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This pathfinder directs K-12 teachers to materials at the Arizona Health Sciences Library. Our goal is to help them teach and study Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences.

Toxicology is the science that studies the effects of hazardous substances, found in the environment, on the human body. Hazardous substances include exposure to drugs, environmental contaminants, and naturally occurring substances found in food, water, air, and soil. Environmental Health Sciences study how potential toxic substances enter human bodies, are metabolized, are excreted, and ultimately the health effects of those toxicicants, poisons and pollution.

Teaching Toxicology and Environmental Health

Toxicology and Environmental Health provide excellent themes for teaching science to high school and middle school students because they are relevant to student lives. Studies indicate that U.S. high school graduates are not as well versed in science as graduates in other countries and that students are better learners when the environment is used as an integrating theme (Morrone, 2001; Hubert, 2000; O'Fallon, 2001).

Standardized testing in the discipline of science will begin in 2006. Therefore, now is a good time to discuss integrating environmental health science into kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) curriculum. The Morrone (2001) article discusses the results of a survey that suggests environmentally oriented science teachers are currently not aware of existing environmental health science learning opportunities.

Environmental health practitioners have work to do to educate science teachers about the field and about the ways in which studying environmental health science could alleviate the science education crisis. The SWEHSC – COEP is engaged in curriculum development and teacher training to find ways to infuse environmental health issues into student learning. This pathfinder is one way to provide teachers the resources they need to accomplish this goal.

In teaching environmental health and toxicology the following are concepts the students will need to know. What are the routes of exposure? What happens to chemicals in the human body? How does toxicity occur? What is the Dose,the Properties of the individual chemical, and individual susceptibility? How is toxicity measured? What is the dose response relationship? (Marczewski, undated)

Toxicology

Toxicology research is essential for improving the health of humans, animals, and their environment. Toxicology studies ensure the safety of medicines, household and gardening chemicals, and industrial and natural compounds.

Toxicology research identifies potential injurious effects of new products, prevents very unsafe products from reaching the marketplace, and determines safe levels for approved products. Toxicology research also studies and describes how chemical substances cause injury. Such studies provide information that can be used in the treatment of poisonings. (Society of Toxicology, 2003, pg 1)

The Environment

The environment is everything around us—the air we breathe, the water we drink and use, and the food we consume. It is also the chemicals, radiation, microbes, and physical forces with which humans come into contact. Our interactions with the environment are complex and are not always healthy.

Environmental Health Studies

Environmental Health scientists conduct research in the laboratory and in the field to investigate the effects of the environment on health. They track and evaluate environment-related health problems. They work with partners to protect human health. They also help domestic and international agencies and organizations prepare for and respond to natural, technologic, humanitarian, and terrorism-related environmental emergencies. They help formulate public policy, develop new standards and guidelines, educate and train various audiences.

Environmental Health professionals work to promote optimal fetal, infant, and child development. They work toward preventing birth defects and developmental disabilities, and enhance health and quality of life and prevent secondary conditions among children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities. Because genetic knowledge, tests, and services will play an increasingly larger role in public health practice, they are working to make sure that knowledge of human genetics is translated into effective and ethical public health actions. (Jackson, 2003)

Disease and Toxicity

The human body is a vastly complex biochemical organism that is finely tuned and adaptable. Physical, chemical and/or biological agents, which put stress on the body, can easily upset a body's internal balance. Disease occurs when bodily homeostasis cannot be maintained or restored, often because of prolonged stress, which is too strong or too long. To understand the causes of disease is we must learn about exposure to toxic chemicals, and we understand how poisons work within the body. Poisons work by changing the speed of different body functions, increasing them (for example, increasing the heart rate or sweating), or decreasing them (sometimes to the point of stopping them entirely, like breathing). Toxicity is a general term used to indicate adverse effects produced by poisons. These adverse effects can range from slight symptoms like headaches or nausea, to severe symptoms like coma and convulsions and death. (EXTOXNET, 1993)

Toxicity is a general term used to indicate adverse effects produced by poisons, physical, chemical and/or biological agents. These adverse effects can range from slight symptoms like headaches or nausea, to severe symptoms like coma and convulsions and death. Toxicity is normally divided into four types, based on the number of exposures to a poison and the time it takes for toxic symptoms to develop. The two types most often referred to are acute and chronic.

Acute toxicity is due to short-term exposure and happens within a relatively short time period, whereas chronic toxicity is due to long-term exposure and happens over a longer period. According to the EPA, the variety of hazardous substances used in our everyday lives brings with them an equally great variety of well-documented health effects. A close look at the list of sources of common contaminants and their health effects illustrates just how prevalent they are in our society, and how damaging they can potentially be. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2003)

Pathfinder Assignment for IRLS 524 Marti Lindsey mlindsey@u.arizona.edu Last updated: August 14, 2003