Syllabus

Schedule

Instructors

Instructions forgetting to E-179(PDF)

Groups & Projects

Midterm StudyGuide

Final Study Guide

Page contents:

Meeting Times andLocations

Announcements

DEOHS Seminar

In the News . . .

Home Pagefor Autumn Quarter 2011

Last Updated18 September 2011

This is a survey course examining how environmental factors and conditions affecthuman health and well-being.

Meeting Times and Locations:

8:30 - 9:20 a.m.Monday, Wednesday & FridayRoom T-439 HSB

Instructors / Office Hours:

Charles D. (Chuck) Treser, Senior LecturerOffice Hours: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 - 3:00 p.m., daily, except Tuesday andThursday afternoon. Other times by appointment.

Eyob Mazengia, Graduate Teaching AssistantOffice Hours: 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; other times byappointment.

Shonnessy Gilmore, Graduate Teaching AssistantOffice Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Tuesdays & Thursdays; other times byappointment.

Announcements:

08/14/11 :: Class Listserv: A course listserv is available to send messages to allstudents enrolled in the course. This list is maintained by the Registrar’s Office and isupdated every night. This list is used to send announcements to all of the students inthe class, and is available to students who would like to send a message to all the restof the class. Email messages should be addressed to:envh311a_au11@u.washington.edu

Next DEOHS Seminar:

Thursday, 6 October :: Cases from OSHA FilesSpeaker: Rosemary Sokas, MD, MOH Director, Office of Occupational Medicine,OSHA, US Department of Labor.

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In the News . . .

See what’s happening around the world at the interface of the environment and humanhealth. This site is updated frequently with articles from the Environmental NewsNetwork, Associated Press and other sources of news and events highlighting andexploring the link between environmental factors and conditions and human health. Click here to go to the site.

For news articles from previous months see the archive.

Send mail to: ctreser@u.washington.eduLast modified: 8 /14/2011 4:10 pm

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Homepage

Schedule

Instructors

Groups & Projects

Midterm Study Guide

Final Study Guide

Page contents:

Meeting Times andLocations

Announcements

Autumn Quarter 2011Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course explores the relationship of people to their environment -- how it affectstheir physical well-being, and what they can do to protect and enhance their health, andto influence the quality of the environment.

This course is a survey course intended to give students a basic understanding of howenvironmental factors impact the health of people and the community, and of theefforts made to prevent or minimize the effects of negative impacts. The course isdesigned to acquaint the student with the scientific and technical foundations of thefield, and examines both the practice of environmental health and the problems whichare addressed by the practitioners in this career discipline. Emphasis is on providing ageneral understanding of how environmental factors are involved in the transmission ofcommunicable diseases and on some of the health hazards resulting from exposure tochemical and physical materials in our environment.

Learning Objectives

It is intended that at the completion of this course, each student should be able to:

Describe, and document by case example, ways in which environmental factorsin community, occupational and residential settings impact health;

1.

Explain the pertinent scientific principles associated with the majorenvironmental health program areas;

2.

Explain, and be able to illustrate with examples, how factors, such ascommunity perceptions, public health law, traditions, socioeconomicconditions, politics and interpersonal communications, may influence thepractice of environmental health;

3.

Describe the benefits and limitations of the various methodologies (such asregulation, education, impact statements and public funding) through whichsociety attempts to minimize negative environmental health impacts;

4.

Explain the theoretical framework which guides environmental healthpractitioners and differentiates them from other environmental and healthprofessionals;

5.

List the major agencies and organizations involved in environmental healthprotection and explain their basic responsibilities, programs and problems; and,

6.

Analyze at least one environmental health program in the Puget Sound area forits theoretical and legal base, its organization and management, and its

7.

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interaction with and impact on the community and other agencies.

Course Requirements

Examinations: There will be a mid-term and a final examination. The tests willbe cumulative only in the sense that the basic principles and concepts learned inthe early portions of the course are applicable to the problems examined in thelater portions.

Mid-Term Exam: Monday, October, 2011Final Exam: Friday, December 9, 2011

1.

