Environmental Health

Objectives

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
a) Fit Environmental Health as a dimension of human Health;
b) Understand the fundamental issues concerned about water management and its relationships with Health , with reference to the present situation in Portugal and in the world;
c) know, evaluate and prevent health risks from water consumption and residual water rejection;
d) Interpret and apply the law in water domain;
e) Identify and typify the different kinds of wastes;
f) Evaluate and prevent health risks linked to wastes management;
g) Evaluate the different wastes treatment procedures and select the most sustainable solutions according the law;
h) Understand the wastes value procedures;
i) Know the conceptual and practical matrix concerning the human artificial habitat and its relationship with health, in Portugal and in the World;
j) know, evaluate and prevent health risks from human artificial habitat;
k) Interpret and apply the law in the habitat domain;
l) Fit the habitat related issues in the urbanization, especially in the influence on health from the risk factors in the rural and urban environment;
m) Recognize, evaluate and prevent the health risks from the food chain and food ingestion;
n) Understand the relations between food and the development;
o) Recognize the main risk factors from the air (outdoor and indoor);
p) Identify the effects of climatic changes on human health.

General characterization

Code

9563

Credits

4.0

Responsible teacher

Available soon

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - 38

Teaching language

Português

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

Gray, N. F. – “Water Technology – An Introduction for Environmental Scientists”. Butterworth – Heineman. Oxford. 2002.
World Health Organisation – “Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd edition, the Organization. Geneva. 2004.
Freedman, B. – “Environmental Ecology”, 2nd edition. Academic Press. London. 1995.
Higgins, T. E. – “ Pollution Prevention Handbook. CRC Press Inc. Boca Raton. 2000
Comissão Europeia – “Directiva 2000/60/CE – Directiva-Quadro da Água”, a Comissão. Bruxelas. 2000
LaGrega et all – Hazardous Waste Management –Mc Graw-Hill, 2003
Tchobanoglous, Taisen and Eliassen – “Solid Wastes: Engineering Principles and Management Issues” – McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. 1999
World Health Organisation – “Environmental Health in Emergency and disasters”, the Organisation. Geneva. 2002
DGS. “Fichas Técnicas sobre Habitação e Saúde”. Direcção-Geral da Saúde. Lisboa. 2009
Friis, R. S. – Essentials of Environmental Health, 2nd Edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning. Ontario, 2012.

Teaching method

The teaching methodologies include theoretical presentations, practical sessions, with case studies, individual and group work.
Evaluation:
a) Attendance, active participation and quality of participation in class under continuous assessment (20%)
b) Development of individual work (40%)
c) Development and presentation of group work - presentation of a proposal for action / intervention, which includes a process of literature review, analysis and reflection (40%)

Evaluation method

Available soon

Subject matter

1. The new Environmental Health paradigm;
2. The water hydrological and usage cycle; superficial and subterranean waters;
3. Water quality and pollution concepts; Quality parameters. National and communitarian legislation;
4. Chemical, microbiological and radiological pollution;
5. Health risks from water. Risk management;
6. Water supply treatment. Health benefits and disadvantages;
7. Sanitary and epidemiological surveillance;
8. Characterization and treatment of urban and hospital residual waters;
9. Bottled waters – mineral and spring waters;
10. Health and thermal waters;
11. Recreational waters. Bathing and swimming-pool waters quality. The European Blue flag;
12. Law – interpretation and appliance;
13. Solid wastes classification. National law;
14. Source, production and characterization of urban solid wastes, toxic and dangerous and hospital wastes;
15. Solid wastes management. Management hierarchy. Treatment systems and final end;
16. Health risks from solid wastes management;
17. Recycling and increase in value;
18. Human artificial habitat concept;
19. National and communitarian legislation;
20. Politics on urbanism;
21. Health risks from Human artificial habitat. Risk management;
22. Public facilities and public health;
23. Sanitary and epidemiological surveillance;
24. Law concerning habitat – interpretation and appliance;
25. Food and health. Food and economic development. Strategies adopted to fight hunger in the world;
26. Microorganisms and food production. Contamination and deterioration of food;
27. Conserving food;
28. Food security and quality;
29. Toxi-infection and the epidemiologic inquiry;
30. Law concerning food – interpretation and appliance;
31. Outdoor and indoor air quality – health risks;
32. Climatic Changes and Health.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: