Chemicals and Health

About this course: This course covers chemicals in our environment and in our bodies and how they impact our health. It addresses policies and practices related to chemicals, particularly related to how they get into our bodies (exposures), what they do when they get there (toxicology), how we measure them (biomonitoring) and their impact on our health.

Created by:  Johns Hopkins University

• Taught by:  Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, Co-Director of the Masters Programs in Environmental Health

  Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Taught by:  Beth A. Resnick, MPH, Associate Scientist

  Health Policy and Management

Level Beginner Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Задания курса

Каждый курс — это интерактивный учебник, который содержит видеоматериалы, тесты и проекты.

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Общайтесь с тысячами других учащихся: обсуждайте идеи, материалы курса и помогайте друг другу осваивать новые понятия.

Сертификаты

Получите документы о прохождении курсов и поделитесь своим успехом с друзьями, коллегами и работодателями.

Johns Hopkins University The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Week 1: Welcome & Introduction



Start off this week with the peer assessment (we know, we know. . .how can we have an assessment before the course even starts, right?). We simply hope to gauge your initial understanding of the topics that we’ll cover (so grade easy). Then we get into a quick overview of the course, a discussion of chemicals & how we are exposed (in three parts) and an introduction to chemical production & regulation. The module ends with a fun homework assignment: watch an eight-minute video and discuss amongst yourselves (and with us too).


5 videos, 2 readings expand

1. Video: Lecture 0: Chemicals and Health: Course Overview - Megan Latshaw
2. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Syllabus
3. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Grading
4. Video: Lecture 1A: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke
5. Video: Lecture 1B: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke
6. Video: Lecture 1C: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke
7. Video: Lecture 2: Production, Occupational Health, and Regulation - J. l Symons
8. Вопрос для обсуждения: Homework 1: The Story of Cosmetics

Graded: Chemicals in our environment: What is a chemical and how are we exposed?

WEEK 2


Week 2 - Toxicology: What do chemicals do in our bodies?



Now that you have a sense of what a chemical is, and how we are exposed to them, we dive into the science of how chemicals impact our health, starting with toxicology. But before you dive into the study of poisons, please review, evaluate, and grade at least four of your classmates' submissions from last week. After you listen to the lectures by Professor Trush, take the ten-question/multiple-choice quiz that covers weeks 1 & 2. Feel free to go back and use the lectures to help you answer the questions.


3 videos expand

1. Video: Lecture 3A: A Look Into the World of Toxicology Section A - Trush
2. Video: Lecture 3B: A Look Into the World of Toxicology Section B - Trush
3. Video: Toxicology, Toxicokinetics, and Toxicodynamics .

Graded: Modules 1 and 2 Quiz

WEEK 3


Week 3 - Biomonitoring: How do we measure these chemicals in our bodies and why?



Start by watching a two-minute video and a five-minute news report. Post your reactions not only to the video and audio files, but also to your peers’ thoughts! Next you’ll hear from a CDC scientist about the US’ National Biomonitoring Program, then you’ll hear how that program translates to the local level. Be sure to keep in mind the relationship of communities to their government! This week is pretty light – so enjoy!


2 videos expand

1. Вопрос для обсуждения: Homework 2: What is a public health laboratory?
2. Video: Lecture 4: The CDC's National Biomonitoring Program - Mortenson
3. Video: Lecture 5: Biomonitoring at State and Local Laboratories - King

WEEK 4


Week 4 - Health effects of chemicals: How do we figure out how chemicals affect our health?



Finally we get to one of the main questions presented in this course - how do scientists assess the impact of chemicals on our health? You’ll hear from a physician who specializes in environmental & occupational medicine and epidemiology. Then you’ll hear how policymakers use the knowledge that we do have (about chemicals & health) to assess risk and drive policy. Once you’ve viewed the two lectures, another ten-question/multiple-choice quiz will assess how much information you absorbed from weeks 3 and 4. Feel free to go back and use the lectures to help you answer the questions.


2 videos expand

1. Video: Lecture 6: Health Effects of Chemicals: How Do We Figure Out How Chemicals Affect Our Health? - Mitchell
2. Video: Lecture 7: Risk Assessment in Environmental Decision Making

Graded: Modules 3 and 4 Quiz

WEEK 5


Week 5 - Chemicals Policy: What do we do about chemicals & health?



So far we’ve covered: how chemicals get into our bodies and how we measure them, what our bodies do with them and what they do to our bodies, and how that ultimately impacts our health. Now we turn to policy and how society addresses the impact of chemicals on health. We will hear from a non-profit group that works to change policies such as laws & regulations related to this area. Then we’ll hear how such changes have impacted our health and environment historically, looking specifically at air quality regulation in the US. After you view the lectures in Module 5, there is a second peer-reviewed writing assessment that aims to gauge your shift in understanding the complex relationship between chemicals and health (again grade each other generously).


6 videos expand

1. Video: Lecture 8A: After 40 Years, a New Toxic Substances Control Act
2. Video: Lecture 8B: After 40 Years, a New Toxic Substances Control Act
3. Video: Lecture 8C: After 40 Years, a New Toxic Substances Control Act
4. Video: Lecture 8D: After 40 Years, a New Toxic Substances Control Act
5. Video: Lecture 8E: After 40 Years, a New Toxic Substances Control Act
6. Video: Lecture 9: Air Quality Regulation - Samet

Graded: Demonstrate What You've Learned

WEEK 6


Week 6: Case Studies



At this point you may be wondering: so how do all these pieces fit together? From chemicals in our natural world to production on a large scale, through exposure to health effects and policy . . . this module provides real world examples of how the general public, scientists, industry, governments and non-profit groups come together to effect change. Specifically, we’ll hear about tobacco, contaminated food, drinking water, nanotechnology & worker health. At some point this week (either before, after or in-between listening to the case studies), you’ll need to review, evaluate, and grade at least four of your classmates' submissions from last week. The final lecture offers a summary & conclusion, hopefully providing ideas for next steps for those of you interested in learning or doing more related to chemicals & health. Please let us know how we did and how we can improve!


6 videos expand

1. Video: Lecture 10: Cotinine and Secondhand Tobacco Smoke in New York - Aldous
2. Video: Lecture 11: Chemicals and Cigarettes - Cohen
3. Video: Lecture 12: Arsenic Exposure from Food: How It Gets There, Why We Should Care, How to Reduce Exposure - Rangan
4. Video: Lecture 13: Drinking Water in the US - Schwab
5. Video: Lecture 14: Nanotechnology & Worker Health - Breysse
6. Video: Lecture 15: Course Wrap-Up - Resnick and Burke