Environmental Chemistry and Health

- evaluate how environmental issues translate into health concerns

- apply the concepts of chemical speciation and bioavailability

- understand and describe the distinct behavior of contaminants and nutrients in the environment as well as the processes that drive this behavior

- examine adverse effects of chemicals in human health and wildlife

- apply approaches to (environmental) risk assessment for humans and ecosystems

The overarching aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of how environmental issues translate into health concerns. The source-pathway-receptor chain is used as a guiding conceptual model and the course topic is approached from the complementary disciplines environmental chemistry, toxicology and epidemiology.

In the part on environmental chemistry the concepts of chemical speciation and bioavailability will be introduced, and the distinct behavior of contaminants and nutrients in the environment as well as the processes that drive this behavior will be explained.

The environmental toxicology and epidemiology parts will introduce the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and wildlife, including concepts such as dose (concentration)-effect relationships. In addition, the approaches to (environmental) risk assessment are explained, which include knowledge on the exposure, as well as effects of compounds at the molecular, cellular, whole organism and ecosystem level. The similarities and differences in risk assessment for humans and ecosystems will be introduced.