Air Quality Control and Protection
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor’s Name
Date
Air Quality Control and Protection
Introduction
Air quality control and protection are practical measures that prevent the public from exposure to low-quality air. Available literature shows that communities are exposed to various poisonous or radioactive components in the air (Stanley et al., 2017). The incident shows the newly developed community is exposed to radon gas. The gas lounges in the air and causes lung cancer. The challenges of the situation are that the radioactive gas is affecting a large population. The public healthcare role is to educate the public on radon gas’s adverse effects on different groups of people, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Public health and community protection procedures are crucial in reducing the risk the new community is facing. The purpose of the paper is to examine the air quality control and protection in a newly developed community exposed to radon gas.
Air Quality Incident
The air quality incident involves complaints of high radon levels from various residents of a newly developed subdivision. The residents complain that they are testing high levels of radon (Stanley et al., 2017). The residents are demanding the local healthcare department to take action. A high level of radon is a public health concern since the gas can cause lung cancer. The high levels can affect children and the elderly, leading to hospitalization and death. It affects pregnant women and causes congenital disabilities (Kang et al., 2019). The gas can create a health crisis currently and in the future. Thus, it is essential for the local healthcare department to reduce gas in the subdivision.
The situational background shows that many people have filed for the complaints. The healthcare department has not taken action for the last few weeks since the residents started filing the complaints (Kang et al., 2019). Levels of radon gas in the country vary from one state to another. It is the responsibility of the health department to develop strategies of averting the risks.
The public health response is warranted since the gas can trigger health effects on the community. Radon gas causes lung cancer, the second largest cause after smoking. Statistics show that over 20,000 people die due to lung cancer annually, with approximately 3,000 who have no smoking background (Kang et al., 2019). The health response is warranted to avert the risk and protect the residents, including children, elderly, pregnant, and people with other respiratory illnesses.
Human Health Effects
The human health effects of the gas are devastating since it leads to lung cancer and death. When people breathe radon gas, the particles are trapped in the lungs. The radioactive particles will increase the risk of lung cancer (Vogeltanz-Holm & Schwartz, 2018). It causes other health effects or symptoms, including coughing, difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, chest pains, and hoarseness. The gas can increase the risk of frequent infections of bronchitis and pneumonia (Vogeltanz-Holm & Schwartz, 2018). The human health effects may increase to high proportions if the local health department does not take appropriate action. The human health effects will affect different populations, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly.
The population living in the newly developed division are recording high levels of radon. Likely, the construction of the new subdivision did not consider the high levels of the radioactive gas in the region (Vogeltanz-Holm & Schwartz, 2018). One of the significant sources of radon is rocks and soil with uranium components. The presence of poisonous gas in the air may continue to rise and negatively affect the community (Colombeau, 2020). The health response should identify the sources and advise the housing department on human health effects and possible solutions.
Challenges to the Incident
Rocks and soil emit radon gas. All rocks and soil have uranium compounds that emit the gas. The first challenge is that it would be impractical for the health department to respond appropriately. For instance, it cannot remove the soil or rocks in the area (Colombeau, 2020). The buildings could be built on rocks or soil that emit radioactive gas. The challenges of the situation are that the radioactive gas is affecting a large population. Solutions to the problem may affect a large community (Colombeau, 2020). For instance, if the health department recommends the community to move from the area, the solution may pose economic challenges.
The response of the healthcare department will require the participation of other state or federal agencies. Other stakeholders to the problem include the department of housing, finance, welfare, and education, pension, and security (Colombeau, 2020). The stakeholders need to investigate if a proper analysis was carried out before creating the subdivision. If a health analysis was not carried out, the community might require to move away and settle in a different region. The security department may require to prosecute the law’s responsible perpetrators (Winni & Suhardjo, 2019). Another critical challenge is that convincing the residents to move away from the region may pose more problems. The challenges undermine the practicality of air quality control and protection measures.
Public Health Roles
Public health personnel and groups have the responsibility of providing public education. The role is to educate the public on radon gas’s adverse effects on different groups of people, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly (Winni & Suhardjo, 2019). Public education will comprise campaigns on various platforms to provide information to the residents. Healthcare workers can participate in local organizations that advocate for better community health needs (Winni & Suhardjo, 2019). The needs include identifying the risks facing individuals and advocating for change.
Healthcare practitioners should provide information about the effects of radon gas to the community and government health departments. Providing evidence-based information helps the government agencies at state and federal levels take action (Stanley et al., 2017). The practitioners should draft resolutions to the community’s problems and how to alleviate such incidences in the future.
The local, state and federal government agencies should collaborate to fund the healthcare incident. The local government is responsible for assessing the situation and providing information to avert the risk (Stanley et al., 2017). It should provide an assessment report to the state and federal agencies for further action. Actions may involve funding from the various government agencies to provide treatment, testing, and relocation of individuals from risky areas.
The resources necessary to avert the situation include research studies demonstrating the extent and effect of the low air quality. Alleviating the situation requires partnerships among the state, local, federal, and community-based organizations (Kang et al., 2019). The community resources effectively reduce the risk the community is facing due to the exposure to radon gas.
Public Health and Community Protection Procedures
Public health and community protection procedures are effective in averting the risk the community is facing. One of the programs is educational interventions that provide information to the public about radon gas (Kang et al., 2019). It is essential to provide quality information about the risks of radon. Dissemination of information should allow the community to participate in giving their views (Kang et al., 2019). Giving their views will provide an opportunity to address incidences of misinformation in the community.
Incident investigation is an action by the various levels of government. The investigation will focus on identifying the risks the community is facing and the levels of radon gas. An investigation report will help the community and government agencies to take appropriate action (Vogeltanz-Holm & Schwartz, 2018). Exposure assessment will determine the people exposed to radon gas. It will examine the severity of the exposure and the possible effects upon exposure.
Hazard containment is an intervention to reduce exposure to radon gas. The stakeholders should take measures to contain the situation and avoid deterioration. Successful radon gas mitigation efforts will require funding from various levels of governance (Vogeltanz-Holm & Schwartz, 2018). Dissemination of information is necessary to keep the public abreast of all details they require to take appropriate measures (Colombeau, 2020). Public health and government agencies should disseminate information to help the public make important health decisions.
Conclusion
A newly developed community is exposed to radon gas. A high level of radon is a public health concern since the gas can cause lung cancer. The challenge of the situation is that the radioactive gas is affecting a large population. Public education will comprise campaigns on various platforms to provide information to the residents. Public health and community protection procedures are effective in averting the risk facing the new community. Government agencies and the public health department should take proactive roles to avert radon gas’s risk in the community.
References
Colombeau, M. (2020). Radon measures as solutions of the Cauchy problem for evolution equations. Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, 71(4), 1-16.
Kang, J. K., Seo, S., & Jin, Y. W. (2019). Health effects of radon exposure. Yonsei Medical Journal, 60(7), 597-603.
Stanley, F. K., Zarezadeh, S., Dumais, C. D., Dumais, K., MacQueen, R., Clement, F., & Goodarzi, A. A. (2017). Comprehensive survey of household radon gas levels and risk factors in southern Alberta. CMAJ Open, 5(1), 255.
Vogeltanz-Holm, N., & Schwartz, G. G. (2018). Radon and lung cancer: What does the public really know?. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 192, 26-31.
Winni, Y., & Suhardjo, S. (2019). Effects of Radon Gas Exposure on Lung Cell Immunity at Low Doses and High Doses: A Review. Journal of International Dental and Medical Research, 12(3), 1211-1221.