Course Project: During the third week of the course, the class will be dividedinto groups which will analyze an environmental health issue or problem,assigned by the instructors, that is currently topical and/or controversial. Eachgroup will be responsible for preparing a poster to be presented to the entireclass on Tuesday, December 6th. The poster presentation should:

2.

present a description of the problem -- its size, scope and affectedpopulation(s); stressing the available information or data that bestsupports the group’s position with regard to the public healthsignificance of the problem or issue and its relationship to, or impact on,members of the community;

a.

discuss the etiologic or causative factors involved with this particularproblem, including the agent(s), mechanism(s) of injury or healthimpact, and the transmission pathway(s);

b.

discuss the prevention or control strategies and programs -- including thestatutory basis for government regulation or intervention in this area andthe major agency or agencies (if any) responsible for dealing with theproblem and describe the activities, procedures, etc. employed or underdiscussion by the agencies; and,

c.

present the group’s conclusions and recommendations including anassessment of how well the agency is (or agencies are) dealing with theproblem and your reactions/observations concerning the relevancy of theagency program/activities to community needs.

d.

The project is to be based on information gathered by the group from:the periodic literature; government, NGO and other websites; and, thepopular press. A visit to a federal, state or local government agency (orattendance of a city or county council meeting, a regional planningcouncil meeting, or a public hearing), dealing with your environmentalhealth program or issue would also be helpful and encouraged, but is notrequired.

Each group should meet with me at least once to discuss their selectionof a topic and to insure that each of the members of the group havesufficient background information with regard to the topic to be able tomake the necessary observations and ask intelligent questions during thefield visit(s). The first visit should be made no later than the fifth week ofthe quarter.

The final report will consist of a “poster” presentation andaccompanying written report. The posters will be presented to the classduring the last week of the quarter. In order to reduce wastes, conserveresources and save the students money, the “poster” presentation willconsist of a single PowerPoint slide submitted electronically to the

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instructor by noon on Monday, December 5th and include the following:

the project title;the names of each of the group members;the date;a statement of the problem or issue being investigated;a discussion of the legal, political and social issues affecting theproblem;identification of the major government agencies, private sectorand non-governmental organizations or citizens groups involved;and,the results found and conclusions drawn by the group.

Each group should download the PowerPoint template available here foruse in constructing their “poster”.

In addition to the above, the written report should include information onthe field visits, any desired additional information or discussion, and abibliography of the literature cited. (A word of caution with regard to thebibliography. While the internet is a tremendous resource for obtaininginformation, it is neither comprehensive nor necessarily authoritative.There is a lot of misinformation on the net -- be sure to use only crediblesites and even then read the material critically. And remember, thelibrary is not obsolete! Not all the journals you may need are availableonline [or free] and there may be important background materials andinsights in books.)

A single grade will be assigned to each group. However, the grade foreach member of the group will be adjusted based on a peer evaluationperformed by each member of the group. It is critically important toyour grade that everyone complete the peer evaluation form -- failureto do so could negatively affect your grade in the course as your finalgrade for the project will be adjusted according to the grades submittedby your peers. A major purpose of the group project is for each memberof the class to gain experience working together as a group to solve acurrent issue or problem. This is a skill which has become increasinglyimportant in both private and public agencies and organizations.

Additional details are contained on the “Projects” page of this web site.

3. Extra Credit Points: There are several opportunities for students to earn extracredit points.

a. Recognizing that Chuck’s office can be difficult to find, we will award5 extra credit points to any student who comes down to E-179 to talkwith Chuck or one of the TAs (during their office hours, or at ascheduled appointment) BEFORE the mid-term examination.

b. Exercise #1: After the first lecture the course title slide (not the lessontitle slide) shown before the start of each leacture session will depict ascene from Ireland, taken by Chuck on one of his trips over there. Up to10 extra credit points will be awarded to students who download theExercise #1 form from the course web site, and correctly identify thetitle slide for the day, and provide your guess as to why I chose thatparticular slide, i.e, what does the pciture have to do with the topic underdiscussion for that day. 1 point will be awarded for correctly identifying70% (or 21 sessions) of the course title slides, 2 points for 73% (or 22sessions), etc.

c. Related Articles and Seminars: Beginning after the mid-term exam,

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we will award up to 2 points/article or seminar (to a maximum of 20points) to students who read an article or attends a relevant seminar andsubmits a one page summary (double spaced) of the article and a briefexplanation of how it relates to the course.

