Locate and describe a case-study highlighting the impact of the environmental exposure and reflect on the current strategies to mitigate risks from the environmental exposure
Present a case-study related to this environmental exposure or an example of its impact on a community in the past.
Reflect on oversight and how to move forward with this environmental exposure.
How it is currently being managed in Canada? Who are the key stakeholders?
Are there any gaps in our knowledge of risk?
Do you believe this environmental exposure should be handled differently? Explain.
Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1).docx Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) Global and Environmental Health -BHSW -1503 Madina Maksumova. Ninoschka D'Souza. February 15, 2023. Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) 1 Radiation (ionizing radiation) is the transfer of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles. Natural sources of radiation include a variety of radioactive substances present in soil, water, air and in the human body (“Radiation | Physics,” 2019). Every day a person inhales or consumes with air, water and food a certain amount of radioactive substances. Therefore radiation can occur in any form of matter, for example the radioactive substance uranium is solid at room temperature. Radon is radioactive gas. Fluids contaminated by radioactive waste are examples of radioactive liquids. Ionizing radiation leaves energy behind when it enters an object or the human body. A dose is the amount of energy that is absorbed during radiation exposure. There are three ways to describe radiation dose quantities: absorbed, equivalent, and effective. (Safety Commission, 2014) An absorbed dose is the amount of radiation energy that enters the body after exposure. The grey is a unit used to measure the absorbed dose (Gy). One joule of energy is deposited in a kilogramme of a substance at a dose of one grey.(Safety Commission, 2014) A biological reaction to radiation absorption in living things may be seen. Equal absorbed doses won't always result in equal biological effects, though. The result depends on the radiation type (such as alpha, beta, gamma). For instance, compared to 1 Gy of beta radiation, 1 Gy of alpha radiation causes more tissue damage. The absorbed dose is multiplied by a designated radiation weighting factor (wR) to account for the relative biological effects of the various radiation types in order to arrive at the equivalent dose.(Safety Commission, 2014) The sievert is a unit of measurement used to express the equivalent dose (Sv).Accordingly, 1 Sv of beta radiation and 1 Sv of alpha radiation will each have the same biological Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) 2 impact. In other words, the equivalent dose is a single unit that represents the degree of damage that various radiation types would inflict on the same tissue. Different tissues and organs respond differently to radiation. For instance, compared to muscle or nerve tissue, bone marrow is much more radiosensitive. The equivalent dose is multiplied by a tissue weighting factor (wT) related to the risk for a specific tissue or organ to get an idea of how exposure may affect general health. The outcome is the actual dose that the body absorbs. The sievert is also the measurement unit for effective dose. In Canada, the effective dose limits for the public is 1 mSv in one calendar year.(Safety Commission, 2014) Regular reporting and monitoring demonstrates the average annual effective doses to the public from activities licensed by the CNSC range from 0.001 to 0.1 mSv per year. A nuclear energy worker's effective dose limits are set at 50 mSv in any given year and 100 mSv over a five-year period. From the time pregnancy is announced until the end of the term, the dose cap for pregnant employees is 4 mSv. (Safety Commission, 2014) Additionally, licensees are required to make sure that all doses are as low as reasonably practicable while taking social and economic factors into account. Regular reporting and monitoring show that the most exposed workers (such as industrial radiographers) receive annual doses of about 5 mSv on average.(Safety Commission, 2014) Today, the most common artificial source of exposure to ionizing radiation is X-ray machines and radiopharmaceuticals used for diagnosis or radiation therapy, as well as other medical devices. The risk of developing adverse effects on human health depends on the radiation dose. The higher the dose, the higher the risk of adverse effects. If the Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) 3 radiation dose is low, or if exposure occurs over a long period of time, the risk is much lower as the human body repairs damaged cells and molecules. The effects of radiation on the body can be natural, planned (in medicine or in the enterprise) or accidental; the mechanism of irradiation can be external, internal for instance inhalation, consumption or ingestion of radioactive substances into the body through a contaminated wound, or combined. Exposure to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation can lead to damage to living tissues and organs, the intensity of which depends on the received radiation dose. The scale of potential harm depends on many factors, such as: type of radiation; susceptibility of irradiated tissues and organs; nature and duration of exposure; type of radioactive isotopes - radiation sources; characteristics of the person receiving the radiation dose (eg age, sex and presence of comorbidities). Examples of serious diseases that radiation may lead to are: all types of cancer , Non-malignant thyroid nodular disease, Parathyroid adenoma .Posterior subcapsular cataracts, Tumors of the brain and central nervous system.(Administration, n.d.) In Conclusion I would like to state that Radiation is considered a Global Health issue because it damages not only for human’s organisms but also the DNA of green plants which can lead to a reduction in global food supply. Ninoschka D'Souza small c needed Environmental Health Risk and Intervention Assignment (Part 1) 4 Reference: Administration, U. D. of V. A., Veterans Health. (n.d.). VA.gov | Veterans Affairs. https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/diseases.asp#:~:text=Other %20diseases%20associated%20with%20radiation%20exposure&text=All%20ca ncers Safety Commission, C. N. (2014, February 3). Radiation doses. Www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca. http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/radiation/introduction-to-radiation/r adiation-doses.cfm Radiation | physics. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/radiation