation of e-waste has increased, but its informal disposal, as in Bangalore, India, has negative human and environmental impacts. In India, e-waste management has improved in recent years (Awasthi & Li, 2018 ). An assessment of e-waste management by Bangalore residents is helpful to better understand the prospects of environmentally friendly e-waste management (Awasthi & Li, 2018 ). The use of pesticides in agriculture poses a threat to the environment and to people, including farmers. For example, regular use of organochlorine pesticides and endosulfan has contaminated the soil in Vehari district, Punjab, Pakistan (Ahmad et al., 2019 ). Therefore, there is a need to improve the technical and environmental knowledge of farmers so that they can use pesticides efficiently to minimize the associated risks (Ahmad et al., 2019 ). An integrated approach to reducing risk is to use both detailed questionnaires and frequent group discussions (FGDs) to help quantify the population’s environmental health burden. These include the amount of medical expenditures, frequency of related expenditures, medical care used (parallel health care vs. government or private clinics), type of illnesses, and length of treatment as an indirect indicator of risk.

Environmental hazards and their elimination; hazard index and RA; and sustainable development, risk assessment, water quality, and pathways to environmental hazards were discussed and reviewed. Among all these issues, environmental hazards are the most serious problems around the world, and they affect human health in many ways. Bioremediation methods such as microbial and phytoremediation are effective in many ways, but still have many limitations. To complement these methods, hazard index and RA can be used simultaneously to achieve sustainability and better remediation results. People’s lack of awareness also exacerbates the problem. Identifying and assessing EH risks related to water quality, soil, food, and river water are the best ways to reduce the impact of environmental hazards. Risk assessment can be conducted using surveys, analysis of collected data, public awareness programs, health and social surveys, focus group discussions, field visits, and panel discussions. Risk assessment should also focus on sustainable development. Green technology is the best way to save energy and improve sustainability. Europe has already proposed a framework for sustainable development using renewable ocean energy, which tries to find a solution to reduce natural and anthropogenic calamities. India and other Asian countries need to propose a planned framework to increase sustainability. Moreover, this review highlights the importance of raising people’s awareness, discussing public health issues, and efficient ways to reduce anthropogenic disasters, leading to sustainable development. Consequently, socioeconomic surveys, FDGs, waste management, water quality assessment, contaminant detection, and integrated and harmonized approach would generate knowledge on environmental public health high-risk classification, water quality management, and exposure awareness pathway, paving the way for risk assessment, mitigation, and tactics for sustainable development.

Future recommendations

It is proposed to apply a combination of various available techniques with advanced chemical, biological, and genetic engineering methods for highly effective remediation of EH from soils and agricultural lands. The synergistic combination of plant growth-promoting fungi with hyperaccumulator plants could contribute to effective remediation of persistent soil pollutants, and biotechnological techniques can further improve the efficiency of mycoremediation in polluted soils and waters. Hazard index and RA of potentially hazardous substances require experts in specific subject areas such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, whose conflicts of interest must be recognized and managed. Explicit processes need to be developed, and empirically based tools and methods for evaluating and synthesizing findings and formulating conclusions need to be established in all organizations that conduct HI and RA. These processes, tools, and methods will lead to greater transparency, comparability, and validity of assessments. In addition, other stakeholders such as agricultural and even pharmaceutical companies should be engaged at the primary level to accelerate the development of appropriate business models/policies. A fundamental policy change is needed for current contaminated sites and for potential future contaminants.

Further research

There are still many gaps in our understanding of the processes of plant–microbe interactions and metal accumulation by hyperaccumulators. To further our knowledge, phytoremediation research requires more collaborative studies involving experts from different fields such as botany, plant physiology, biochemistry, geochemistry, agricultural engineering, microbiology, and genetic engineering, to name a few. To thoroughly understand the metabolic processes and pathways associated with nanotechnology, transgenic crops, and essential microbes, further research is essential. To achieve additional gains, it seems worthwhile to continue research in these areas in the future. The important constraints to broad-scale practicality, future research needs for improving phytoremediation, policy strengthening, and safe disposal mechanisms for contaminated biomass are also addressed.

Data availability

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Gunjyal, N., Rani, S., Asgari Lajayer, B. et al. A review of the effects of environmental hazards on humans, their remediation for sustainable development, and risk assessment. Environ Monit Assess 195 , 795 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11353-z

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Environmental Factor

Your online source for niehs news, oceans research gets new funding.

