Environment & Health

Latest Environment and health reports

in: Research EPA Research Reports

Research 170 - Review of Public Information Programmes to Enhance Home Radon Screening Uptake and Home Remediation

Author: David Hevey, April 2016

Year: 2016

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. It has no taste, colour or smell. It is formed in the ground by the radioactive decay of uranium which is present in all rocks and soils. The World Health Organisation has categorised radon as a carcinogen, in the same group as asbestos and tobacco smoke.

Research 162 - Hospital effluent: impact on the microbial environment and risk to human health

Authors: Dearbháile Morris, Suvi Harris, Carol Morris, Enda Commins and Martin Cormican., January 2016

Year: 2016

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem. In Ireland, and most of Europe, hospital effluent is released into the urban wastewater system without any specific measurement of antibiotic levels or antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and without any pre-treatment.

Research 156 - Visualisation and quantification of the interaction of fluorescent nanoparticles with ecotoxicologically relevant species

Year: 2015

This research aimed to clarify some aspects of the nature and consequences of the interaction between engineered nanoparticles and the environment.

EPA Research 154: PALM Air Pollution thumbnail

Research 154: PALM: A Personal Activity–Location Model of Exposure to Air Pollution

Year: 2015

The Personal Activity–Location Model (PALM) project investigated methods for modelling an individual’s personal exposure to air pollution taking into account variations in their activity and location.

Research 142: Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment

Year: 2015

This report aims to collate the knowledge base by documenting what is currently known and understood about pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment and their potential impacts on aquatic biota and ultimately humans.

Research 143: Pharmaceuticals in the Irish Aquatic Environment

Year: 2015

The overall aim of this project was to combine chemical and biological analyses in an integrated assessment of the extent and the effects of pharmaceutical pollution in the Irish aquatic environment, with the ultimate aim of developing a simple bioassay for the fast, reliable identification and toxicological assessment of pharmaceuticals in environmental samples.

Research 153: Identifying the Biological and Geographical Origins of Faecal Contamination

Year: 2015

The aim of this project was to develop a tool box, Microbial Source Tracking (MST), to enable water quality managers to identify the biological and geographical sources of faecal pollution of water bodies.

Research 152: Cryptosporidiosis: Human, animal and environmental interface

Year: 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the monthly prevalence of Cryptosporidium in farm animals during March–June over two years in two catchments – the Liffey and Lough Gill – in the east and west of Ireland.

Research 151: CapE-Capture, Extract, Amplify: A rapid method for monitoring large water volumes for pathogenic contaminants

Year: 2015

This 2-year research and development project focused on validating a rapid and convenient method for screening large volumes of water for the presence of VTEC.

Research 150: Assessment of exposure to metallic nanoparticles, focusing on silver on marine and fresh water model organisms at a cellular and genetic level

Year: 2015

With the advent of industrial utilisation of ENMs, it is now of the utmost importance that exposure risk scenarios in relation to increasing and unnatural NPs, where their function and interaction with their environment is unpredictable, are monitored, assessed and, if required, that regulatory guidelines are implemented early in their application.

Research 137: Towards developing a Cryptosporidium monitoring protocol

Year: 2015

The prevalence and persistence of Cryptosporidium – particularly with respect to drinking water supplies – is one of the key environment and health issues for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Indoor Air Pollution and Health

Year: 2013

The objective of the Indoor Air Pollution and Health (IAPAH) research project was to quantify the levels of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) in Irish and Scottish homes where open combustion takes place, and provide an estimate of the potential health burden due to exposure to combustion derived air pollution in the home. IAP concentrations were measured in 100 homes in Ireland and Scotland.

Extreme Temperatures and Mortality in Ireland

Mathilde Pascal, Pat Goodman, Luke Clancy and Joel Schwartz, January 2013

Year: 2013

STRIVE Report 102

Enhancing Human Health through Improved Water Quality

Martin Cormican, Enda Cummins, Dearbhaile Morris, Diarmuid O’Donovan, Martina Prendergast & Vincent O’Flaherty, January 2012

Year: 2012

STRIVE Report 89

Summary of Findings - Air Pollution in Cork Harbour, Ireland: Environmental Linkages of In-Port Ship Emissions

Summary of Findings - STRIVE Report 71, July 2011

Year: 2011

Summary of Findings - STRIVE Report 71

Composition and Sources of Particulate Air Pollution in a Port Environment, Cork, Ireland

Report for the STRIVE-funded project: 2006-EH-MS-49, July 2011

Year: 2011

STRIVE Report 71 - Ian P. O’Connor

Summary of Findings - Studies of the Chemical Composition and Toxicity of Airborne Fine Particles in Cork’s Mid-Harbour

Authors: Ian P. O’Connor, David A. Healy, Arnaud Allanic, Stig Hellebust, Jennifer M. Bell, Siobhan Cashman and John R. Sodeau. Lead Organisation: University College Cork , July 2011

Year: 2011

Summary of Findings - STRIVE Report 85