Environmental Hazards that Pose Risks to a Person’s Safety
A range of environmental hazards pose health risks and affects our well-being in various ways. The most vulnerable groups with regards to the environmental health hazards are the sick, elderly, disabled individuals, children, and the poor. Categories of environmental hazards include physical, biological, chemical, cultural and social hazards. They pose various risks to the well-being of individuals. Physical hazards affect the physical aspect of people’s lives. Examples of physical hazards include occurrence of fires, temperature variations, explosives, radiations, or noise from various objects and machines. For example, extreme high temperatures affect the electrolyte balance which can potentially lead to heat exhaustion. On the other hand, extreme low temperatures can lead to hypothermia. Another form of physical hazard is falls. According to literature, elderly individuals aged 65 years and above are highly prone to falls. Individuals with health conditions like poor vision, In addition, falls can lead to injuries, mental disorders, or death. There are also motor vehicle accidents which leads to injuries and death.
Biological hazards may be caused by organisms and they include pathogenic bacteria, toxins, parasites, or bacteria (Kotlarz et al., 2020). In most cases, biological hazards cause a myriad of diseases; hence, they affect the safety and well-being of a persons. They may occur inside homes or outside homes. There are also chemical hazards that pose various risks to the safety of individuals. Chemical hazards occur when through exposure to chemicals at home or outside home. Harmful gases, solids, and liquids are potential chemical pollutants that may affect the well-being of an individual (Banzhaf et al., 2017). Smoking is one of the common causes of chemical hazards. Moreover, production of gases like carbon monoxide from burning affects the well-being of a person but affecting the supply of oxygen. It can lead to the suffering of the body cells due to inadequate oxygen which can eventually lead to severe sicknesses to the point of death. Another form of chemical hazard is poison. Expired drugs, liquids, gases, or other solid substance can be poisonous to the consumers. They can impair people’s health and can lead to death.