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Summary

Our environment affects our health. If parts of the environment, like the air, water, or soil become polluted, it can lead to health problems. For example, asthma pollutants and chemicals in the air or in the home can trigger asthma attacks.

Some environmental risks are a part of the natural world, like radon in the soil. Others are the result of human activities, like lead poisoning from paint, or exposure to asbestos or mercury from mining or industrial use.

NIH: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Start Here

• Environmental Health Topics from A to Z (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Risk Assessment (Environmental Protection Agency)

Related Issues

• Hazardous Material/Waste (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Hazardous Waste: Learn the Basics of Hazardous Waste (Environmental Protection Agency)

Specifics

• Aloe Vera (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Bisphenol A (BPA) (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Dioxins (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Essential Oils (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Flame Retardants (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Harmful Algal Blooms (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Hexavalent Chromium (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Hydraulic Fracturing and Health (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Persistence of Plastics: Can Tiny Plastic Pieces Affect Our Health? (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Transportation, Air Pollution, and Climate Change (Environmental Protection Agency)

Statistics and Research

• Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Exposure Science (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Environmental Health (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Asking Why Is Necessary to Address Health Disparities: A Critical Approach...
• Article: Salutogenic Environmental Health Model-proposing an integrative and interdisciplinary lens on the...
• Article: Words Matter: Reflective Science Communication and Tradeoffs in Environmental Health Research.
• Environmental Health -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• ToxGuides: Quick Reference Guide for Toxicological Profiles (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)

Find an Expert

• Environmental Protection Agency Also in Spanish
• National Center for Environmental Health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Also in Spanish

Children

• America's Children and the Environment (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Children's Health Protection (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Healthy Environments for Kids (Comic Book) (Pan American Health Organization) - PDF Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Kids' Pages (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

Teenagers

• RadTown USA: Basic Information (Environmental Protection Agency)