Introduction
Toxicity of a chemical depends on the amount of substance that gets into a tissue or organ. It has been demonstrated that a chemical produces its toxic effects in a body organ when sufficient amounts are delivered to the organ. I totally subscribe to the idea that all substances are poisons. What determines the degree to which a substance harms an organ is the dose given to the organ or tissue in an organism. In fact, even water is poisonous when it is taken in a large volume.
Methods of testing toxicity of chemicals
Without well designed and tested methods, it is difficult to test toxicity of chemicals. There are three methods used to test toxicity of chemicals: animal testing, in vitro tests and in silico testing systems. Toxicity testing using animals is used to test toxicity levels of chemicals using experimental animals. They involve exposing the experimental animal to the test chemical for short or long periods. In vitro tests involve exposing animal tissues and cells to chemicals in the laboratory. The animal tissues and cells are harvested and cultured in the laboratory. In silico testing systems involve the use of computer models to predict the toxicity of a chemical based on its chemical structure. Usually, the structure of a test chemical is compared to chemicals with known structures to estimate its level of toxicity.
Environmental sustainability
Environmental sustainability is concerned with protecting the natural environment from the negative impact of humans and businesses. It concentrates on finding alternative and viable solutions to business and human activities that impact the environment. It is involved in finding long-term measures to protect the natural environment. The overall goal of protecting the natural environment is to make it sustain human life.
There are three components of sustainable development: economic sustainability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability is concerned with protecting the natural environment for use by current and future generations. Economic sustainability aims at ensuring that every activity has long-term economic value. The economic gains of projects should be analyzed to ensure that they are benefiting humanity. Social sustainability is a component of sustainable development that is concerned with promoting social benefits of projects for the current and future generations.
Polluter-pays principle
This is a principle in environmental regulations that requires the person responsible for polluting the environment to pay for the harm caused. The amount of payment made depends on the harm caused to the environment and the amount stipulated for that harm. This principle aims at reducing the harm caused to the environment.
Roles of agencies
The following agencies play roles in policy formulation and environmental protection. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is involved in protecting US citizens from environmental hazards at work, school and home. The body formulates policies crucial in environmental hazard protection. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) formulates policies and measures to protect workers from injuries and illnesses.
The injuries and illnesses may be a result of deplorable working environments. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducts research to understand how environmental factors contribute to human disease. Findings from such studies are crucial in drafting measures to minimize and prevent human disease. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) is involved in providing independent and reliable environmental information to bodies involved in environmental policy formulation and the general public. It is part of the European Union (EU). The information the body provides to the bodies and the public is crucial in ensuring safety of humans in the environment.
Environmental problems in Love Canal
Love Canal has been documented as one of the areas that have been faced with rampant environmental health problems. The environmental problems started as a result of chemical waste dumping on the site. The dumping was done by a chemical company which sold the property to a school. In their sale agreement, the chemical company made it clear to the buyer that the site had toxic chemical wastes. The school board bought the property oblivious of the magnitude of effects the toxic wastes would cause. The property was sold in 1953. However, environmental problems were investigated from 1976 to 1978.
The investigation found out that the toxic chemical substances buried into the site were responsible for the environmental health problems encountered by the residents. Love Canal population was evacuated in 1978, and a clean-up of the site was done. There were many health problems experienced by residents of Love Canal. Both sexes and all ages were affected. However, children and women were most affected.
The health problems started manifesting slowly, and by the time of evacuation there were rampant environmental health problems by many residents. Women had repeated miscarriages for no apparent reasons. One pupil was reported to have developed epilepsy, asthma and urinary tract infection. A study confirmed that 56% of children had birth defects. The environmental health problems were also reported in industrial workers who developed nervous disorders and cancers.