The DEOHS holds a weekly seminar.The Program on the Environment (PoE) provides a weekly listingof environmental related seminars on campus. (However, beaware that not all of these are relevant to Environmental Health.)The course schedule posted on the course website lists anoptional supplementary reading for each week. Some of these arelinks to website run by government agencies, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs), etc.; the articles count, but the web sitesdo NOT count as an extra credit option.

d. There may be additional extra credit opportunities made availableduring the quarter.

Course Materials

Textbook: Nadakavukaren, Anne, Our Global Environment: A HealthPerspective, 7th Ed., Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Illinois, 2011. (Thetexbook is available at the South Campus Center branch of the UniversityBookstore.)

1.

Supplementary Readings (Required): The materials in the above textbook willbe supplemented by a series of readings.These readings are designed to enrichyour learning experience by providing increased depth in a topic or bypresenting a sample or case that illustrates the principles covered in the text andlectures. All of these readings available as PDF files that can be read ordownloaded to your computer by following the links on the course schedule. Ina few cases, the linked optional readings will take you to a web site thatcontains additional information. In addition, several copies of these readings arecontained in binders located on the bookshelf behind the study area in E-179B.These binders may be checked out over night as long as they are returned before8:15 AM the next day.

2.

Suggested Readings (Optional): Your syllabus also lists a number of journalarticles, reports and other materials that expand upon or illuminate specificaspects of the topics covered in this course. Most of these are also availableon-line. In some cases, the suggested readings may be links to a government orother web site. These links also provide you with additional information on thetopic of the lesson, and provide you with an opportunity to explore the type andscope of information available from these various sources.

Also there are a number of journals related to environmental health currentlyavailable. People wishing to stay abreast of this fast changing field should atleast scan the journals most related to their interests every month. Some of thebest of them (or at least the ones most directly related to this course) are in theDepartment of Environmental Health Library (F-459) and include:

Journal of Environmental HealthAmerican Journal of Public HealthEnvironmentEPA Journal

In addition there are a number of general textbooks in ecology, environmentalengineering and environmental health which are recommended for studentsdesiring to obtain greater technical information in the practice of environmental

3.

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health.

Bernarde, Melvin, Our Precarious Habitat: Fifteen Years Later, JohnWiley & Sons, New York, 1989. [seriously dated but still interestingtextbook, written from a different perspective than Nadakavukaren’sbook.]

a.

Frumkin, H. Environmental Health: From Global to Local, Jossey-Bass,San Franciscio, 2005. [An excellent text with a new edition due out thisyear.]

b.

Blumenthal DS [Ed.] Introduction to Environmental Health, SpringerPublishing Co., New York, 1985. [This book gives good coverage ofcertain problems like toxic substances and occupational hazards but isvery sketchy on the traditional areas like food and water.]

c.

Moeller DW. Environmental Health, 3rd Edition, Harvard UniversityPress, Cambridge, 2005.

d.

Moore GS. Living with the Earth: Concepts in Environmental HealthScience, Lewis Publishers, New York, 1999.

e.

Salvato JA. Environmental Engineering and Sanitation [6th Ed.], JohnWiley & Sons. 2009. [This has been the best, up-to-date, comprehensiveenvironmental health textbook available, however, it is expensive,technical and somewhat tedious to read, and it has now been split intothree books.]

f.

Course Policies

The group paper must be typewritten. Your report will be graded on thesubstance of your report and on the effectiveness of its organization andpresentation. Groups should see me or one of the the TAs if they need help withmaking their PowerPoint slide, including graphics.

1.

There will be no make-up examinations unless approved by the instructor inadvance. If a test is missed because of an unexcused absence, it will not berescheduled.

2.

Your final grade will be the average of the two course exams, your courseproject and any extra credit points.

3.

The University is committed to ensuring facility and program access to studentswith either permanent or temporary disabilities through a variety of services andequipment. The Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS) coordinatesacademic accommodations for enrolled students with documented disabilities.Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis and may includeclassroom relocation, sign language interpreters, recorded course materials, notetaking, and priority registration. DRS also provides needs assessment,mediation, referrals, and advocacy as necessary and appropriate.

