Since 2011, World Environmental Health Day has been celebrated annually on the 26th of September. This day is dedicated to advancing the global pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Its mission is to instill awareness among people about how both the future of humanity and the well-being of our precious planet depends on how we care for environmental health.
The theme for 2023 is ‘Global Environmental Public Health: Standing Up to Protect Everyone’s Health Every Day.’ Knowing that more than 12 million people worldwide die every year because they live or work in unhealthy environmental conditions, addressing this issue is very important.
Environmental health consists of the physical, chemical, biological, and cultural conditions of a particular area. Specific indicators of environmental health help us measure any particular region’s environmental health. The indicators are the following:
- Pollution level
- Ecological diversity
- Availability of drinking water
- Sanitary conditions
- Agricultural output
Simply put, the environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the places we live in. If an environmental health hazard should take place, it could affect pretty much everything around us. Possible risks include toxic waste, radiation, disease-causing microorganisms and plants, pesticides, heavy metals, chemicals in consumer products, air contaminants, and extreme temperatures and weather events, among others.
A healthy environment equals healthy people
Even though environmental health is a crucial topic, Environment Health Day is not solely focused on advocating for environmental health protection. It is also about realizing the impact and relation of environmental health on human health. World Environment Health Day is about promoting human well-being through environmental well-being. Simply put, there is no human health without environmental health.
An unhealthy environment and environmental pollutants can, for example, cause asthma attacks, respiratory diseases, heart disease, and some types of cancer, as well as heat-related illnesses during heat waves. People with low incomes are more likely to live in polluted areas and not have access to safe drinking water.
It’s not hard to put together that environmental health is something we need to strive towards with strong determination. The benefits of a healthy environment are apparent: cleaner air quality and cleaner water, increased access to healthy foods, improved population health and improved health equity, among many others.
What can we do to strive for a healthy environment?
Environmental health is a goal that deserves our attention and dedication. Individuals, world leaders, and companies must make every possible effort to achieve this goal.
There are plenty of activities that are a part of working towards environmental health. These include:
- Collecting and monitoring data on environmental hazards and health effects
- Identifying environmental hazards
- Investigating environmental concerns
- Stopping or lessening hazards
- Assessing individuals’ exposure to hazards
- Researching possible health effects related to exposures
- Preventing and lessening health effects
- Diagnosing and treating health effects
The list of actions is vast, and all companies in the process industry should invest in following the practices above.
Altum Technologies is dedicated to protecting our environment with our unique patented software-guided ultrasound ZPD technology for industrial equipment. With Altum’s technology, companies in the process industry can increase the sustainability of industrial operations as they
- Decrease their water usage.
- Decrease their effluent waste.
- Reach lower CO2 emissions as energy use is optimized.
- Minimize the need for mechanical and chemical washes and reduce harmful chemical emissions in cleaning processes.
If you want to hear more about how Altum’s solutions can make your processes more sustainable and help you do your part towards environmental health, don’t hesitate to contact us!