Constructing a New Sewage Treatment System

There are over 300 million people in America. Imagine if 1/5 of us (about 60 million) who depend on septic systems to treat our wastewater all of a sudden started experiencing backups and malfunctions.

This clean toilet wouldn't look or smell so clean. We would have a lot more feces in places it shouldn't be and paying a heavy amount in both external and internal costs. This is why it is important for homeowners to maintain a proper care system year-round. If it's too late and you need an entire new treatment system (or if you're constructing one for a new home), lucky for you I know just how to do it. First, you need to make sure you contact your local health district about STS (sewage treatment systems) permits or when you start to develop a land development plan. The staff will come to the site for evaluation. Also, review the Know How to Select a Home Site fact sheet. Next, to determine how much usable soil is present and where it is located, a complete evaluation of the soil on the property is needed, so obtain a site and soil evaluation. Then you may begin to work with an STS designer to analyze the different types of systems available for your land. More than one system may be suitable so before you make your final decision, be sure to carefully evaluate all system costs. After that, get quotes and bids from registered STS contractors. Always make sure you have a written contract and have fully discussed all steps of the construction process and services the contractor will provide. Once you have chosen a contractor and construction has begun, try to watch as much of the construction as possible, even documenting the installation with pictures. The local health district will then perform a final inspection and either approve or disapprove of the installation. Work with the system contractor and your local health district if problems occur (it's their job to protect you and the public health). Finally, keep up with proper operations and maintenance to ensure optimal usage. If you have any further questions, please visit the Ohio Department of Health's Sewage Treatment Systems Program page. As always, may your life be like toilet paper, long and useful!

Water Quality- Total Coliform bacteria

The Ohio Department of Health requires that drinking water provided from private water systems in Ohio such as wells, springs, and hauled water be tested for total coliform bacteria, E. coli, and nitrates upon completion, alteration, or other activities of those systems. Most of us have heard about E. coli (Chipotle is currently having an issue with this bacteria) and nitrates in the news, but today, I will be talking about total coliform bacteria. This 16-species collection of relatively harmless microorganisms (which includes E. coli and other fecal coliform bacteria) help with food digestion and are found in soil, plants, and warm- and cold-blooded animals' intestines, including humans and our waste. Total coliform bacteria are indicators that other disease-causing organisms could be present, along with their health risks such as cramps and diarrhea, especially with fecal-contaminated water. The benefits of testing water for total coliform bacteria instead of all of the pathogens that may or may not also be in the water include saving time and money because they are usually present in large numbers.

How can we prevent coliform contamination? All water sources should be constructed properly and cleaned by a professional if the bacteria is found. It is recommended (according to the New York State Department of Health) to test your water once a year in late spring or early summer, To remove total coliform bacteria, homeowners should use treatments devices to disinfect and filter the water (I take extra precautionary measures and also use my Brita filter, pictured above). If the bacteria is still present, then the treatment is not working properly. If total coliform bacteria is found in a Washington water system, homeowners additionally add chlorine for a short period of time. More work needs to be done if fecal coliform or E. coli is found because they impose immediate health risks. Officials have to notify everyone who uses the water within 24 hours that they need to boil any water before using it until the problem is resolved.

Air Quality

Imagine if there were so many solid particles in the air that we would either have to wear high quality masks in order to go outside, or be forced to stay inside because we wouldn't be able to breathe. Unfortunately, this is the situation in Beijing. Exhaust emissions from vehicles and the burning of coal in industrial plants are the major contributors. Thankfully, this is not the case in the United States, but it is just a matter of time before we start seeing issues with our air quality. The Clean Air Act was established in 1970 with a couple of revisions that is designed to eliminate problems such as smog, acid rain, and damage to the ozone layer, yet it still happens. You can see what the air quality is like in any state, such as Ohio, by visiting the EPA's map portals. Here, you can compare different cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati. For the most part, it looks like Cleveland's air is surprisingly a little bit cleaner than Cincinnati's right now (Northeastern Ohio has had some history of being one of the worst areas for particle pollution in the country, despite improvements). Cleveland and the surrounding area's particulate matter is low, but most of the ozone quality indexes are in the 30s. Cincinnati and the surrounding area's particulate matter is a little higher, as are the ozone quality indexes (Cincinnati alone having a reading of 43, 7 points away from moderate health concerns).

What do these index numbers tell us? The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a range that tells us how clean or polluted the air is (as seen above). The best air quality levels are in the green region, with an index below 50 and no health concerns, the worst being anywhere between 301 and 500 in the maroon region with serious health effects. "Hazardous" is where Beijing is now with little hope to return to smog-free levels within the next 20 years. Let us learn from our mistakes now so that we may not have to close all industrial plants and live a life indoors.

Roundup: Harmful to humans?