Requests for accommodations or services must be arranged in advance andrequire documentation of the disability, verifying the need for suchaccommodation or service. If you would like to request academicaccommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services,448 Schmitz, Box 355839, (206) 543-8924, (TTY) 543-8925,uwdss@u.washington.edu. If you have a letter from Disabled Student Servicesindicating you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, pleasepresent the letter to me so we can discuss the accommodations you might needfor class.

4.

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Home Page

Syllabus

Instructors

Readings

Groups & Projects

Peer Evaluation Form

Midterm Study Guide

Final Study Guide

Handouts:Extra Credit Exercise #1

Chart of VectorborneDiseases

Chart of Food & Waterborne Diseases

Page contents:

Lectures & Assignments

Autumn Quarter 2011Course Schedule

Lectures & Assignments

(NOTE: This schedule is still under construction and the list of lectures andassignments is subject to change.)Session

No. Day Date Topic / Lecturer RequiredReadings

OptionalReadings

1 Wed. 09/28//11 Course IntroductionC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapters1-2

WWIC: Population*Border Medicine

2 Fri. 09/30/11Population Dynamics& HealthConsequencesC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapters3-4

Gilman*Meadows*

3 Mon. 10/03/11Limits to GrowthMovie / C. Treser,DEOHS

Chapters5-6

WWIC:Environment

4 Wed. 10/05/11Principles of EcologyMovie / C. Treser,DEOHS

Chapter 7 Teflon

5 Fri. 10/07/11Principles ofToxicologyC. Treser, DEOHS

Reading #1 Do you Dare . . .?

6 Mon. 10/10/11Principles of RiskAssessmentC. Treser, DEOHS

Reading #2Exercise#2

Occupational deathamong health careworkers*

7 Wed. 10/12/11Principles ofEpidemiologyJ. Hoover, RetiredHealth Officer

Reading #3 Population biologyof pathogens*

8 Fri. 10/14/11Disease Transmission& ControlC. Treser, DEOHS

9 Mon. 10/17/11Assignment of GroupProjectsC. Treser, DEOHS

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10 Wed. 10/19/11Zoonotic &Vector-borne DiseaseC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapter 8 Compendium ofmeasures . .*

11 Fri. 10/21/11 Vector ControlL. Helms, PHSKC Reading #4 Urban Rodent

Control*

12 Mon. 10/24/11Foodborne IllnessD. Gifford, WashingtonDOH

Chapter 9 MMWR FoodborneIllnesses 1998-2002

13 Wed. 10/26/11 Food ProtectionC. Treser DEOHS Reading #5 Grains of Hope*

14 Fri. 10/28/11 Accidents & InjuriesC. Treser, DEOHS Reading #6 CDC: Injuries

15 Mon. 10/31/11 Mid-TermExamination

MidtermStudyGuide

16 Wed. 11/02/11Occupational Health &SafetyA. Mak, The BoeingCo.

Reading #7 IH Fact SheetsJSHQ Vol. 14:3

17 Fri. 11/04/11 Radiation ProtectionJ. Sober, UW EH&S Chapter 10 Ultraviolet

Radiation*

18 Mon. 11/07/11 Air & Air QualityC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapters11-12to p.425

EPA Air Quality

19 Wed. 11/09/11 Air Pollution & HealthA. Gagney, ALAW Reading #8 EPA Air Trends

Fri. 11/11/11 VETERANS’ DAYHOLIDAY

20 Mon. 11/14/11 Indoor Air QualityC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapter 12(425-438) EPA IAQ

21 Wed. 11/16/11Noise ProtectionM. Cohen, DEOHS,FRCG

Chapter 13 Engineering aQuieter Workplace*

22 Fri. 11/18/11 Water QualityC. Treser, DEOHS Chapter 14 WWIC: Water

23 Mon. 11/21/11 WastewaterC.Treser, DEOHS Chapter 15

Tour of the WestPoint WastewaterTreatment

24 Wed. 11/23/11WastewaterJ. Hutchison,Sonhomish HealthDistrict

Chapter 15 On-site Systems

Fri. 11/25/11 THANKSGIVINGBREAK

25 Mon. 11/28/11Solid & HazardousWastesC. Treser, DEOHS

Chapter 16 EPA WastesMSW Facts 2007

26 Wed. 11/30/11Solid & HazardousWaste ManagementC. Treser, DEOHS

Reading#10

Hazardous WastesHousehold HazWaste

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27 Fri. 12/02/11Waste Reduction,Reuse & RecyclingC. Treser, DEOHS

