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Sharon R.
Environmental hazards are everywhere and can harm our health. They include smog in the air, pathogens in water, and contaminated food. Some hazards, like lead paint and mercury, are manmade. Scientists disagree on some issues, but agree that minority communities are at higher risk. Many deaths are linked to pollution, especially air pollution. The World Health Organization says 24% of global deaths are due to environmental factors. Mercury is a dangerous metal that can harm the nervous system. It is found in products like thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs. People can be exposed to mercury through fish, medical devices, and workplace settings. It is important to be aware of these hazards and take steps to prevent exposure.
Environmental hazards can be found nearly everywhere. There may be smog in the air we breathe, pathogens in our drinking water, foods grown in contaminated soil, dangerous manufacturing waste dumped in the waterways children use for recreational swimming, lead paint chips on the walls of older homes, and mercury contamination in imported, dollar store trinkets.
Known and unknown environmental hazards have the potential to pose a grave, yet preventable threat to public health. On most matters, opinions among researchers vary greatly. For example, some scientists believe global warming will raise sea levels and destroy entire ecosystems, others think not. Their opinions on most subjects can vary greatly.
However, two conclusions appear to generate little debate among researchers. First, minority communities are at an increased risk for death and injury from known environmental hazards. Secondly, many of these hazards are manmade, meaning prevention can be the most effective way to eliminate sickness and disease.
A stunning estimation from the United Nation’s Global Environment Outlook report states “up to 90% of the world’s major environmental problems are caused by human activities.” That is a bold, and perhaps exaggerated observation. Yet, other national and international health organizations offer equally worrisome statistics, providing empirical proof that environmental hazards can impact millions of lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that some “12.6 million deaths a year are associated with environmental pollution. Of these, an estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6% of all global deaths) are associated with air pollution, from household and outdoor sources.”
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agency, is straightforward in its stated mandate to eliminate racial health disparities. Their mission statement says, “We are especially committed to safeguarding the health of people who are at increased/higher risk–such as people from racial and ethnic minority groups, people with lower socioeconomic status, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities – from environmental hazards.”
The growing body of scientific data about the impact of environmental health threats is hard to ignore. The Who estimates that worldwide in the last decade as many as one in eight deaths were due to air pollution. The organization has data indicating “24% of global deaths (and 28% of deaths among children under five) are due to modifiable environmental factors.”
Modifiable factors are behaviors and circumstances that can be changed to prevent death and illness. Ischemic heart disease (strokes), chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers as diseases the WHO says can be triggered by environmental hazards. It acknowledges the fact “people in low- and middle-income communities bear the greatest disease burden.”
There are many common products that may expose people to dangerous levels of heavy metals such as mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes mercury “as a naturally occurring metal that is found in the earth’s crust and is used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including thermometers, dental fillings, and fluorescent light bulbs. It is a potent neurotoxin, which means it can harm the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.”
The EPA says mercury is particularly dangerous because, “it can accumulate in the environment and in the bodies of living organisms, including humans. Once mercury enters the environment, it can be transformed into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that can accumulate in fish and shellfish.
When humans consume contaminated fish or shellfish, they can be exposed to methylmercury, which can lead to a range of health problems, including damage to the nervous system, developmental problems in children, and cardiovascular effects.”
A commonly used medical device offers an ironic exposure to mercury’s toxicity. Blood pressure meters are traditionally associated with promoting good health, but many of these devices contain mercury. Although this risk of mercury poisoning is well known, hospitals continue to use mercury sphygmomanometers, because health providers consider these devices to be more accurate than mercury-free blood pressure measurement tools, reports the EPA.
When purchasing over a counter blood pressure meter, the EPA recommends asking the pharmacist if the device is mercury free.
The EPA warns mercury exposure can also occur in workplaces where mercury is used in industrial processes, such as gold mining, and in the production of certain products, such as batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. “Workers who are exposed to high levels of mercury can experience neurological symptoms such as tremors, memory loss, and mood changes.”
According to the CDC other sources of exposure to mercury may include antiques (made before the mercury’s risks were widely recognized), some dollar store jewelry imported from Mexico, broken fluorescent light bulbs, and older model electric appliances including chest freezers, space heaters, clothes dryers, clothes irons and washing machines may contain mercury switches that turn the device on or off.
Jayne Hopson is a 2024 Commonwealth Health Care Performance Fellow. The special series “Illiteracy: Black America’s Public Health Enemy # 1 is funded by Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and supported by The Commonwealth Fund.