Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering, Volume I and II

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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

INTRODUCTION †

Definitions

“Environmental Health” encompasses what is also known

as environmental engineering and sanitation, public health

engineering, and sanitary engineering. It is concerned with

“the control of all those factors in man’s physical environ-

ment which exericise or may exercise a deleterious effect

on his physical development, health and survival,”^1 with

consideration of the physical, economic and social ‡ impact of

the control measures applied. Included is the application of

engineering principles to the control, modifi cation or adapta-

tion of the physical, chemical, and biological factors of the

environment in the interest of man’s health, comfort, and

social well-being. The concern is not merely with simple sur-

vival and prevention of disease and poisoning, although even

these are not entirely under control. In addition, environmen-

tal health involves the maintenance of an environment that is

suited to man’s effi cient performance, and to the preservation

of comfort and enjoyment of living today and in the future. 2,3

The environment is defi ned as the sum of all external infl u-

ences and conditions affecting life and the development of an

organism. The Committee on Environment of the American

Public Health Association goes a step further and says that

“The Environment is considered the surroundings in which

man lives, works and plays. It encompasses the air he breathes,

the water he drinks, the food he consumes and the shelter he

provides for his protection against the elements. It also includes

the pollutants, waste materials, and other deterimental envi-

ronmental factors which adversely affect his life and health.”^4

Scope

It is apparent from the above that the fi eld of environmen-

tal health covers an extremely broad area of man’s universe.

The World Health Organization, the American Public Health

Association, and others have suggested what the scope should

be and how the programs should be administered. In all

instances, a totality is envisioned with consideration of the

impact of man on the environment and the impact of the

environment on man, with a balanced appraisal and alloca-

tion of available resources to both.

A report of a WHO expert Committee^5 considers

the scope of environmental health to include or relate to the

following:

1) Water supplies, with special reference to the pro-

vision of adequate quantities of safe water that are

readily accessible to the user, and to the planning,

design, management, and sanitary surveillance of

community water supplies, giving due consider-

ation to other essential uses of water resources.

2) Wastewater treatment and water-pollution con-

trol, including the collection, treatment, and dis-

posal of domestic sewage and other waterborne

wastes, and the control of the quality of surface

water (including the sea) and ground water.

3) Solid-waste management, including sanitary han-

dling and disposal.

4) Vector control, including the control of arthro-

pods, molluscs, rodents, and other alternative

hosts of disease.

5) Prevention or control of soil pollution by human

excreta and by substances detrimental to human,

animal, or plant life.

6) Food hygiene, including milk hygiene.

7) Control of air pollution.

8) Radiation control.

9) Occupational health, in particular the control of

physical, chemical, and biological hazards.

10) Noise control.

11) Housing and its immediate environment, in par-

ticular the public health aspects of residential,

public, and institutional buildings.

12) Urban and regional planning.

13) Environmental health aspects of air, sea, or land

transport.

14) Accident prevention.

15) Public recreation and tourism, in particular the

environmental health aspects of public beaches,

swimming pools, camping sites, etc.

16) Sanitation measures associated with epidemics,

emergencies, disasters, and migrations of popula-

tions.

17) Preventive measures required to ensure that the

general environment is free from risk to health.

† This chapter is based on material which appears in a book by

the author entitled Environmental Engineering and Sanitation,

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1972.

‡ Includes political, cultural, educational, biological, medical, and

public health.

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