NIEHS, NSF jointly fund new research centers to understand how microplastics, harmful algal blooms, other exposures affect people's health.

By Robin Mackar

Millions of tons of small pieces of plastic, referred to as microplastics, are finding their way into the world’s oceans. These microplastics and other chemicals could affect human health. The NIEHS and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) are jointly funding four new Centers for Oceans and Human Health and renewing two centers as part of a marine-related health research program .

Each Center will focus on a different aspect of the interplay among environmental science, climate change, and human health in the ocean or Great Lakes. Together, the two agencies plan to invest more than $42 million over five years for the Centers program, continuing a two-decade long collaboration.

"The connection among ocean pollution, climate change, and human health are problems that we are only beginning to understand," said Anika Dzierlenga, Ph.D. , program lead at NIEHS. “People rely on oceans and lakes for jobs, food, tourism, recreation. These centers will help bring researchers and community groups together to study and take action to protect public health in coastal regions and around the Great Lakes.”

Microplastics research hub

One of the Centers, a collaboration between the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, will focus specifically on plastic pollution, including microplastics. The Center will also focus on how climate change could intensify the environmental and health threats posed by microplastics.

Microplastics, ranging from the size of a width of a pencil to smaller than a sesame seed, often get eaten by fish and shellfish and are passed to humans through seafood consumption. They also act as microscopic sponges, attracting, concentrating, and carrying pollutants into new environments. These plastic particles and other factors, including a warming climate and more extreme weather events, are affecting the health of our waterways, and, in turn, the health of our communities.

“We know very little about what these microplastics or even smaller pieces of plastics, known as nanoplastics, can do to human health in the short- or long-term, or even what they can do to the health of the sea turtles and other animals that live in the ocean,” said Dzierlenga.

Nanoplastics measure under one micrometer in length, the width of a spider web or virus, making it easy for them to enter the human body through eating, breathing, and absorption through the skin. Once inside the body, they may leach harmful chemicals that may affect development, reproduction, and immune system responses.

20-year collaboration with NSF

“We’re excited to continue this long-standing partnership with NIEHS,” said Henrietta Edmonds, Ph.D., a program manager in NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences. “Bringing geoscientists, health scientists, and community partners together to address these important questions has far-ranging impacts beyond what either agency can support alone.”

Together the agencies will support the following newly funded institutions, listed alphabetically along with the project name, lead researcher, and brief project description.

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

North Carolina Center for Coastal Algae, People, and Environment (NC C-CAPE) Principal Investigator: Astrid Schnetzer, Ph.D.

This center, which was awarded at the end of February, will help lay the groundwork for how cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) blooms in estuaries or coastal waters affect seafood safety and public health. This research will help inform guidelines for the safe consumption of water and seafood. NC C-CAPE will also actively engage with community experts and stakeholders to guide the translation and application of research findings.

University of California-San Diego

Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health: Advancing the science of marine contaminants and seafood safety Principal Investigator: Bradley Moore, Ph.D.

The Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health will evaluate the factors contributing to seafood safety concerns, including impact from climate and weather, distribution of toxic chemicals across the aquatic food source chain, the role of the marine microbiome in toxin metabolism, and animal and human response to toxic chemicals. The grantees will consider both risks and benefits to seafood consumption and will help to develop messaging to seafood consumers.

University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, New York

Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health in a Changing Environment Principal Investigators: Katrina Smith Korfmacher, Ph.D., University of Rochester, and Christy Tyler, Ph.D., Rochester Institute of Technology

This new center will be the first center within the Oceans and Human Health Centers to focus solely on plastic pollution and microplastics. The Research organizations will collaborate to study the life cycle of plastic in Lake Ontario as it pertains to ecological and human health. The aim is to engage diverse local partners to prevent negative health effects of microplastics in the context of climate change in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system in the world and are a critical resource for more than 30 million people.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts

Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health Principal Investigator: Dennis McGillicuddy, Ph.D.

Funding for this center has been renewed in 2024 and will build off its previous research to address how a changing climate could influence harmful algal bloom (HAB) dynamics and human exposure to HAB toxins, a serious and global human health threat. The center will also work to improve awareness of emerging HAB issues for the public health community and develop new educational materials and interactive activities for K-12 classrooms, and for health care providers.

NIEHS and NSF expect to make two additional awards soon.

(Robin Mackar is a writer and media relations coordinator in the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison.)

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Program: RN Breakfast

How Australia is mitigating risks from natural hazards

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Natural Hazards Research Australia is the key national organisation tasked with addressing the major challenges arising from events such as bushfires, cyclones, heatwaves and floods.

The organisation has just appointed one of Australia's leading environmental engineers as their new Science and Innovation Director. How will the appointment refocus the centre's priorities?

Guest : Cheryl Desha, professor of resilient infrastructure and communities at Griffith University. From June she'll take up the role as Science and Innovation Director at Natural Hazards Research Australia 

Lisa Needham

RN Breakfast, 01st May 2024

In this episode

Treasurer announces stronger foreign investment rules

National Cabinet to discuss domestic violence crisis

'Affordable homes' key to combating DV, advocate says

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• CHEER Announces 2024 Summer Scholars

May 2, 2024 | Events and Announcements , Summer Scholars

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The Hub is pleased to announce the members of its second cohort of summer scholars.

Eight scholars from around the country will arrive at East Carolina University (ECU) this June to embark on a transformative journey and participate in the CHEER Hub’s 2024 summer scholars program.

This program is designed to prepare a diverse cohort of new researchers for careers in convergent disaster science and help students learn about the science behind and implications of natural hazards through hands-on activities. Over the course of six weeks, students will participate in various research activities, travel to several different locations across North Carolina to conduct fieldwork, learn about various topical issues related to climate change and community resilience, and meet with Hub partners and local government officials.

“We are delighted to work with our new summer scholars to help them develop their research skills,” said Rachel Davidson, the CHEER’s principal investigator. “We know they’ll contribute a great deal to the CHEER Hub as well.”

The cohort will live on ECU’s campus in Greenville, NC, which is located in one of the Hub’s three case study areas. Meghan Millea, CHEER’s education director and ECU economics professor, will lead them.

“I am thrilled to welcome the new cohort of summer scholars,” Millea said. “These talented individuals will have the opportunity to learn on-site about the important challenges these communities face, further their research on natural hazards, and make lifelong friends with their peers and fellow CHEER team members.”

In addition to gaining knowledge and experience in emergency management and hurricane resilience, summer scholars will also become institutional review board (IRB) certified, a practical and important curriculum that instills the importance of ethical standards, regulations, and institutional policies in research.

The various hands-on activities and professional networking opportunities are a core part of the Hub’s effort to develop and implement a robust, research-based mentoring program.

Each student will be assigned a mentor–one of CHEER’s postdocs or researchers–who will guide them through an independent study project. At the beginning of the program, each student will select a topic within the Hub’s scope of research that matches their background and interests. At the end of the six weeks, they will summarize their key findings in a presentation to their peers, community stakeholders, and Hub faculty and staff.

These presentations, which cover a wide range of topics, disciplines, and themes, highlight the varied academic and professional backgrounds of program participants. They are one facet of the Hub’s effort to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a key part of the overall project.

The cohort, which includes two graduate and six undergraduate students, represents seven universities. Partnerships with the McNair Scholars Program and Bill Anderson Fund , two highly respected national organizations that prepare and support graduate students from underrepresented groups across all disciplines and in disaster studies, respectively, complement this effort.

Read on to learn more about the Hub’s second-annual cohort of summer scholars. 

Amidu Kalokoh | Virginia Commonwealth University, Public Policy and Administration

Amidu is a doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Administration and a Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness program at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He has a professional security background, having worked as a security analyst for the Office of the President of Sierra Leone, where he supported national and international security, peace, and development initiatives. His research focuses on public policy, homeland security, emergency management, criminal justice, and governance. Amidu’s research on social equity aims to design policies and programs that sustainably tackle hazard vulnerabilities, build community resilience, and enhance public safety and justice for all. In addition to being a Bill Anderson Fellow, Amidu was the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Public Policy and Administration Doctoral Student at VCU.

Learn more about Amidu here .