Sri Lanka has banned the use of Roundup, the second most widely used U.S. weed killer. Brazil is thinking about doing the same, and Mexico, the Netherlands, and Canada are considering to impose new rules and restrictions according to National Geographic. Why? The chemical glyphosate used in Roundup may be linked to many adverse health effects, including kidney disease, cancers, and hormone disruption in pregnant women by killing embryonic, placental, and umbilical cord cells. Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, declines current studies either because they do not reflect realistic usage of their product, or because their "decades" worth of "comprehensive safety assessments" have not shown these links because glyphosate acts on an enzyme only present in plants, not mammals. Many studies are saying otherwise. We've been wrong in the past (DDT), so what makes us believe we couldn't be wrong now? There may be no immediate short-term effects, but what about long-term?

Studies that prove health agencies need to reconsider the safety of Roundup include: Gilles-Eric Seralini's team at the University of Caen in France, an Argentine scientist and local activists, a Swedish scientific team, a Croatian team, ecologists at the University of Pittsburgh, the UN's International Agency for Research on Cancer (based on work by the scientists at the National Cancer Institute), and 250+ environmental, health and labor organizations who have petitioned for the EPA to change the pesticide's ingredient requirements. These studies found many, or links to, adverse health effects due to exposure to Roundup, including: birth defects and miscarriages, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson's disease, kidney disease, and other cancers.

Monsanto's solution to plants acquiring an immunity to glyphosate is to spray more and stronger pesticides to eliminate the problem, according to John Deike of Eco Watch. I don't know about you, but 50.2% already seems like quite a high concentration to me. If studies are indeed using abnormally high amounts of the chemical on cells right now, everlasting increases of concentration to keep combating the immunity problem now will someday meet the same amounts labs were using, therefore producing the same deadly results they were seeing. We're already starting to see glyphosate outside of gardens and crops (in 75% of rainfall samples near Mississippi's agricultural delta region).

Crystal Gammon of Environmental Health News explains to us that glyphosate alone may not be harmful, but when mixed with other ingredients in the product, it can multiply the toxic effects, even at diluted concentrations. One of these other ingredients, POEA, alone "was more deadly to human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells than the herbicide itself." Right now, Monsanto does not have to publicly disclose information about what comprises "OTHER INGREDIENTS." That needs to change.

Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power plants are built to provide power to cities using nuclear reactors as the heat source to produce steam that turns mechanical energy into electrical energy. Nuclear power is important for many reasons including low fuel costs, but they can also be detrimental to our environment if something goes wrong, and they have gone seriously wrong a few times. One accident occurred nearby at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania in 1979, the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine had an accident in 1986, and the most recent explosion occurred after an earthquake-tsunami disaster struck Fukushima, Japan in 2011. There are many different reasons that would cause a nuclear power plant to fail, but there are a handful of horrible effects it has on the surrounding environment, including plants, animals, and even humans.

The main fallout of nuclear power plant leaks or explosions is radiation that travels through the air and destroys DNA in cells. According to Marc Lallanilla of LiveScience, the trees that surrounded the Chernobyl plant died by the high levels of radiation released by the explosion of reactor number 4. An entire forest was devastated because of violations in safety regulations and a design flaw. Radioactive material can also find its way into the water. Since the Fukushima incident, scientists have also seen levels of radiation in fish and the surrounding sea life according to another LiveScience article written by Tanya Lewis. The sea life maybe contaminated so much that it would be unwise for humans to consume it. Radiation can also effect humans in a more disastrous way. Thyroid cancer can (and did in Chernobyl) develop in children and pregnant women due to sensitivities of radioactive iodine, says Hiroko Tabuchi in the New York Times. The thyroid gland is a very important gland for growth and regulation that surrounds the windpipe in your throat.

At least 4,000 cases in children have been linked to the disaster of Chernobyl, even though the residents of Pripyat were evacuated 36 hours after the accident occurred.

Radiation is difficult to detect because you can't see it with the naked eye and not everyone owns a Geiger counter. So if you ever find yourself in a situation where the following symbol is displayed, take major precautions because there is a radioactive source in the area.

Zika Virus

The Zika Virus is a disease that is passed on by mosquito bites and has been around since the mid-1900s. Recently, there has been a large outbreak in South America (mainly Columbia and Brazil) that could be linked to babies born with microcephaly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Unfortunately, it is difficult to distinguish between other infections such as dengue and there is no vaccination yet available. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lays out many ways in which you can help prevent the virus from spreading. The best way is to stop the mosquitos in their track by spraying EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET (after sunscreen if applicable),

wearing long sleeve t-shirts and long pants to cover exposed areas of skin (preferably of light colors),

using window/door screens or air conditioning to keep mosquitos outside the home, sleeping under mosquito bed nets if you are outside and unable to protect yourself, and even by treating clothes with permethrin (a cream insect repellent). If you have the virus and the symptoms don't require intense medical care, make sure you get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids so you don't get dehydrated, and take medicine such as Tylenol (not aspirin) to reduce your fever and pain.

