Consideration of needs for public health interventions and new research requires comparative assessments of the health benefits that are likely to result from alternative uses of limited regulatory and technical resources. This paper briefly examines regulatory and research priorities in the light of recent information on the carcinogenic hazards of vinyl chloride and alkyl and vinyl halides re...

BACKGROUND A fast acting, clean nicotine delivery system might substantially displace cigarettes. Public health consequences would depend on the subsequent prevalence of nicotine use, hazards of delivery systems, and intrinsic hazards of nicotine. METHODS A spreadsheet program, DEMANDS, estimates differences in expected mortality, adjusted for nicotine delivery system features and prevalence ...

A review of the literature published in 2014 on topics relating to public and environmental health risks associated with wastewater treatment, reuse, and disposal is presented. This review is divided into the following sections: wastewater management, microbial hazards, chemical hazards, wastewater reuse, wastewater treatment plants, wastewater disposal, and sludge and biosolids.

India is confronted with many hygiene problems in urban areas that are related to animal populations. While some of these issues have been present for many years, others are only now emerging. A livestock census in 2003 and another in 2007 revealed that populations of crossbred cattle, goats and poultry are all increasing in urban areas, since this enables easy market access, which, in turn, re...

Destroying Biological Hazards Anthrax. Mad Cow Disease. Biological Weapons. These words have filled headlines, increasing anxiety around the world. The threat of such biological hazards, both natural and man-made, has created unprecedented challenges for public health institutions and hospitals, as well as for national defense. These biohazards demand fast and effective decontamination techniques.

Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory infections, asthma, lead poisoning, injuries, and mental health. Addressing housing issues offers public health practitioners an opportunity to address an important social determinant of health. Public health has long been involved in housing issues. In the 19th century, health officials targete...

The impacts of climate change on human health have been documented globally and in the United States. Numerous studies project greater morbidity and mortality as a result of extreme weather events and other climate-sensitive hazards. Public health impacts on the U.S. Gulf Coast may be severe as the region is expected to experience increases in extreme temperatures, sea level rise, and possibly ...

This paper explores when and how considerations of population health have influenced the creation, planning and management of cities. Cities--now the dominant human habitat--must be planned and managed sustainably in a world that is manifestly experiencing increasing environmental and social strains. Early industrialisation entailed crowding, squalor and industrial environmental blight; the two...