Melissa Villarreal | University of Colorado – Boulder, Sociology

Melissa is a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado–Boulder in the sociology department. She has worked on projects that focus on women’s experiences during and after disasters, structural vulnerability and reproductive health access for Mexican-origin women, and parental notification and access to abortion among minors. Melissa is also a graduate research assistant, working on several projects concerning the enhancement of the ethical quality of disaster research, the increase of diversity in the hazards and disaster field, and the reduction of post-disaster vulnerabilities for marginalized communities.  She is currently working on her dissertation, an intersectional, multi-level analysis of Mexican-origin women and their post-disaster recovery trajectories in the context of cumulative disaster impacts. In addition to being a Bill Anderson Fellow, Melissa was a 2021 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Equity & Inclusion Fellow. 

Learn more about Melissa here .

Susan Funes | Kean University – History

Susan is a rising senior working toward a degree in history at Kean University. She loves to travel and create memorable experiences. During her travels to Central America, she realized that there is misogyny deeply rooted in her culture. After coming back to Kean University, she started taking Latin American Politics and Sociology classes that helped her understand the root cause of the “machista” society in Latin America. Once diving in, she has combined her passion for law and the dangerous culture surrounding women in Latin America. Now, her research focuses on violence against women with a concentration on Latin American women who have or almost have fallen victim to femicide. Susan hopes her work will spread awareness about the effectiveness of the legislation related to femicide and the urgent need for global action to address such matters. In addition to her academics, Susan has been involved in the McNair Scholars Program since February of 2023 and has presented her research “A Mi Me Van a Matar: A Legal Analysis of Femicide in Mexico and Central America” at several McNair Research Conferences.

Learn more about Susan here .

Max Masleyev | Cornell University, Atmospheric Science

Max is a rising junior majoring in atmospheric science and pursuing a minor in computer science at Cornell University, where he is currently a research assistant for the  Earth and Atmospheric Science (EAS) Department’s Precipitation and Climate Research Group. Max’s earlier research has looked at the Rx1day precipitation index, with his most recent project examining shifts in rain frequency and rain amount distributions across different time scales. His upbringing in New England sparked his interest in meteorology, as he experienced various weather phenomena over the years, from hurricanes and severe thunderstorms in the summer to blizzards in the winter months. Max hopes to further his research in an interdisciplinary setting and is passionate about science communication. On campus, he serves as secretary of Cornell’s Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and the president of the Chordials, one of the university’s co-ed a cappella groups.

Learn more about Max here .

Sydney Sherbitsky | Stony Brook University, Environmental Studies

Sydney is a newly minted graduate of Stony Book University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Law, Waste Management, and Public Policy. Additionally, Sydney pursued three minors in Coastal Environmental Studies; Ecosystems and Human Impact; and Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning. Sydney was the President of the Stony Brook Environmental Club and participated in research under Dr. Sharon Pochron in Stony Brook University’s Ecotoxicology Lab over the last two years. In her final semester in the ecotoxicology lab, Sydney mentored a team of 5 first-year students in researching earthworm behavior and health after exposure to the eco-toxin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and presented this research at the 2024 Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URECA) Symposium. Sydney aspires to work as an environmental consultant or within an environmental government agency such as the EPA to continue contributing to environmental stewardship.

Learn more about Sydney here .

Grace Weinrich | University of Colorado – Boulder, Psychology and Sociology

Grace is a newly minted graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She also minored in philosophy and graduated with a certificate in Social Innovation and Care, Health, and Resilience. Recently, Grace presented her honors thesis, “Crisis of Masculinity: Exploring the Digital Manosphere Discourse Through Podcasts,” at the 2024 Pacific Sociological Association Conference in San Diego, CA. As an undergraduate, she was a research assistant for Dr. Sarah Goodrum’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence project with the CU Institute of Behavioral Science. Upon graduating, Grace looks forward to gaining more experience in sociological and psychological research and applying to graduate school.  

Learn more about Grace here .

Alasqa Farley | University of Delaware, Resource Economics

Alasqa is a rising junior at the University of Delaware, where she is majoring in environmental and resource economics with a concentration in the economics of sustainability and policy. She is also pursuing a minor in statistical data analytics. Her main area of research interest surrounds the intersection of climate change and economics as well as the equity implications of hurricanes and climate change. Her current goal is to apply to graduate school and become an environmental economist. On campus, she is a research assistant in the Center for Experimental and Applied Economics a part of the Climate Scholars program.

Learn more about Alasqa here .

