Environmental Health

Catalog description

An interdisciplinary, scientific survey of human interactions with the natural and built environments of the earth, and how anthropogenic stressors can ultimately influence public health and environmental quality. Physical and social environments are important determinants of the health of individuals and communities. Exposure to chemical, biological and physical agents can and do occur through the air, water and soil that comprise our physical environment. Particular emphasis in this course will be placed on describing (1) what pollution is and how/why it is harmful, (2) what the root sources and causes of pollution are, (3) what happens to pollutants when they enter the environment, and (4) how each pollutant class affects individual and community health over acute to chronic exposure periods. Cross-listed with ESS-331.