Environmental Health Historical Prespective - Research Paper Example

Chemicals are the most critical factors that policy makers need to address because consumers may not control their intake. The lack of control results from the fact that consumers are hardly aware of the chemicals they consume from commercially produced products. Consumption of high levels of chemicals may cause diseases such as breast cancer, which have not found a cure since the evolution of mankind. Rachel Carson, an environmentalist was the first woman to create awareness of the negative effects of environmental factors such as chemicals.

Rachel was concerned with the relationship between health and environment because she was a victim of breast cancer that is caused by consumption of chemicals (Carson, 2012). Environmental pollution that results from spraying of insecticides, and pesticide is one of the major factors that produces negative effects on health. This is proven by the study conducted by Silent Spring to find out the effects of pollution on health. The study found out that when human beings inhale air that contains chemicals, they are likely to contract cancerous diseases such as prostate and breast cancer.

The institution compared the spread of breast cancer among women of Cape Cod, an area that grows cranberries with other regions in Massachusetts. The regions were chosen because growers of cranberries in Cape Cod often spray their farms to prevent pests from destroying their crops; while the rest of Massachusetts does not practice farming, hence consumers in these regions inhale uncontaminated air (Carson, 2012). The research found out that the rate of spread of breast cancer in Cape Cod is fifteen percent higher than that of other regions.

The breast cancer results from estrogen compounds that lead to the growth of tumors in the human body. Human beings do not have the capability to control consumption of chemicals in the environment thus, the government should take measures to control air pollution because this reduces the negative consequences of the act (Van Holle, Deforche, Van Cauwegan, Goubert, Maes, Van, & De Bourdeaudhuji, 2012). The chemical products that affect the health of human beings may also be found in consumer products such as food and cosmetics (Schakowsky, & Markey, 2013).

The products are made of various components, and some of them may disrupt the hormonal balance of the human body leading to cancer. Satura is an example of a cosmetic product that was developed in 1956, and it contains an estrogen compounds that causes breast cancer. Tobacco is another product that harms anyone who comes into contact with the smoke together with the direct consumer. The smoke from this product leads to discomfort on persons who inhale it, and it causes lung cancer. Consumers may prevent the negative consequences of these products by avoiding their intake; however, some manufacturers do not disclose all the chemical composition of their products (Harlid, Butt, Ivarsson, Eyfjord, Lenner, Manjer, & Carlson, 2012).

This means that the government should intervene through policies that ban the sale of chemicals that are harmful to the human body. The reduction of consumption of chemical products leads to improvement in the health of a nation’s population (Geoffrey, & Cockerham, 2010). This phenomenon has been proven by a research conducted by the United States center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The institution conducted several researches