Humans are exposed to various environmental hazards, including chemicals and biological agents, in homes, workplaces, and outdoors. Long-term exposure can cause health problems. Government agencies provide inspection services to identify and reduce hazards. Lifestyle choices like using natural products and following environmental guidelines can minimize exposure.
On any given day, humans can be exposed to multiple environmental hazards. These hazards may include common home, outdoor, or workplace environmental factors. The most common of these environmental concerns are chemical or biological in nature.
Most homes or workplaces contain chemicals in the form of detergents, drinking water additives, chemicals in clothing and furniture, as well as agents incorporated into building materials such as drywall, carpet and paint. In some buildings, people are exposed to health risks due to heating or air conditioning systems. While limited quantities of these chemicals generally remain within safe limits and have no adverse effects on humans; long-term exposure can cause sensitivity reactions in adults and serious health problems in children.
In addition to chemicals, people are exposed to many biological agents in the environment. Outdoors, we can be exposed to carcinogenic sunlight, air and noise pollution, pesticides, and even natural chemicals that can cause allergic reactions. Indoors, people can be exposed to things like germs and diseases spread by human contact or artificial additives in food products. Biological agents are responsible for many of the chronic health problems seen in adults and children today.
For commercial buildings or areas where new construction is underway, it is generally incumbent on a government-administered environmental agency to provide sanitary inspection services. This helps identify and reduce any environmental hazards in order to reduce illness or injury to people who may be nearby. This is especially important to prevent people from falling victim to environmental hazards commonly found in building materials such as paint, treated wood, fiberglass, and carpet.
When people hear the phrase “environmental risk,” they often think of large commercial-scale disasters like oil spills or nuclear waste leaks that take years to clean up. While these events are certainly devastating to the areas in which they occur, it’s important to remember that there are many environmental hazards in homes and businesses around the world that wreak havoc on people’s lives. With a level of awareness and education, these factors can be managed properly in order to minimize their effect on humans.
With better lifestyle choices, we can prevent and limit exposure to environmental hazards by using natural cleaning products, drinking filtered water, eating organically produced foods, and being careful when we are in environments that may contain higher than normal levels of contaminants. Using guidelines set by the region’s environmental health agencies is a good way to start making changes that reduce the environmental impact these hazards have on daily life.
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