Environments harmful to human health

Challenges for SDG environmental health related indicators

Abstract

Environmental health-related indicators must be examined when considering the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. A review of literature regarding chemical and physical issues that carry environmental risks in reports from WHO and other academic papers in Japan and overseas showed a relationship between indoor temperature difference and mortality. Further, indoor concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) and humid environments were found to be related to allergic diseases, and atmospheric microparticulate matter was found to be related to respiratory and circulatory system diseases. Furthermore, the index related to 3.9.2 “Unsafe water, unsafe public health, and death due to unsafe hygiene knowledge” is defined using the sum of specific diseases, and the index is classified as Tier I, but the occurrence of water-borne diseases based on information from domestic water quality accident cases over the past 30 years was significantly lower than that reported by UN-designated coding using ICD10. This may be because the WHO WASH disease code was defined based on conditions in developing countries.