![Featured image for the article Promoting the safety of reusables to protect human and environmental health](/images/pexels-anna-shvets-4167544.jpg)
Promoting the safety of reusables to protect human and environmental health
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new ‘normal’ level of dependence on single-use plastics. Online shopping, takeouts, and deliveries took over as people’s mobility was greatly limited during the lockdowns. However, while human safety is of utmost priority and importance, we must also be mindful of its effects on the environment. Plastic waste may cause more risks to human health if left unchecked. This has brought to life questions single-use vs. reusable goods in the context of a global public health crisis. The Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, represented by Dr. Geminn Louis C. Apostol, a leading Environmental Health Specialist, joins 125 experts from all over the world in supporting Greenpeace’s statement regarding the safety of reusables during COVID-19. Dr. Apostol explains, “While ensuring adequate access to PPE is paramount, the pandemic has exposed how both the medical and nonmedical community have an unnecessary and dangerous reliance on disposable, single-use materials. Widespread use of single-use PPE has resulted in enormous quantities entering waste management streams, contaminating both public spaces and natural environments and creating additional threats to public health and safety.” With proper hygiene and disinfection practices, reusable products can safely be used, protecting both human and environmental health.
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/hands-with-latex-gloves-holding-a-globe-with-a-face-mask-4167544/
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A TAALe of Arsenic: Sharing the narrative through an interactive map
Arsenic is a highly toxic and carcinogenic trace metal that can potentially contaminate groundwater sources in volcanic regions and affect communities in the area, like those residing around the Taal Volcano. The volcano’s eruption last 2020 encouraged an investigation into the quality of groundwater sources in communities surrounding the volcano. In response, the EnviHealth team in ACRI conducted a comparative documentation, “Arsenic in Groundwater Sources from Selected Communities Surrounding Taal Volcano, Philippines”. Water samples from 26 wells were collected across 11 municipalities and 1 city in Batangas province within danger zones from the volcano which were used to analyze total arsenic levels of the samples. Geographic coordinates of the sampling points were also recorded for mapping.
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EcoWaste, ACRI zooms in on Microplastics
In anticipation of Earth Day, environmental watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition organized a seminar last April 18, 2024 in partnership with Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Center for Research and Innovation (ACRI), University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), and the International Pollutants Elimination Network-Southeast and East Asia (IPEN-SEA) to talk about the prevalence and impacts of microplastics in the environment, as well as their effects on human health.