Human Health and Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Health and Environment - Assignment Example & Wicander, R., 2009) However, it has been discovered to be dangerous to humans. The British Rail in 1967 made it public that it would cease to use asbestos insulation because of the danger to workmen. (Tweedale, G. & et. al., 2000) Asbestos, which is made up of six different fibrous materials that mainly affect the lungs, causes cancer. Because exposure to asbestos could slowly kill humans, â€Å"the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of various asbestos-containing products during 1970s and 1980s. In 1989 the EPA announced a ban on all asbestos products by 1996.† (Alters & Schiff, 2006) Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane or DDT, as it is most commonly called, is a synthetic pesticide. Renowned author and environmentalist Rachel Carson refers to DDT as a toxic chemical in her book, Silent Spring. As Carson (2002) states, â€Å"one of the most sinister features of DDT and related chemicals is the way they are passed on from one organism to another through all the links of the food chains.† Although there are no definite examples of human fatality due to ingestion of DDT, illness has been manifested with a dosage of 10mg/kg. (Assembly of Life Sciences, 1977) DDT has not always been a threat. Initially, DDT was of great importance As a matter of fact, it was considered â€Å"a great importance to all, both in helping to win the war and improving the country’s health after the war is over.† (Simmons, J., 2008) Discovered to cause paralysis in insects, DDT was used to treat lice in military men. After Geigy Colour Company, Ltd. of Switzerland introduced its effective DDT-based insecticide, Gesarol, American investigators brought it to the USA to be developed and distributed for use against insect-borne disease during World War II. (McCallum, J.E., 2008) Continued use of DDT-based pesticides, however have resulted to health problems for people and danger to the