Environmental hazard

The international pictogram for environmental hazards.

Environmental hazards are those hazards that affect biomes or ecosystems. Well known examples include oil spills, water pollution, slash and burn deforestation, air pollution, ground fissures, and build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Physical exposure to environmental hazards is usually involuntary

Types

Environmental hazards can be categorized in many different ways. One of them is — chemical, physical, biological, and psychological.

Chemical hazards are substances that can cause harm or damage to humans, animals, or the environment. They can be in the form of solids, liquids, gases, mists, dusts, fumes, and vapors. Exposure can occur through inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, or direct contact. Chemical hazards include substances such as pesticides, solvents, acids, bases, reactive metals, and poisonous gases. Exposure to these substances can result in health effects such as skin irritation, respiratory problems, organ damage, neurological effects, and cancer.

Physical hazards are factors within the environment that can harm the body without necessarily touching it. They include a wide range of environmental factors such as noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, radiation, and ergonomic hazards. Physical hazards may lead to injuries like burns, fractures, hearing loss, vision impairment, or other physical harm. They can be present in many work settings such as construction sites, manufacturing plants, and even office spaces.

Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, are organic substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This can include medical waste, samples of a microorganism, virus, or toxin (from a biological source) that can impact human health. Biological hazards can also include substances harmful to animals. Examples of biological hazards include bacteria, viruses, fungi, other microorganisms and their associated toxins. They may cause a myriad of diseases, from flu to more serious and potentially fatal diseases.

Psychological hazards are aspects of work and work environments that can cause psychological harm or mental ill-health. These include factors such as stress, workplace bullying, fatigue, burnout, and violence, among others. These hazards can lead to psychological issues like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychological hazards can exist in any type of workplace, and their management is a crucial aspect of occupational health and safety.

Environmental hazard identification

The four-step risk assessment process

Environmental hazard identification is the first step in environmental risk assessment, which is the process of assessing the likelihood, or risk, of adverse effects resulting from a given environmental stressor. Hazard identification is the determination of whether, and under what conditions, a given environmental stressor has the potential to cause harm.

In hazard identification, sources of data on the risks associated with prospective hazards are identified. For instance, if a site is known to be contaminated with a variety of industrial pollutants, hazard identification will determine which of these chemicals could result in adverse human health effects, and what effects they could cause. Risk assessors rely on both laboratory (e.g., toxicological) and epidemiological data to make these determinations.

Illustration of a site conceptual model for environmental exposure

Conceptual model of exposure

Hazards have the potential to cause adverse effects only if they come into contact with populations that may be harmed. For this reason, hazard identification includes the development of a conceptual model of exposure. Conceptual models communicate the pathway connecting sources of a given hazard to the potentially exposed population(s). The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry establishes five elements that should be included in a conceptual model of exposure:

• The source of the hazard in question
• Environmental fate and transport, or how the hazard moves and changes in the environment after its release
• Exposure point or area, or the place at which an exposed person comes into contact with the hazard
• Exposure route, or the manner by which an exposed person comes into contact with the hazard (e.g., orally, dermally, or by inhalation)
• Potentially exposed populations.

Evaluating hazard data

Once a conceptual model of exposure is developed for a given hazard, measurements should be taken to determine the presence and quantity of the hazard. These measurements should be compared to appropriate reference levels to determine whether a hazard exists. For instance, if arsenic is detected in tap water from a given well, the detected concentrations should be compared with regulatory thresholds for allowable levels of arsenic in drinking water. If the detected levels are consistently lower than these limits, arsenic may not be a chemical of potential concern for the purposes of this risk assessment. When interpreting hazard data, risk assessors must consider the sensitivity of the instrument and method used to take these measurements, including any relevant detection limits (i.e., the lowest level of a given substance that an instrument or method is capable of detecting).

Chemical

Chemical hazards are defined in the Globally Harmonized System and in the European Union chemical regulations. They are caused by chemical substances causing significant damage to the environment. The label is particularly applicable towards substances with aquatic toxicity. An example is zinc oxide, a common paint pigment, which is extremely toxic to aquatic life.

Toxicity or other hazards do not imply an environmental hazard, because elimination by sunlight (photolysis), water (hydrolysis) or organisms (biological elimination) neutralizes many reactive or poisonous substances. Persistence towards these elimination mechanisms combined with toxicity gives the substance the ability to do damage in the long term. Also, the lack of immediate human toxicity does not mean the substance is environmentally nonhazardous. For example, tanker truck-sized spills of substances such as milk can cause a lot of damage in the local aquatic ecosystems: the added biological oxygen demand causes rapid eutrophication, leading to anoxic conditions in the water body.