Reading#11

Waste ReductionEPA Guide (PDF(29MB)*

28 Mon. 12/05/11 Housing & HealthC. Treser, DEOHS

Reading#12

Designing &Building HealthyPlaces

29 Wed. 12/07/11Housing & UrbanSprawlC. Treser, DEOHS

30 Fri. 12/09/11 Final ExaminationFinalStudyGuide

31 Tue. 12/13/11Poster Session --8:30 - 10:20 a.m. inT-439 HSB

PeerEvaluationForm

IMPORTANT:This session is

mandatory

= Chuck will be out oftown or leaving afterclass

* Qualifies for extra credit

Send mail to: ctreser@u.washington.eduRevised: 09/20/2011 - 8:00 am

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Home Page

Syllabus

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Directions to E-179 (PDF)

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Course Instructor

Graduate TeachingAssistant

Grader

Autumn Quarter 2011Course Instructors

Charles D. (Chuck) Treser, MPH,DAASSenior LecturerDepartment of Environmental &Occupational Health SciencesE-179C, Health Sciences CenterCampus Box 357234Seattle, WA 98195-7234Phone: 206-616-2097Fax: 206-543-9616Email: ctreser@u.washington.edu

Office Hours: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.and 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Daily. Othertimes by appointment.

Mr. Treser was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1945. He received hisbachelor of arts degree in history from Thiel College in 1967, and servedthree years in the United States Army as an artillery survey specialist, aneducation specialist and a personnel specialist. In 1971 he began his careerin environmental health as an environmental health inspector with theAllegheny County Health Department in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Steadypromotions followed over the next four years until 1975, when as anenvironmental health supervisor, he went on leave to obtain a Master ofPublic Health degree at the University of Michigan. In 1976 he returned tothe Allegheny County Health Department and was promoted toenvironmental health administrator. There he developed a comprehensivetraining program for new environmental health employees. In 1980, heaccepted a position as Lecturer in Environmental Health with the Universityof Washington’s Department of Environmental Health to manage acontinuing competency education system for environmental healthpersonnel.

Chuck teaches in both the undergraduate program and the school-wideextended MPH degree program. He is an active participant in the Universityof Washington’s Northwest Center for Public Health Practice – theorganizational nexus within the School of Public Health & CommunityMedicine for connecting the academic pursuits of the school with the needsof the Public Health practice community. He has also participated in a

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national effort to revise the basic housing inspection manual for EHpractitioners, and is the principal investigator on a cooperative agreementbetween the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs(AEHAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed toimprove environmental health practice through promoting and strengtheningenvironmental health academic programs. Chuck is a Diplomate in theAmerican Academy of Sanitarians.

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Eyob MazengiaPhD StudentSchool of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental & OccupationalHealth Sciences4225 Roosevelt, RMCampus Box 357234Seattle, WA 98195-7234Phone: (206) 616-4086 -- during office hoursonly.Email: eyob@u.washington.eduOffice Hours: 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays; other times byappointment.

Eyob doctoral student in Environmental Health, currently conductingresearch on raw poultry handling and the risk of salmonellosis. His areas offocus are in Environmental Health epidemiology and microbiological safetyof foods and water. Over the last ten years, he has worked with King Countyas an Environmental Microbiologist and as a Public Health Inspector. He isa Registered Sanitarian (RS/REHS) through the National EnvironmentalHealth Association.

Shonnessy GilmoreMPH StudentSchool of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental &Occupational Health SciencesCampus Box 357234Seattle, WA 98195-7234Phone: (206) 616-4086 -- during officehours only.Email: shonnessy.gilmore@gmail.comOffice Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Tuesdays and Thursdays; other timesby appointment.

Shonnessy is a graduate student in the Department of Environmental andOccupational HealthI,pursuing a Masters of Public Health (MPH) degree. She enjoys teaching, and working to educate people with diversebackgrounds. Her formal education is very broad ranging from wetland

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ecology, public health, microbiology, chemistry, environmental science,animal science, and molecular biology. Currently shs is focused on herthesis project invovlving the “characterization and isolation of bacteria fromalgae wrack of Pacific Northwest beaches”.

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