Accumulation of environmental risks to human health: geographical differences in the Netherlands

The project `Accumulation of environmental risks' was aimed at developing methods to illustrate the geographical differences in risks to human health due to several types of environmental pollution. The following risks were considered: possible major accidents, radioactive substances and radiat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 1998-08, Vol.61 (1), p.187-196
Main Authors: Pruppers, M.J.M, Janssen, M.P.M, Ale, B.J.M, Pennders, R.M.J, van den Hout, K.D, Miedema, H.M.E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accident prevention
Air pollution
Biological and medical sciences
Carcinogenic substances
Carcinogens
Contamination
Environment. Living conditions
Health hazards
Housing. Living conditions
Human health
Major accidents
Medical sciences
Noise
Noise pollution
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Radiation
Radiation effects
Radioactive materials
Risk maps
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Summary:The project `Accumulation of environmental risks' was aimed at developing methods to illustrate the geographical differences in risks to human health due to several types of environmental pollution. The following risks were considered: possible major accidents, radioactive substances and radiation, several carcinogenic substances in air and environmental noise, with the methods used based on the risk concept implemented in the Netherlands environmental policy. Starting with information on sources and emissions of several contaminants, their dispersion in air and human exposure to them were calculated, and the effects on human health estimated. The results were presented in a number of national maps. In spite of the complexity of discussions on risk-related subjects, applying the methods developed during the project has been shown to lead to insight into the geographical distribution and the comparison of different kinds of risk. The maps on possible major accidents and noise showed high risks on a local scale, whereas the risks due to radiation and substances were found to be more evenly distributed over large parts of the Netherlands.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/S0304-3894(98)00122-8