International Conference on Environmental Health & Safety October 24-25, 2016 Valencia, Spain

As the planet warms, oceans expand and the sea level rises, floods and droughts become more frequent and intense, and heat waves and hurricanes become more severe. The most vulnerable people children, the elderly, the poor, and those with underlying health conditions are at increased risk for health effects from climate change. Climate change also stresses our health care infrastructure and delivery systems.

Public Health refers to the science of all organized measures protecting and improving health of communities and populations locally and globally and to promote health, prevent disease as a whole through healthy life styles, promotion of research for disease, injury prevention, detection and control of infectious diseases.

Nurse practitioners (NP) are advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) who are educated and trained to provide health promotion and maintenance through the diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and chronic condition. 

Sustainable Development is an organizing principle for human life on a finite planet. It posits a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future generations may also have their needs met. 

Environmental health hazards may be biological, chemical, physical, biomechanical or psychosocial in nature. Environmental health hazards include traditional hazards of poor sanitation and shelter, as well as agricultural and industrial contamination of air, water, food and land. Environmental health risks result from people interacting with hazards in the surrounding environment. In order to prevent environmental health hazards affecting our health, it is very important to be aware of the hazards and to take steps to manage the risks. Some majorly deals with general environmental health hazards, and not extremes of climate, occupational hazards, chemical hazards, physical hazards and hazards associated with food also may be the reason.

Environmental engineering deals with the combination of sciences and engineering principles to improve the natural environment, to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to clean up pollution sites.

Soil is a unique biological system with an abundant microflora and a very high microbial diversity capable of performing multiple key ecosystem functions. Further advances in understanding soil functionality are being realised by harnessing omics technologies such as metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, proteomics and volatilomics. The next challenge of systems biology and functional genomics is to integrate the information from omic approaches to give a more complete picture of soil as a biological system.

Hygiene is a primary step of good health to protect ourselves and others from illness and keep us safe by maintaining good health. It includes practices to prevent spread of diseases. Examples of Hygiene include environmental cleaning, hand hygiene, sterilization of equipment, and safe disposal of waste, water and sanitation. Since cleaning processes (e.g., hand washing) remove infectious microbes as well as dirt and soil, they are often the means to achieve hygiene.

Occupational health and safety creates the physical work environment which encompasses the promotion and maintenance of the physical, mental and social well-being of employees or workers in the organization. It includes reducing work-related injury, illness and disability by addressing the harmful hazards and risks of the physical environment. Reducing physical job hazards may also reduce work related stress in employees in workplace. 

The definition of biological waste encompasses blood and blood products, pathological waste, cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, contaminated animal carcasses and bedding, sharps, and biotechnology by-product effluents (i.e. recombinant DNA).

Environmental health and toxicology mainly focuses on the exposure of organisms to toxic agents, as well as examination of the molecular and physiological processes that are impacted by these exposures like heavy metals, toxic elements, organic chemicals, pesticides etc. Environmental Toxicology is a rapidly developing field concerned with the research of natural and man-made pollutants which impact the health of humans, wildlife, and whole ecosystems. It involves application of a variety of techniques to study the impact of toxic substances or agents on living organisms and provides powerful tools for assessing the risks associated with the presence of these agents.

A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to the host. The term is most often used for agents that disrupt the normal physiology of a multicellular animal or plant. Pathogens can have strong effects on their hosts and can be important determinants of biological invasions. In environmental systems, the host pathogen interactions may be mediated by direct environmental effects on pathogen communities and host fitness. Environment mediates pathogen transmissions by bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoans’ pathogens which creates risk for the environment.

Environment can affect disease transmission in a variety of ways. The distribution and population size of disease vectors can be heavily affected by local climate. Flooding after heavy rains can result in sewage overflow and widespread water contamination in thus conditions diseases may transmit from one place to other through microorganisms. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that pathogens can be spread from one region to another along air streams or by wind. Some infectious agents can travel long distances and remain suspended in the air for an extended period of time. 

Non communicable diseases refer to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, but result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses. Some non-communicable diseases are cancer, obesity, hypertension, injuries, mental illness and respiratory diseases. Environmental health mainly discusses about the ecological perspectives. More poverty, lack of investment in modern technology and weak environmental legislation combine to cause high pollution levels. Associations between environmental pollution and health outcome are however complex and often poorly characterized. Exposures may occur via a range of pathways and exposure processes. 

Ecology is the study of interrelationship between living organisms and their physical environment. Life and environment are interdependent. The plant and animal life is affected by various environmental factors and in turn they modify their environment in various ways. Growth, development and destruction of all organisms are determined by physical and biological conditions. Environmental protection is also an important part of environmental health, but has typically focused more on the affect that our environment has on human health rather than the effect that humans have on our environment. 

Energy provides life-sustaining and health-promoting goods, from the electricity that powers much in our lives, to the fuel that transports us from one place to another. But not all energy is equal when it comes to what it means for our health. Each stage in the life cycle of fossil fuels extraction, transport, processing, and combustion carries multiple hazards for health and the environment. Energy policies are in transition worldwide based on a convergence of factors including static oil production coupled with increased demand, a desire for energy independence, and growing awareness of climate change. Making energy choices that improve human health, the environment, and economic development is possible if we understand the complex interplay between systems for energy delivery and sustainable, healthy human environments.

The surface environment of the Earth is controlled by interactions between the deep Earth, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. These interactions occur on timescales ranging from picoseconds for chemical reactions on mineral surfaces to the billions of years over which plate tectonic processes and earth’s evolution take place. Investigations are visible on what shapes our world and the environment in which we live, in order to understand the interactions between Earth's geology, atmosphere, oceans, biosphere and human responses and roles.

Environmental Health 2016 provides great avenues for Investors seeking for investment opportunities and expanding their business horizons. Our conference is attended by participants from more than 40 countries and attracts an interesting combination of academic researchers, practitioners, and individuals who are engaged in various aspects of innovations in healthcare research thereby providing plenty of networking opportunities and newfound knowledge.