Human activities impact environmental quality, which in turn impacts human health.
To explore these complex interactions, numerous elements of the pure and applied sciences, including biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine, are required. The faculty members of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences have expertise in a broad range of disciplines necessary for the solution of problems in environmental health. Their educational backgrounds cover analytical chemistry, aquatic ecology, aquatic and mammalian toxicology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, entomology, environmental engineering, environmental law, environmental physiology, environmental planning, and marine science. The faculty's professional experiences include work with air pollution, ecosystem modeling, exposure analysis, hazardous materials management, health physics, impact assessment, industrial hygiene, noise pollution and hearing conservation, occupational health, occupational medicine, risk assessment, terrestrial and landscape ecology, water and wastewater treatment, and wetlands. In both the natural and the work environment, one seeks an understanding of the production, release, impact, fate, and means of control of harmful agents.