Study of the environmental health aspects of swimming pools in Alexandria city

There has been a rapid increase in the number of public as well as Private swimming pools in recent years. This is because the general public is now much more health and fitness-oriented and swimming is thought by many to be the perfect form of exercise Assessment of the environmental and health aspects of some of Alexandria swimming pools was carried out through the present study. All the recorded temperatures during the Present Study agreed with the Infectious Diseases Regulations. As regards turbidity, although the annual mean Values of most Pools had shown compliance with the allowable limit of the decree, there were many violations of the limit values in some individual results recorded during the different months. Most of the residual chlorine results recorded at the different Pools during the different months Showed that the operators were adding the Cl2 in a haphazard way. The low pH values could be attributed to the addition of Slug doses of Cl2 which hydrolyze Producing high concentrations of hydrochloric and hydrochlorous acids. The high Incidence of recorded itching and redness of the eyes followed by ear infections was attributed to the exposure to excess chlorine, and to the presence of pathogenic microorganisms As regards the awareness and practice to pool hygienic instructions, the low percentage of swimmers using head caps during Swimming [30.1%] Was mainly comprised of females It could be concluded that the majority of the users followed some of the hygienic instructions, like showering, washing the feet before entering the pool, and wearing bathing suites instead of private clothes. The frequencies of health problems observed among users were related to many factors, like age, marital status, occupation, frequency, and duration of use of the swimming pool

Effect of environmental sanitation on diarrhoal diseases incidence in pre-school children in urban and rural areas

Effects of environmental conditions and selected demographic factors on the diarrhea of pre-school children were investigated by sampling 2 groups of children, rural and urban, attending El- Shatby Pediatrics Hospital Outpatient Clinic. The relative risk for the abovementioned factors was calculated and the comparison between the 2 groups indicated the importance of interaction of environmental and socioeconomic variables. For instance, the relative risks for male/female ratio, mothers' education, mothers' work, and house ventilation were 7.48, 2.06, 9.4, respectively. Incorporation of the socioeconomic development and environmental sanitation is needed to ensure reduction of morbidity and mortality of pre-school children diarrhea in Egypt and other developing nations

Safety of handling of radioactive isotopes in some of Alexandria medical centres

The isotopic method represents a powerful tool for the solution of numerous problems in biology, physiology, chemistry, physics and other sciences. It is true that the use of isotopes as a scientific tool is not new, but it is only in recent years that isotopes became available in such variety and quantity as to make their use more widespread. Handling of such radioactive isotope sources, therapeutic or diagnostic, and their waste management presents one of the serious environmental health problems, especially in developing countries. The work aimed to evaluate the safety of handling of radioactive isotopes in five isotope therapeutic units [Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137] and seven radioactive isotope diagnostic laboratories [Iodine-131, Iodine-125, Thallium-201, C-14] which covers most of radioactive medical and research centers in Alexandria. The data of radioactive isotope doses was measured by Portable Geiger meter and included different handling positions, storing places, and radioactive waste management. The study revealed good and safe handling conditions in some of the heavy isotope units [3,4 and 5], but units [1 and 2] need repair and maintainance which has already started. Unit [5], also, needs more leaded isolation on the door corners to decrease the dose outside the room. Concerning diagnostic laboratories of unsealed sources, the results indicated a permissible level of doses in most laboratories, which means highly safe handling conditions except the therapeutic glands' laboratory at treatment position by Iodine-131 to patients. It could be concluded that the application of radiation protection programme through Atomic Energy Authority is taking good care especially in unsealed isotope laboratories. When dealing with acute impacts of radioactive hazards, it is important to avoid shocks or accidents by the precautionary principle of surveillance through the safe handling and management of such materials.It is desirable to keep the average individual exposure in the population as low as oossible to avoid late and genetic effects of radiation