ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LAW

Environmental Health Law

Environmental Health Law

Introduction

The public health law approach posits that the law can be used to create conditions that allow people to lead healthier lives and that the government has both the power and the duty to regulate private behavior in order to promote public health.1 The constitutional source of this authority is the police power, which encompasses both directly coercive interventions and policies such as taxes and subsidies that shape behavior by altering the costs of certain choices. States also enjoy broad powers with respect to taxation of goods and services. Several factors have led to a reexamination of the historical view that food consumption and physical activity are inappropriate subjects for government regulation. In this paper we analyzed a provided scenario on the basis of health law and regulations.

Discussion

Almost everything has a smell and for the most part, we live our lives perfectly easily surrounded by all kinds of odours which we have come to recognise and expect as part of our daily lives. However, occasionally, smell can become a problem and when this happens; it can hugely disrupt our daily lives and adversely affect our quality of life. We may find that doors and windows have to be shut, that we can't go out in the garden that the bad smell is giving us headaches, making us nauseous, and affecting our sleep (Roger Dower et al, 1997, pp 121-189).

Public Health Act 2005

The aim of this Act is to protect and promote the health of the Queensland public. The Act provides the basic safeguards necessary to protect public health through cooperation between the State Government, local governments, health care providers and the community (Meadows, 1992, pp 34-189).

This is achieved by:

Preventing, controlling and reducing risks to public health

Providing for the identification of, and response to, notifiable conditions

Defining obligations on persons and particular health care facilities involved in the provision of declared health services to minimise infection risks

Providing for the notification by doctors and registered nurses of child abuse and neglect, and protecting children who have been harmed or are at risk of harm when they present at health service facilities

Collecting and managing particular health information, and establishing mechanisms for health information held by the department to be accessed for appropriate research

Inquiring into serious public health matters

Responding to public health emergencies

Providing for compliance with this act to be monitored and enforced.

The Public Health Regulation 2005 supports the Act and includes specific measures for the handling and removal of asbestos and the control of mosquitoes, rats and mice. It also designates the childhood contagious conditions and notifiable conditions, and sets out details for perinatal statistics, health information, cancer notifications and the pap smear register (Daly, Herman and John, 1989, pp 124-178).

Environmental Protection Act 1994

Environmental Protection Act 1994 is An Act about the protection of Queensland's environment.

Local Government Act 1993

An Act to provide for local government and establish councils to plan for, develop and manage municipal areas in the interests of their ...