To provide aspects of the health damages caused by the exposure to: outdoor and indoor pollutants, electromagnetic waves, ionizing radiations, occupational pollutants and urban solid wastes; to illustrate the basic knowledge of the environmental epidemiology methods used to study these effects.
Syllabus:
- framework of the health problems associated with chemical-physical air pollution.
- general issues about anatomy, biological, oncological, allergological and cardio-respiratory physiopathology markers.
- methods of epidemiological studies, principal methods of exposure assessment and measures of frequency and of health effect risk.
- outdoor and indoor air pollution: classification of air pollutants, scientific evidences on the association between air pollutants concentration and health effects (in particular, respiratory and cardiovascular apparatus and atopy). Results of environmental epidemiological studies performed on general population and adolescents in Italy. Health problems due to urban solid wastes and smoke exposure.
- electromagnetic waves pollution: interaction of the electromagnetic field with biological systems, mechanisms of biochemical and biophysical translation, study models, oncological, immunological, haematological and behavioural effects, Legislation, results of epidemiological studies.
- ionizing radiation: electromagnetic radiation in Medicine (X, gamma, beta, alpha rays and neutrons), short and long term biological effects, somatic and genetics effects, Legislation.
- occupational pollutants: asbestos, noise and organic solvents, acute and chronic health effects, Legislation, biologic monitoring.
- notion of sanitary transfer of the procedure of environmental impact assessment and problems of communication of the results of the environmental and health studies to the stakeholders and the citizens.