Environmental Health

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers

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 (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Risk Assessment (Environmental Protection Agency)

Related Issues

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

Specifics

• Algal Blooms (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Aloe Vera (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Bisphenol A (BPA) (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Dioxins (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Endocrine Disruptors (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Essential Oils (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Flame Retardants (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Healthy School Environments (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Hexavalent Chromium (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) and Health (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Occupational Health: Why the Environment Matters (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (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: Planetary health education in practice: public health, climate change, and transdisciplinary...
• Article: Mapping Socioecological Interconnections in One Health Across Human, Animal, and Environmental...
• Article: Environmental Health Practice: An Identity in Crisis.
• Environmental Health -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• ToxGuides: Quick Reference Guides 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)
• Healthy Environments for Kids (Activity Book) (Pan American Health Organization) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Kids Environment Kids Health (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• What You Can Do to Protect Children from Environmental Risks (Environmental Protection Agency) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• RadTown (Environmental Protection Agency)