Pollution Prevention and Public Health:
A Unified Approach to Disease Prevention and Environmental Protection
The purpose of this factsheet is to provide public ' ,
health officials with an understanding of how to ,
further integrate pollution" prevention (P2) into every.r
day agency activities, arid'to define other roles health
departments can play to reduce health risks through
pollution prevention. ". '-'.'' .'
' , , \ ' ,
DEFINITION: What is pollution prevention, and how
does it relate to public health?
Pollution prevention or "source .reduction" is any
practice which prevents or reduces pollution at the
source. That means using raw materials, energy,
water, and other resources more efficiently, thereby
reducing or eliminating the creation of waste
pollutants. Pollution prevention methods also
reduce the quantity and toxicity of waste generated.
By minimizing the use and production of hazardous
substances, we can prevent those substances from
entering the air, water, soil, and food chain. Pollution;
-prevention is an essential tool-for decreasing public
health risks, and for assuring healthy people and
healthy communities. ' .- <
Public health is premised on the saying, "an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure." Local public
health departments are already involved in many
pollution prevention activities, such as helping to
reduce household hazardous wastes and protecting
workers from industrial exposures. The philosophical
framework of pollution prevention closely parallels
public health with a focus on primary prevention,
education, technical assistance, and voluntary action.
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Inspection of Auto Body Shops ~-
Environmental Health Division B operates a voluntary,
non-regulatory pollution prevention program .that ;
reaches out to tiieautbrnotive repair: industry. The
program involves workshops, mariuaiSfpn^site assis-
tance and audits which encourage automotive body
shops to reduce|he poflution they generate* The '
program foc^se^on^i^pductsubstitution; process
changes,.and better housekeepihg,5such as^stricter
inventory control -and Increased environmental quality in
the shops.- '..-'-; . ': " ..'. ,,
ROLE OF HEALTH DEPARTMENTS: What are the
roles of local health departments in relation to
pollution prevention? ,
Local health departments play an unique role in
protecting the public from risks of exposures to
harmful substances and maintaining clean and safe
air, water, and facilities. These are also the essential
elements of pollution prevention.
Local public health officials are responsible for
protecting the health of the community and the
environment. Health departments can identify and
address immediate health and environmental
concerns to which pollution prevention/source
reduction strategies can be applied. By identifying
the pollution prevention players in the community
(i.e. individual members of the community, environ-
mental regulatory agencies, economic development
organizations, universities and colleges, businesses,
households, or the community itself), health depart-
rnents can bring people together to solve
community problems. Local public .health officials
work closely with the public. By incorporating
community perspectives into decision-making and
program development, pollution prevention strategies
will better serve the public because they will be
stronger and more easily accepted. Health officials
can serve as community advocates by ensuring
that community concerns are identified and
addressed, and that other agencies follow through on
commitments. Lastly, health officials can raise
awareness about P2 programs and opportunities
through health and business.fairs, during site <
inspections, and at other community health education
events. - .
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A Pollution Prevention Checklist for Health Departments:
PC'lutcn prevention is any method to use resources
eff'ciently in order to reduce the quantity and toxicity of
waste generated. Local government involvement can
take a number of forms from making changes within
government facilities and operations to providing
technical assistance to local businesses and sponsoring
community activities.
Indoor Air Quality
District C operates an indoor air quality (1AQ) program
which entails assessing the nature and extent of 1AQ'.
health issues confronting the local community, .develop-
ing a pollution prevention plan to avoid future^LAQ.?'. ; .
problems, and providing technical assistances-Hi
referrals to building owners and dccuparitSi^"eif^tnct
began the program with an assessment of the pollutjon
generated from its in-house priritishbp. It tooksfep^^;jr
Increase air ventillatfon, decrease theusextfioxic :J-. >$;
solvents, and otherwise "imprdve.indoor airquaiify fn the;
print shop and the rest,of the building. - . .; :
For Local Health Departments,
P2 Activities Fall Within the Following
Core Public Health Functions:
Assessment: identifying community health concerns
and populations-at-risk;
Policy Development: using all methods and
resources available to minimize health threats
through local policies and programs;
Assurance: assuring that all communities have
access to all public health services, such as
pollution prevention strategies and resources, and
can participate in local efforts to reduce human
exposure to hazardous substances, conserve natural
resources, save energy, and otherwise contribute to
pollution prevention/source reduction activities.
Assessment of Pollution Prevention Opportunities:
/ Identify where the opportunities for pollution prevention
exist: identify small businesses in the community which
use toxic materials (Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) codes can help), small and large quantity
hazardous waste generators, and wastewater treatment
plants.
/ Identify groups in the community dealing with toxic waste
and its reduction (i.e. local emergency planning
committees (LEPCs)); and organizations working with
SIC codes (i.e. local chambers of commerce and local
departments of labor). Work with these groups to
address P2.
/ Measure the community's perceptions, attitudes and
needs to find out where and how pollution prevention
efforts are or can be most effective.
V Identify practices within the health department (in both
business offices and clinics) which create environmental
hazards and/or raise the need for increased energy
efficiency.
Building Pollution Prevention into Policy
Development:
v Use information gained through the assessment process
to determine the need for resources, and areas where
pollution prevention policies could strengthen efforts to
reduce use of and human exposure to hazardous
substances.
/ Draft local ordinances encouraging substitution and other
pollution prevention methods by individuals and
businesses in areas with-high rates of exposure to toxic
substances.