There has been a lot of talk about the pesticide pyriproxyfen as the cause of microcephaly in newborns, not the Zika Virus. This insecticide was added to water in Brazil to prevent mosquito larvae from growing a few months before physicians began to notice an increase in microcephaly, according to this NPR article. Many people argue that because the insecticide was designed to disrupt insect development, it could possibly be disrupting human development as well, although WHO has scientific research to "prove" that that is not possible. However, until officials can absolutely prove what causes microcephaly, it is best for women to err on the side of caution and wait to have children.

Environmental Policy

Today I will be talking about environmental sustainability. Sustainability alone is the ability to continue to do an action endlessly. Environmental sustainability is the ability to continue to do these actions endlessly with little to no impact on the environment. Everything that we might possibly need to survive depends on our environment in some way. It is important to keep into consideration environmental sustainability to preserve resources so that present and future generations can meet all of their needs. Once the progressive Richard Nixon came into the Presidential office almost 50 years ago, he began to take several steps toward environmental sustainability, including the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in late 1969. NEPA requires the federal government to use all practical means necessary to keep the society and nature in productive balance. Shortly after this, President Nixon decided to establish the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the new policy by "protect[ing] human health and the environment." Part of the EPA's job is to look over the required environmental impact statements (EIS) of federal agencies. If an agency wanted to make a change in their business and it would possibly affect the environment, NEPA requires that they get their action approved by the EPA before they make their decision. You can read more about the EPA, their office locations, and research on their website.

So what environmental guidelines do agencies have to follow? Under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act, the EPA looks for impacts on air pollution, children's health, energy efficiency, fishery management, grazing, highway development, mining, and much more. Check out the entire list here.

What can businesses do to help the environment? They can start a recycling drive such as the one here on campus, so not all of their waste ends up in landfills.

Another action they can take, and even we can do it, is to plant trees or sponsor companies that plant trees. Not only will we need them for future development of our homes, but they give us the very thing we need to survive: oxygen. Earth day, yet another positive environmental outreach that came out during the Nixon Presidency, will be here before we know it!

Stress

Stress is a small word for a sometimes huge feeling produced by our body. When life makes demands or threats that we feel like we cannot overcome, we freak out and worry about them to a point that destroys our mental and physical health. Most of the time, the more demands life makes of us, the more stress we experience. Some people experience more stress than others as well as some people are better at dealing with it than others. I am one that does not deal with it well. I think what really makes a difference is the amount of demands life makes. I remember during my sophomore year in high school, I was super stressed out because of all of my extracurricular activities I was involved in and the guy sitting next to me in English noticed my distress. He began to ask me what was wrong and then started telling me all of the reasons he was stressed, almost like it was a competition. I think that is what society does; they challenge everything like it is a competition and makes you feel inferior, which doesn't help with your current stress problem. They try make themselves feel better and deal with their stress by comparing all of their tasks (no matter how minor) to other's tasks, even if they have never been in the other person's position. At least, that is what I have noticed. So how should we deal with it in an effective way? Elly Prior, author of 10 tips to relieve stress, says to "Take time off for 'earthing.'" Go take a walk in the park, or a trail like I did today, and do absolutely nothing (or if you need to move, explore your surroundings). It really clears your mind and lets you escape, which enables you to make better decisions later.

According to Elizabeth Scott, a stress management expert and author of Stress Relievers, another way to reduce stress is to "Get More Laughter In Your Life." I tend to think I'm funny looking already so this is no problem for me (on the left).

"The physical act of laughing releases tension and brings positive physiological changes." So if you haven't laughed today yet, there you go. Additionally, Ms. Scott talks about my favorite way to reduce stress: writing in my journal. I haven't recently because life is good, but last semester was a different story. It helped me figure out what things caused the stress and how to deal with them. Once I had multiple entries, I could go back through them and recognize my stress patterns, how I felt, and how I reacted. Don't knock it until you try it!

Epidemiology

The study of people's health to determine the causes and effects of disease and health is known as epidemiology. Epidemiology is a subject covered by many people, especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This national public health institution has a Tracking Network here for people like you and me to access data and information about health and hazards in our environment from numerous sources. They have access to data on topics such as heart disease and cancer, toxic substances and climate change, and children's environmental health. It is very useful for research projects and papers about health conditions due to the environment or if you need to know what is prevalent in your neighborhood so you can take precautionary action. Today, I will be talking about asthma, since I suffer from difficult breathing and rarely need to use my inhaler.