Nimay Mahajan | University of Miami, Meteorology and Mathematics

Nimay is a rising junior at the University of Miami double majoring in meteorology and mathematics and minoring in computer science. Under the guidance of Dr. Ben Kirtman, his research has examined two long-term climate model data sets, one of which displays enhanced carbon dioxide signatures within the atmosphere. By analyzing and producing plots using both of these data sets, he has been exploring the true impact larger fluxes of carbon dioxide can have on numerous types of weather systems, such as tropical cyclones. He is currently involved with the University of Miami’s American Meteorological Society (AMS) chapter, serving as a social media manager on the E-Board. He is also vice president of the university’s new AI club, UnlockAI, which explores the responsible interdisciplinary uses of artificial intelligence.

Learn more about Nimay here .

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Hot Oceans Worsened Dubai’s Dramatic Flooding, Scientists Say

An international team of researchers found that heavy rains had intensified in the region, though they couldn’t say for sure how much climate change was responsible.

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By Raymond Zhong

Scenes of flood-ravaged neighborhoods in one of the planet’s driest regions stunned the world this month. Heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates and Oman submerged cars, clogged highways and killed at least 21 people. Flights out of Dubai’s airport, a major global hub, were severely disrupted.

The downpours weren’t a total surprise — forecasters had anticipated the storms several days earlier and issued warnings. But they were certainly unusual.

Here’s what to know.

Heavy rain there is rare, but not unheard-of.

On average, the Arabian Peninsula receives a scant few inches of rain a year, although scientists have found that a sizable chunk of that precipitation falls in infrequent but severe bursts, not as periodic showers. These rains often come during El Niño conditions like the ones the world is experiencing now.

U.A.E. officials said the 24-hour rain total on April 16 was the country’s largest since records there began in 1949 . And parts of the nation had already experienced an earlier round of thunderstorms in March.

Oman, with its coastline on the Arabian Sea, is also vulnerable to tropical cyclones. Past storms there have brought torrential rain, powerful winds and mudslides, causing extensive damage.

Global warming is projected to intensify downpours.

Stronger storms are a key consequence of human-caused global warming. As the atmosphere gets hotter, it can hold more moisture, which can eventually make its way down to the earth as rain or snow.

But that doesn’t mean rainfall patterns are changing in precisely the same way across every part of the globe.

In their latest assessment of climate research , scientists convened by the United Nations found there wasn’t enough data to have firm conclusions about rainfall trends in the Arabian Peninsula and how climate change was affecting them. The researchers said, however, that if global warming were to be allowed to continue worsening in the coming decades, extreme downpours in the region would quite likely become more intense and more frequent.

Hot oceans are a big factor.

An international team of scientists has made a first attempt at estimating the extent to which climate change may have contributed to April’s storms. The researchers didn’t manage to pin down the connection precisely, though in their analysis, they did highlight one known driver of heavy rain in the region: above-normal ocean temperatures.

Large parts of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have been hotter than usual recently, in part because of El Niño and other natural weather cycles, and in part because of human-induced warming .

When looking only at El Niño years, the scientists estimated that storm events as infrequent as this month’s delivered 10 percent to 40 percent more rain to the region than they would in a world that hadn’t been warmed by human activities. They cautioned, however, that these estimates were highly uncertain.

“Rainfall, in general, is getting more extreme,” said Mansour Almazroui, a climate scientist at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and one of the researchers who contributed to the analysis.

The analysis was conducted by scientists affiliated with World Weather Attribution, a research collaboration that studies extreme weather events shortly after they occur. Their findings about this month’s rains haven’t yet been peer reviewed, but are based on standardized methods .

The role of cloud seeding isn’t clear.

The U.A.E. has for decades worked to increase rainfall and boost water supplies by seeding clouds. Essentially, this involves shooting particles into clouds to encourage the moisture to gather into larger, heavier droplets, ones that are more likely to fall as rain or snow.

Cloud seeding and other rain-enhancement methods have been tried around the world, including in Australia, China, India, Israel, South Africa and the United States. Studies have found that these operations can, at best, affect precipitation modestly — enough to turn a downpour into a bigger downpour, but probably not a drizzle into a deluge.

Still, experts said pinning down how much seeding might have contributed to this month’s storms would require detailed study.

“In general, it is quite a challenge to assess the impact of seeding,” said Luca Delle Monache, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. Dr. Delle Monache has been leading efforts to use artificial intelligence to improve the U.A.E.’s rain-enhancement program.

