Human Environmental Hazards

865 Words2 Pages

Physical hazards affect populations all over the world, regardless of wealth, location or other factors which tend to differentiate people and cultures from one another. Physical hazards in the environment are naturally occurring events and disasters with the capability of threatening physical safety. Hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tornados, earthquakes, floods, and landslides are all different types of physical hazards that can have devastating effects on mankind (Library Index, Natural Hazard, 2011). There are primary and secondary effects to these physical hazards. Primary effects are a result of the event or disaster itself. For instance, flood waters damaging houses and buildings, or the collapse of structures due to an earthquake, hurricane, landslide or sinkhole. Secondary effects occur because a primary effect has caused them to happen. An example of a secondary effect is a power outage, or a fire started because of an earthquake. Although we cannot predict a precise location or the magnitude of a physical hazard, some of the consequences can be greatly reduced by strategies such as building design, better land management and regulations, and education on how we can better use our land.

Biological hazards are micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, microscopic, parasitic worms, or other pathogens. These harmful micro-organisms are described as a substance that is naturally occurring which can be harmful to humans, causing disease and illness. These hazardous biological agents can enter the body in different routes. They are inhaled, ingested, or absorbed with most biological agents being inhaled (What is a biological hazard, 2011). Once inside the body, these infectious agents can multiply quickly and may be ...

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... also associated with high sexual activity. Overeating can lead to serious medical problems, endangering your overall health, subjecting the human body to disease. (Patton, K. T., & Thibodeau, G., A. 2010).

Works Cited

http://www.eoearth.org/topics/view/49721/

http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/8747/natural-hazard.html

http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/99ndcs/ii-b.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-biological-hazard.htm

Boorse, D. F., & Wright, R.T., (2011). Environmental science. Toward a sustainable future. (Eleventh Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Patton, K. T., & Thibodeau, G. A. (2010). The Human Body in Health and Disease (Fifth Ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier.

Proctor, D. B., & Young, A. P. (2007). Kinn's the Medical Assistant an Applied Learning Approach (Tenth Ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Saunders Elsevier.

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