If you visit the Tracking Network's website and scroll down until you see Asthma under Health Effects on the left-hand side, you will come to a description page about asthma. If you scroll down a little further on this page, you should see a box on the mid-right-hand side titled Search Data. Click on that and it will take you to this page where you can view the data you need. Here, you pick the conditions you want: I chose advanced, all mode, asthma content, asthma prevalence among adults, and percent of adults ever diagnosed with asthma since 2011 and onward, Ohio, and all available years. Then you click Add Query under Step 5 and click Run Query. This new page has four maps total (the top one is an average); on each map is the percentage of every state's population who has asthma. You can click and drag any of the three maps at the bottom to the right side to get further information about each year. As you can see, asthma in Ohio has seen a slight increase over the past three years. You can go back and edit any changes you need to make as well, including searching data on other topics. Definitely worth a shot to check out if you ever need to write a research paper.

Other places related to epidemiology would be your local drugstore. You'll probably recognize the big "Pharmacy" signs, such as this one below, in stores such as CVS, Walgreens, or even Kroger.

This is where you would pick up your prescriptions prescribed by your doctor if you've ever had a health condition. Most offer flu shots and sometimes, they even offer clinics if you need a quick checkup and can't make a convenient appointment with your doctor.

Toxicology

Toxicology is the scientific study of chemicals and their effects on living organisms. There are many factors that toxicologists need to take into account when studying and categorizing the toxicity of chemicals such as dosage (the most important), routes of exposure, age, gender, and specific individual characteristics. Before I tell you more, it's important to know what to do if you ever encounter a hazardous chemical. If you visit the American Association of Poison Control Centers website, you will find more information about the nation's free primary source of poison information and their efforts to prevent and treat exposures. If you ever need help or information about toxins, please call the AAPCC any time for your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. They also have a link toward the bottom of their website for the National Poison Data System's current annual report. There you will find a comprehensive report of the previous year's call data. Within it, they have statistics on everything you can think of regarding poison: who got what, how, where, why, etc. Did you know that almost half (47.7%) of all human exposures to substances were children less than 6 years old? Even more frightening, more than one-third (35.6%) of all human exposures were children less than the age of 3. More often than none, these children were males. This could have been my nephew (seen below). This picture was taken when he was about 4 years old (6 years ago), shortly after he was diagnosed with Asperger's. To my knowledge, he has never been exposed to any toxic chemicals, but doctors still don't know what caused his disorder.

The current annual report also talks briefly about the statistical reasons for these exposures. For the most part (79.4% of the time), the exposures were unintentional. As I said earlier, the most important characteristics of a chemical is it's dosage. There were over a quarter of a million therapeutic errors in 2014, including double-dosing (the largest at 29.2%), the wrong medication taken or given, other incorrect dose, doses taken/given too close together, and exposure to someone else's medication.
The last section on the report I will talk about is the routes of exposure. By a long run (83.7%), ingestion was the most frequent route of exposure. I'm sure not everyone knows what chemicals they take in daily. I didn't know that the microwavable mashed potatoes I eat as a snack sometimes had so many ingredients.

Who knows what calcium stearoyl lactylate is? If it's in the food we eat, it must be good, right? The next most common route of exposure in 2014 was through the skin at 7%, followed by inhalation at 6.1%, and through the eyes at 4.3%. If we're talking about exposure-related deaths, ingestion again wins at 81.4% of all cases.

Heuristics

Recently, I was almost diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I am not completely allergic to food products that contain gluten but I do have bad side effects if I eat something with gluten in it. My doctor told me to stay on this gluten-free diet. Well, at first I had a lot of struggle with it because I wasn't used to reading the ingredients of everything I eat. Now, I have bad side effects because sometimes I miss the tastiness of pizza or chicken noodle soup and so I just embrace the bad consequences and feed my taste buds. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I am faced with these choices that I often don't take more than 10 seconds to think about, especially at the dining halls here at Ohio University (seen below).

Most of the time, my decision is satisfactory for a short period before the bad effects take place. It's not the most optimal decision, but efficient nonetheless. This is my example of a heuristic. It is the process of which a person makes choices in a quick but efficient manner, regardless of long-term effects. Usually the best decision is one made using long and cautious planning. This method is impractical. The heuristic technique speeds up the process of making choices, allowing people to continue with their daily lives without having to stop and think about what they are going to do next.

While this may seem like the way to go, often this way of thinking leads to error and bias. Just because I choose to eat ramen noodles for lunch yesterday and didn't have any bad consequences, doesn't mean that if I had them today, there won't be bad consequences. I should not rely on this choice over and over again. Heuristics can also lead to stereotyping. People not only create mental shortcuts for their actions but also for remembering other people and their characteristics. Because of this, they tend to forget details and develop categories based on these characteristics which can create stereotypes that do not necessarily accurately describe that person. Some advertisements, even today, feed off of this notion (seen below in Details magazine).