An official with the U.A.E.’s National Center of Meteorology, Omar Al Yazeedi, told news outlets that the agency didn’t conduct any seeding during the latest storms. His statements didn’t make clear, however, whether that was also true in the hours or days before.

Mr. Al Yazeedi didn’t respond to emailed questions from The New York Times, and Adel Kamal, a spokesman for the center, didn’t have further comment.

Cities in dry places just aren’t designed for floods.

Wherever it happens, flooding isn’t just a matter of how much rain comes down. It’s also about what happens to all that water once it’s on the ground — most critically, in the places people live.

Cities in arid regions often aren’t designed to drain very effectively. In these areas, paved surfaces block rain from seeping into the earth below, forcing it into drainage systems that can easily become overwhelmed.

One recent study of Sharjah , the capital of the third-largest emirate in the U.A.E., found that the city’s rapid growth over the past half-century had made it vulnerable to flooding at far lower levels of rain than before.

Omnia Al Desoukie contributed reporting.

Raymond Zhong reports on climate and environmental issues for The Times. More about Raymond Zhong

Should chatbots chime in on climate change?

An interdisciplinary research team tested ChatGPTs accuracy talking about three climate change-related hazards – tropical storms, floods, and droughts – in 191 countries.

• Travis Williams

30 Apr 2024

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Can chatbots provide accurate information about the dangers of climate change?

Well, that depends on a variety of factors including the specific topic, location being considered, and how much the chatbot is paid, according to a group of Virginia Tech researchers.

“I think what we found is that it’s OK to use artificial intelligence [AI], you just have to be careful and you can’t take it word for word,” said Gina Girgente, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography last spring. “It’s definitely not a foolproof method.”

Girgente was part of an interdisciplinary research team that posed questions about three climate change-related hazards – tropical storms, floods, and droughts – in 191 countries to both free and paid versions of ChatGPT. Developed by OpenAI Inc., ChatGPT is a large-language model designed to understand questions and generate text responses based on requests from users.

The group then compared the chatbots’ answers against hazard risk indices generated using data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations body tasked with assessing science related to climate change.

“Overall, we found more agreement than not,” said Carmen Atkins, lead author and second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Geosciences . “The AI-generated outputs were accurate more than half the time, but there was more accuracy with tropical storms and less with droughts.”

Published in Communications, Earth, and Environment , the group reported ChatGPT4’s responses aligned to the indices with the follow degrees of accuracy:

• Tropical storms: 80.6 percent
• Flooding: 76.4 percent
• Droughts: 69.1 percent

The group also found the chatbot’s accuracy to increase when asked about more developed countries and that the paid version of the platform, currently ChatGPT-4, was more accurate than the free version, which at the time was ChatGPT-3.5.

The group found less consistency in answers about the same topic when asked about certain regions, especially many countries in Africa and the Middle East, that are considered low income or developing countries. And group members found the paid version of the platform, currently ChatGPT-4, was more accurate than the free version, which at the time was ChatGPT-3.5.

“We’re the first to look at this in a systematic way, as far as we’re aware, and beyond that, it’s really a call to action for more people to look into this issue,” Atkins said.

According to the publication, the researchers selected the ChatGPT service because of its popularity, particularly among users ages 18 to 34, and its rate of use in developing nations.

Atkins and Girgente, who will be graduate student at the University of Denver in the fall, said the idea for the project stemmed from their time in the class of Junghwan Kim, assistant professor in the Department of Geography . There, Kim shared some of his own research studying the geographic biases in ChatGPT when asked about environmental justice topics.

“It opened up this whole idea of the different things we could look at with ChatGPT,” Atkins said. “And for me personally, climate change and specifically climate change literacy, which is critical to combating misinformation, made me want to see if ChatGPT could be helpful or harmful with that issue."

Kim is also a co-author of this new study, as is Manoochehr Shirzaei, associate professor of geophysics and remote sensing.

Kim said he felt the results would be especially important to share with students who might put too much faith in the chatbots and that they had also impacted his own use of the software.

While the group believes its findings demonstrate the clear need for a cautious approach to using generative artificial intelligence, its members also believe this study is only the beginning of the needed research, which will need to be repeated as the different software continues to evolve.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg, and more than anything, we just want to draw attention to these issues,” Atkins said. “Generative AI is part of our world now, but we need to use it in as well educated a way as we can.”

Krista Timney

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