/ Work with local and state legislative bodies to develop
incentives for local businesses engaged in pollution
prevention efforts.
/ Draft internal procurement and disposal procedures
' which prevent pollution for all local agencies.
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Assurance of->hs.Community's Access to Pollution
Prevention Strategies and Resources Through:
...Partnership activities:
/Work with businesses, schools, environmental organ-
izations. community groups, and'otherswho may already
be implementing pollution prevention strategies.
Collaborate your activities. " ,'.'_.
f . , -
/ Form partnerships with,the private sector, and reward
companies and businesses that imp'lement.'pollution
prevention activitiesrgetto know the chamber of -
commerce.
/Work with the numerous regional, state, and local
agencies which have an interest in pollution prevention
such as the local departments of environmental quality,
public works and economic development.. . .,.
...Community outreach/environmental justice:
/ Ensure that all populations in the community in need of
information on pollution prevention get timely and
accurate assistance.
/ Target pollution prevention activities to communities
which face exposure to multiple pollutants and hazards.
Household '
Agency E maJ
«* J ,...-.
to
store
identify teasfc-te
...Educational activities: "
/ Be an advocate of reducing risks through pollution
prevention. .
/ Be aware of P2 information resources and act as
information broker and resource for others in the
community.' ^
/ Continue to educate the public on ways to eliminate
household hazardous waste and substitute safer products
for toxic ones. . "
In-House Practices
City F incorporates pollution prevention into the every-
day operation of its health, department. It maintains a-
data bank of the latest environmentally sound technical
innovations and uses all innovations which are cost-
efficient and applicable in its design decisions. For its
purchasing decisions, The city buys and uses energy
efficient lighting and computers, and uses products that
are safer for the environment, such as non-bleached
paper, soy ink, and renewable fuels.
...Enforcement activities:
/Encourage increased compliance with Federal and state
environmental regulations; in some cases, encourage
companies to go beyond compliance through pollution
prevention. ','.
/ Educate the regulated community on ways to achieve.
eompliance through pollution prevention. | .
/ Report environmental health and safety risks in order to'
- find opportunities for pollution prevention.
/ Help reduce the waste from small quantity hazardous
waste generators, and help those operators better
manage the waste they generate.
/ Hold accountable those who have committed to pollution
prevention activities.
...In-house activities:
/ Prepare your department to be a community,resource.
This can be achieved by maintaining a data bank of the
latest environmentally sound technical innovations, a list
, of safer product substitutions, and other pollution
prevention information to share with the-public.
/ Reduce energy use by using energy-efficient light bulbs
of motion sensors, by turning off computers after hours
or using energy-efficient "energy star" computers, and by
implementing other measures which decrease
inefficiencies in energy use.
/ Promote reuse of raw materials over recycling.
/ Substitute products that harm the environment with
existing safer alternatives, such as non-bleached paper,
water-based industrial solvents which do riot emit volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), renewable fuels, and other
. products. , ;
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The Evolution of Prevention In Our
Management and Treatment of Solid Waste
As ' r*e "as crogressed. we >"ave moved from a focus on
' r*arag rg ard treating our pollution to identifying sources
ana creventing the creation cf pollution.
The fcl'cwtng timeline uses the example of solid waste
management to illustrate how our practices have moved
Closer to pollution prevention/source reduction over time.
It also demonstrates that pollution prevention is already a
central concept for local public health.
RESOURCES: Where can 1 get mere .nformaticn
about pollution prevention? (
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and;your
state pollution prevention contacts are good places to
start when gathering information on pollution prevention
and related activities. There are also several good
resource guides which provide information on where
communities can go for pollution prevention material's,
possible funding sources, etc. Other manuals speak
more to risks, ways to increase energy and production
efficiency, safe product alternatives, and case studies,
among other valuable information.
Common Practices in Solid Waste Management The following list should get you started:
1. Unregulated individual disposal
2. Centralized community collection and regulated
disposal
3. Basic landfill design and testing (covering
landfills)
4. Groundwater monitoring to identify contaminants
5. Landfill site-capping
6. Federal disposal restrictions enacted (Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act standards)
7. Required lining of solid waste sites to prevent
groundwater contamination
8. Collection and treatment of solid waste
9. Recycling
10. Waste reduction
11. Product change: factoring the environment into
product design
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,
. Washington, D.C. 20460, (202) 260-1023."
"Pollution Prevention: A Guide for Local Government,"
International City/County Management Association,
(800) 745-8780.
"Pollution Prevention-A Practical Guide for State and
Local Governments," David, Wigglesworth,
(800) 272-7737.
"Minimizing Hazardous Waste-rRegulatory Options for
Local Governments," Local Government Commission,
Sacramento, CA, (916) 448-1198.
"Source Reduction Now: How to Implement a Source
Reduction Program," Minnesota Office of Waste Man-
agement, (612) 649-5482.
The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable,
Washington, D.C. (202) 543-7272.
A Compendium of Local Pollution Prevention Case .
Studies, National Association of County and City Health
Officials (available in May, 1995), (202) 783-5550.
This Factsheet and NACCHO's Pollution Prevention Project are possible
through a cooperative agreement with the Pollution Prevention Division of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF
COUNTY & Crnr
HEALTH OFFICIALS
For more information about
local public health and pollution prevention please contact:
Heidi M. Klein, MS Director, Environmental Health Programs and Policies or
Ann Saurman, MPP Research Associate, Pollution Prevention Project
440 First Street, N.W. Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone:202-783-5550 Fax: 202-783-1583
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