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Chapter 8: Environment, Health and Wellbeing
Advice from the DECLG to those living in close proximity to
telecommunications masts or base stations is that there is
no scientific basis for, or evidence of, adverse health effects
in children or adults as a result of exposure to EMFs below
guideline levels. ComReg, the licensing authority for the
telecommunications industry, verifies that operators are in
compliance with their licence conditions relating to emission
limits for non-ionising radiation. Compliance with guidelines
is good, and results from the emission measurements have
shown values well below limits (DECLG, 2016).
Other Environmental and
Health Issues
While this section has so far examined the major
environmental and health considerations around air
and water, there is also a wide range of issues that can
influence our health – some of these are well established
and some classed as “emerging”.
Climate Change, Health and Wellbeing
Climate change is likely to alter risks to public health
and wellbeing in Ireland.
The health and wellbeing of human populations is
sensitive to shifts in climate in three ways: (1) directly
through changes in the character and frequency of
extreme weather events including heat, drought and
heavy rain; (2) indirectly through natural systems, for
example disease vectors, waterborne diseases and
population displacement; and (3) through human systems,
for example occupational impacts, under-nutrition and
mental stress (Smith
et al
., 2014).
Globally, there has been increased heat-related mortality
and decreased cold-related mortality in some regions as
a result of warming. Local changes in temperature and
rainfall have altered the distribution of some waterborne
illnesses and disease vectors. Throughout the 21st century,
climate change is expected to lead to increases in ill health
in many regions (IPCC, 2014). In Europe, the impacts of
climate change on human health and wellbeing include
flooding, extreme temperatures, air pollution, vector-borne
disease and waterborne and food-borne diseases. These
impacts are projected to change in the future; for example,
where precipitation or extreme flooding is projected to
increase in Europe, the risk of food-borne and waterborne
illness could increase.
Climate change is likely to alter risks to public health
and wellbeing in Ireland (Pascal
et al
., 2013). The key
climate change-related exposures of importance to human
health are likely to be increases in heatwave-related
health impacts, decreases in cold-related health impacts,
increases in flood-related health impacts, changes in
patterns of food-borne disease, an increase in the burden
of waterborne disease and an increase in the frequency of
respiratory diseases due to changes in pollen and pollutant
distributions (temporal and spatial).
Although all of the population will be exposed to climate
change, health effects will depend largely on the vulnerability
of individual population groups. For Europe, vulnerability to
weather and climate change depends on people’s personal
characteristics (e.g. age, income, education, health status),
their broader social and environmental context, their access
to resources (e.g. health services) and their level of exposure
to climate change (WHO, 2008). Those population groups
considered most vulnerable include the elderly and children,
the urban poor, traditional societies and subsistence farmers,
and coastal populations.
The risks of climate change for the health sector are
intrinsically linked to risks in other sectors (e.g. ecosystems,
water supply and sanitation, agriculture, infrastructure,
energy and transportation, land use management) that
play an important part in determining the risks of disease
and injury resulting from climate change (Smith
et al
.,
2014). For example, climate-related impacts on water
quality will clearly have knock-on effects for public health.
In addition, extreme weather events (such as storms and
flooding), causing disruption for communications, power
generation and public transport, will have an effect on the
delivery of public health services.
In 2015, the second Lancet Commission on Climate
Change and Health noted that threat to human health
from climate change is so great that it could undermine
the last fifty years of gains in development and global
health (Wang and Horton, 2015). The commission also
focussed on this issue from a different viewpoint and
concluded that
tackling climate change
could be the
greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.
This is based on evidence compiled by the commission
which shows that many efforts to mitigate and adapt to
climate change, such as phasing-out coal from the global
energy mix, also have strongly positive health effects.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are defined as
bacteria, viruses, fungi, plant and animal cells, plants and
animals capable of replication or of transferring genetic
material whose genetic material has been altered in a
way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural
recombination.
In the past 40 years, the development and use of
genetic engineering technology has brought many
useful applications in healthcare, in the form of new
pharmaceuticals, vaccines and methods of diagnosing
disease. This technology is also making a major impact
in the investigation of crime, in waste treatment,