All hazards in this category are mainly anthropogenic although there exist a number of natural carcinogens and chemical elements like radon and lead may turn up in health-critical concentrations in the natural environment:

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• Anthrax – Infection caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria
• Antibiotic – Antimicrobial substance active against bacteria agents in animals destined for human consumption
• Arsenic – chemical element with symbol As and atomic number 33Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback - a contaminant of fresh water sources (water wells)
• Asbestos – Carcinogenic fibrous silicate mineral - carcinogenic
• Carcinogen – Substance, radionuclide, or radiation directly involved in causing cancers
• DDT – Organochloride known for its insecticidal properties
• Dioxins – Class of environmentally polluting organic compounds
• Endocrine disruptor – Chemicals that can interfere with endocrine or hormonal systemss
• Explosive material – Substance that can explode
• Fungicide – Chemical compounds used to kill fungis
• Furan – Heterocyclic organic compound,s
• Haloalkane – Group of chemical compounds derived from alkanes containing one or more halogenss
• Heavy metals – Loosely defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic propertiesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Herbicide – Type of chemical used to kill unwanted plantss
• Hormone – Biological signalling molecules in animals destined for human consumption
• Lead – chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback in paint
• Marine debris – Human-created solid waste in the sea or ocean
• mercury – chemical element with symbol Hg and atomic number 80Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Mutagen – Physical or chemical agent that increases the rate of genetic mutations
• Pesticide – Substance used to destroy pestss
• Polychlorinated biphenyl – Highly carcinogenic chemical compoundss
• Radon – chemical element with the atomic number of 86Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback and other natural sources of radioactivity
• Soil pollution – Pollution of land by human-made chemicals or other alterationPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Tobacco smoking – Practice of burning tobacco and breathing the resulting smoke
• Toxic waste – Any unwanted material which can cause harm

Physical

A physical hazard is a type of occupational hazard that involves environmental hazards that can cause harm with or without contact. Below is a list of examples:

• Cosmic ray – High-energy particle, mainly originating outside the Solar System
• Drought – Period with less precipitation than normal
• Earthquake – Sudden movement of the Earth's crust
• Electromagnetic field – Electric and magnetic fields produced by moving charged objects
• Electronic waste – Discarded electronic devices
• Flood – Water overflow submerging usually-dry lands
• Fog – Atmospheric phenomenon
• Light pollution – Excess artificial light in an environment
• Lighting – Deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects
• Noise pollution – Excessive, displeasing environmental noise
• Quicksand – Mixture of sand, silt or clay with water, which creates a liquefied soil when agitated
• Ultraviolet – Energetic, invisible light energy range
• Vibration – Repetitive variation of some measure about a central value
• X-ray – Form of electromagnetic radiation

Biological

See also: Toxicology and List of allergies

Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, refer to biological substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that of humans. This can include medical waste or samples of a microorganism, virus or toxin (from a biological source) that can affect human health. Examples include:

• Allergen – Type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response
  • Pollen – Grains containing the male gametophytes of seed plants, a common allergen
• Arbovirus – Class of viruses which are transmitted by arthropods
• Avian influenza – Influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy – Fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle (BSE)
• Cholera – Bacterial infection of the small intestine
• Ebola – Viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses
• Epidemic – Rapid spread of disease affecting a large number of people in a short times
• Food poisoning – Illness from eating contaminaled food
• Malaria – Mosquito-borne infectious disease
• Mold – Wooly, dust-like fungal structure or substances
• Onchocerciasis – Human helminthiasis (infection by parasite) (river blindness)
• Pandemic – Widespread, often global, epidemic of severe infectious diseases
• Pathogen – Biological entity that causes disease in its hosts
• Rabies – Deadly viral disease, transmitted through animals
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome – Disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirusPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets (SARS)
• Sick building syndrome – Symptoms of illness attributed to a building

Psychological

Psychological hazards include but are not limited to stress, violence and other workplace stressors. Work is generally beneficial to mental health and personal wellbeing. It provides people with structure and purpose and a sense of identity.

See also

• Hazard analysis – Method for assessing risk
• Hazardous material – Solids, liquids, or gases harmful to people, other organisms, property or the environment
• Natural hazard – Conditions that could lead to a natural disaster
• Occupational hazard – Hazard experienced in the workplace
• Hazardous waste – Ignitable, reactive, corrosive and/or toxic unwanted or unusable materials