The provision of safe drinking water across Canada is a responsibility shared across many agencies. At the federal level, Health Canada sets…
Topic Pages
Topic Pages introduce an aspect of the environment and its relation to public health by featuring a curated shortlist of NCCEH and external resources. The most relevant resources related to a topic have been selected to best guide the search for further information. These lists are not intended to be exhaustive, and the omission of any individual resource does not preclude it from having value.
A health impact assessment (HIA) is a combination of procedures, methods, and tools that allow for the strategic evaluation and assessment of the potential effects on health related to a policy,…
Modern artificial turf is used indoors and outdoors in a wide variety of settings, including multipurpose recreational and professional sports fields, playgrounds, residential areas, and public…
Oil spills are very complex events that, depending on where they occur, may result in acute exposures to nearby human populations. Regardless of the presence of humans, however, oil spills have…
Topics:
Biological Agents, Contaminants and Hazards, Food
Marine shellfish poisoning refers to illnesses in humans caused by consumption of marine bivalve shellfish (e.g., clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, cockles) that contain biotoxins (e.g., domoic…
This topic page is intended to help environmental health practitioners understand the guiding principles and public health objectives being used to develop cannabis policy, both federally and…
Topics:
Food
The definition of “ethnic food” depends on the geographic and cultural context in which the cuisine is found. Broadly speaking, ethnic foods are defined by others outside of the respective ethnic…
Lead is a potent neurotoxin that is commonly present in our environment and can have serious, irreversible cognitive and behavioral impacts, particularly in children. Historically, most lead…
Topics:
Contaminants and Hazards, Infectious Diseases, Food, Water
Norovirus is a group of highly contagious viruses that cause short-term gastroenteritis symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and potentially chills and fever. Norovirus infection can…
Topics:
Built Environment, Food
The foods that people choose to consume are influenced by the availability, affordability, and accessibility of foods in the environments in which they live, work, and play. Defined by the built…
Topics:
Food
Public health is affected by the food choices people make, the quality and quantity of food available, and the ways food is produced. The modernization of food systems has resulted in complex…
Topics:
Built Environment, Pest Control
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, elusive, and resilient insects that live by feeding on the blood of mammals, including humans. Bed bug infestations have become prominent worldwide…
Topics:
Contaminants and Hazards, Shale Gas
Hydraulic fracturing (also termed “fracking”) is the process used, along with horizontal drilling, to extract unconventional natural gas (shale gas, tight gas or coalbed methane) and tight oil…