Dose often takes body weight into account. The presence of hazardous substances in the environment. From the public health perspective, environmental contamination is addressed when it potentially affects the health and quality of life of people living and working near the contamination. Hazard A source of risk that does not necessarily imply potential for occurrence. A hazard produces risk only if an exposure pathway exists and if exposures create the possibility of adverse consequences.
Chemicals can get into or on food, drink, utensils, cigarettes, or hands where they can be ingested.
After ingestion , chemicals can be absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body. Media Soil, water, air, plants, animals, or any other parts of the environment that can contain contaminants. These sites are most in need of cleanup. Plume An area of chemicals in a particular medium, such as air or groundwater, moving away from its source in a long band or column. A plume can be a column of smoke from a chimney or chemicals moving with groundwater.