Use this tag for questions regarding physical, chemical and biological factors that may affect human health.
Questions tagged [environmental-health]
225 questions
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Can I run barefoot without worry about exposure to lead, or tracking it in the house?
A friend of mine sent me an article (from the AP, which has since pulled the article) claiming that walking around in the house with shoes on will expose everyone to dangerous levels of lead, especially if the house was made before lead paint was…
mmr
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Do fireworks kills birds, dogs and other animals?
Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights, celebrated with fireworks.
My closest friend on Facebook shared this picture on my wall:
Happy Diwali
Thousands of birds, dogs & other animals die out of shock, fear & accidents during Diwali. Spare a thought…
Ujwal Krishnan
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Does residential radon cause lung cancer?
Radon causes lung cancer; a typical statement is this:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified radon as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Many homes contain radon concentrations that are high enough…
Joshua Frank
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Do pesticides containing EDCs cause IQ loss, obesity and cryptorchidism?
Recently, there have been news reports about Endochrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) have sprung up, such as this February 2015 Guardian article.
Draft EU criteria could have banned 31 pesticides containing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). But…
Mark Anderson
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Do glyphosate-based herbicides cause autism?
I just read this article on a 'health news' site:
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/mit-researcher-glyphosate-herbicide-will-cause-half-of-all-children-to-have-autism-by-2025/#sthash.C8EWLSzN.gbpl
In summary, it states that an MIT researcher has said…
Matt
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Does wetting your toothbrush have health effects?
Today I read a tweet from @Funny_Truth:
"Don't wet your toothbrush after you put toothpaste. Water will reduce the healthy benefits of toothpaste."
Is it true? If it is what does actually happen?
Four Seasons
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Do covered [drinking water] reservoirs cause health risks compared to open-air reservoirs?
Bull Run Waiver.org is a political group opposed to covering drinking water reservoirs in Portland, Oregon. They making a number of claims that closed reservoirs introduce greater health risks than the existing open-air reservoirs.
Particularly,…
Evan Siroky
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Does extremely low frequency radiation from mobile phones and tablets have adverse health effects?
Is ELF (extremely low frequency) radiation emitted by the electrical appliances' battery's current considered to have adverse health effects, or
is this radiation too low to be considered?
I'd like to keep the focus specifically on mobile phones…
user3687001
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Is pouring liquor from a bottle onto a flambé an explosion risk?
Several TV chefs including, the late Julia Child, have advised against pouring liquor directly from the bottle to a pan to be ignited, as 'flames could travel up the stream and ignite the bottle' causing damage, injury or death.
Are there…
Carl D
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Does anyone know what cyanide tastes like?
There is a story about a scientist who wanted to know what Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN, Prussic Acid) tasted like, but couldn't because he died before he could write it out.
But it requires at least 25-30 seconds even in large doses, according to most…
Anirudh Ramanathan
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Are air humidifiers necessary, does low humidity have negative heath effects?
Air humidifiers are broadly sold and marking points to "healthy" relative humidity levels as (accordingly to different sources) is 30-50% and during artificial heating (normally, winter) seasons we need to use humidifiers at home.
But was it ever…
4erkas
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Does your body suffer one mutation for every 15 cigarettes you smoke?
England's department of health has launched a new, very graphic anti-smoking TV ad (see the BBC STORY). Aside from the graphic imagery it makes the specific claim that a smoker will suffer one mutation for every 15 cigarettes smoked.
Is this claim…
matt_black
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Do volatile organic compounds from common household fixtures pose a threat to infants?
Volatile Organic Compounds seems to be a catch-all phrase describing a variety of organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature.
Many sources for parenting, expectant parents, and sites about baby health warn about the…
Beofett
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Do some people take several weeks to adjust to the spring DST clock change?
In this proposal on the European Parliament website about Daylight Savings Time (DST), it is claimed that (emphasis mine):
Some studies indicate that summer-time arrangements could generate positive effects linked to more outdoor…
gerrit
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Does each car in inner London cost society £8,000 in health and environmental cost over its lifetime?
The topic of air quality is getting a load of attention in newspaper headlines in the days leading up to Clean Air Day (21st June, apparently).
For example, The Independent reports a recent study on the cost of pollution caused by cars:
In total,…
matt_black
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