DRAFT

PM 529:Environmental Health – An Epidemiologic Approach

Master of Public Health Program, Department of Preventive Medicine,

Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California

Instructor:Dr. Marc Strassburg

County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health

Web Informatics Division

Tel.: (213) 240-7785 FAX: (213) 250-2594

email:

Time:Tuesday and Thursday, 6:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Location:Alhambra campus (HSA) - Rm (to bedetermined)

Office Hours:To be arranged

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of environmental health. The format includes lectures, case studies, student presentations, and discussions. An overview of the principles of toxicology and exposure assessment will be provided within the context of specific hazards. Exposure pathways will be reviewed, and environmental illness associated with selected exposures presented. A number of exposures and their possible role as carcinogens will have special focus, they include: air pollution, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, pesticides, and radiation. These topics have been selected to illustrate the application of epidemiologic methods to environmental health issues, outbreaks, and assessments. Other topics include use of various screening tools and to help students learn to evaluate current literature and to become familiar with controversies regarding somehealth risks hazard assessments. Mitigating health risks and problems will be discussed and how that fits into a comprehensive public health program. Broad issues such as injury control, greenhouse gasses, and large-scale disasters, and bioterrorism will be reviewed, and specific current disease examples of H1N1, SARS, and Mad Cow disease will be discussed. The legal and regulatory basis formanagement of environmental health risks will also be covered.

Course Objectives

Students who complete this course will be able to:

(a)Discuss the history and definition of environmental health.

(b)Discuss the association between population growth and dissemination of environmental pollutants.

(c)Describe methods used in epidemiology and toxicology to assess environmental exposures and hazards.

(d)Describe policies that have been developed to manage health risks associated with exposures to environmental hazards.

(e)Identify chemical, physical, and microbial agents that originate in the environment and can impact human health.

(f)Describe specific applications of environmental health concepts to fields such as water quality control, food safety, and occupational health.

REQUIRED COURSE READINGS:

1. Essentials of Environmental Health. Robert H. Friis Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2nd Edition(2010) -- ISBN 0763778907

2. Website readings as assigned.

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA:

25%Midterm (covering chapters 1-6)

25%Final Exam (covering chapters 7-12)

20% Presentation*

20%Homework Assignments**
10% Attendance/Participation

*The PowerPoint Presentation should consist of between 10-15 slides.Presentations will be assigned during meeting #1 and begin at Meeting #2. These PowerPoints are tobe presented in class and also to be submitted electronically.

** Homework is either an outline of the chapter (2 pages), or Answers to the Study Questions and Exercises at end of each chapter.

QUIZES:

Each chapter will have an in-class Quiz associated with it. Students who perform well on a given chapter will not have to take those chapter sections onthe Midterm or Final.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be certain the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in on the University Park campus in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number is (213) 740-0776.

ELECTRONICCOURSE MANAGEMENT:

The USCBlackBoard is the online learning portal through which we will provide electronic copies of PowerPointchapter lectures (usually in PDF format), and other course materials,. Students may obtain access at using their USC computer user name and password. All courses that students are enrolled in that are using the Blackboard will appear on the page as a link. Simply follow the link to access online course materials and grades.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

MEETING NUMBER /

TOPICS, Reading assignments, AND HOMEWORK

1 / Course overview. Review of lecture framework and objectives. Introduction to environmental problems and issues.
Introduction: The Environment at Risk
Readings: Chapter 1
2 / Environmental Epidemiology
Readings: Chapter 2
Due: Chapter 2 Study Questionsor Outline
3 / Environmental Toxicology
Readings: Chapter 3
Due: Chapter 3 Study Questionsor Outline
3 /

Environmental Policy and Regulation

Readings: Chapter 4Due: Chapter 4 Study Questionsor Outline
4 / Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases
Readings: Chapter 5Due: Chapter 5 Study Questionsor Outline
5 / Toxic Metals and Elements
Readings: Chapter 6Due: Chapter 6 Study Questionsor Outline
5 / Pesticides and Other Organic Chemicals

Readings: Chapter 7Due: Chapter 7 Study Questions or Outline

6 / Ionizing and Nonionizing Radiation
Readings: Chapter 8 Due: Chapter 8Study Questionsor Outline
Mid-Term covering Chapters 1-8
7 / Water Quality
Readings: Chapter 9
Due: Chapter 9 Study Questions or Outline
8 / Air Quality
Readings: Chapter 10
Due: Chapter 10 Study Questions or Outline
9 / Food Safety
Readings: Chapter 11
Due: Chapter 11 Study Questions or Outline
11 / Solid and Liquid Wastes
Readings: Chapter 12
Due: Chapter 12 Study Questions or Outline
11 / Occupational Health
Readings: Chapter 13
Due: Chapter 13 Study Questions or Outline
12 / Injuries with a Focus on Unintentional Injuries and Deaths
Readings: Chapter 14
Due: Chapter 14 Study Questions or Outline

WEB SITES TO VIEW:

  • Glossary of Environmental Health Terms
  • NationalCenter for Environmental Health
  • CDC Environmental Health
  • Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
  • L.A. Public Health Environmental Health:
  • Risk Characterization Handbook:
  • Environmental Protection Agency:
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • CDC Food Safety Office
  • CDC Cancer Clusters:
  • Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF)
  • CDC Radiation Emergencies
  • CDC Water Quality
  • CDC Emergency and Environmental Health Services
  • CDC -
  • L.A. County - Emergency Preparedness & Response: (Zebra packet)
  • Web Book on Environmental Medicine::
  • Environmental Sampling - PowerPoint:
  • Recommended Revisions to the London Principles
  • Health and Disasters - UCLA:
  • Safety and Health Terms & Abbreviations:
  • Industrial Hygiene - Toxicology, Chemical Information and MSDS
  • Environmental Health and Toxicology - National Library of Medicine NIH
  • CA.gov Food and Agriculture
  • FEMA
  • Methodologic Frontiers in Environmental Epidemiology, Rothman:
  • Epidemiology An Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Second Edition

5//17/2011

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA¨ INSTITUTE FOR PREVENTION RESEARCH