Environmental Health

What is environmental health? Environmental health is the study of factors in our environment that can affect human health and disease. Environmental exposures cause hundreds of thousands of illnesses each year, including asthma and cancers. Environmental health professionals learn how to identify, prevent and control those exposures to protect health.

In recent decades, Alaska has experienced unprecedented wildfire seasons, increasing the public’s exposure to harmful particulate matter from wildfire smoke. To track this air pollution for the entire state, there are only six federal regulatory air monitoring stations that continuously monitor fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental contaminants that continue to pose health risks despite being banned decades ago. Developmental exposure to PCBs has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders that exhibit pronounced sex-specific patterns.

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Aim: This study aims to examine the extent to which nonprofit hospitals describe climate-sensitive hazards in their community health needs assessments (CHNAs).Background: Climate change is a pressing public health problem that calls for supportive programming tailored to communities.