UM SPH Courses taught by Xi, Chuanwu

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EHS570 Water Quality Management

Fall term(s)
3 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s): Xi, Chuanwu
Description: Principles of science and engineering used in the evaluation and control of water quality. Includes current legislation, types of pollution, sources and nature of pollution, introduction to water quality management practices, water supply and treatment, hydrologic concepts, effects of waste discharge on receiving waters, lake management, and water quality criteria and standards.

EHS576 Microbiology in Environmental Health

Winter term(s)
3 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s): Xi, Chuanwu
Prerequisites: Biology, Grad Standing or Perm. Instr.
Description: GGraduate level course on basic knowledge about microbes in the environment and its impact on public health. Topics will include: - introduction on microbiology; - growth and control of microbes in the environment; - characterization and identification of microbes in the environment; - biofilms and its control; - transmission and persistence of health-related microbes in various environments such as water, air, food, indoor and industrial settings; - microbial transformation of organic and metal contaminants in the environments; - spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment.

EHS615 Water Quality and Human Health in the Great Lakes Basin

Winter term(s)
2 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s): Xi, Chuanwu; Dvonch, Tim
Not offered 2013-2014
Prerequisites: None
Description: The quality of Great Lakes Basin waters is threatened by toxic contamination from numerous sources transported in a variety of ways and transformed within the lakes in ways that can lead to serious but unpredictable effects on the health of individuals, communities, and ecosystems that depend on these waters. This course will provide a comprehensive review of available information on health risks associated with chemical and biological contaminants in drinking water supply systems, recreation water and freshwater food resources of the Great Lakes. It also addresses the bi-national agreements and programs aimed at sustaining and improving the quality of Great Lakes waters to enable new economic development opportunities while protecting the health and welfare of humans and ecosystems.
Course Goals: The overarching goals of the course are to provide the students with the knowledge and skills on how to characterize the sources, exposure, pathways, risks, associated body burdens, and potential human health effects from exposure to persistent toxic substances in the Great Lakes; identify human populations who may be at special risk of adverse health effects, particularly from consumption of Great Lakes sport fish; and obtain and critically review available information on control and management programs at the state, national and bi-national levels for critical drivers and risk factors of human and ecosystem health.
Competencies: The students that have taken this class are expected to be able to: C1. Find, compare, analyze and interpret available data on historical changes in water quality of the Great Lakes [Basic] C2. Articulate the principal sources of contaminants released into the Great Lakes; current trophic status of each of the Great Lakes in relation to their water quality; role that atmospheric deposition of toxic substances plays in degradation of water quality in the Great Lakes basin [Intermediate] C3. Evaluate the principal physical, chemical and biological processes that modulate the bioaccumulation and biomagnifications of toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes chain [Advanced] C4. Articulate the health issues involved in classifying the areas of concern (AOCs); can propose and defend the health criteria used for closure of Great Lakes beaches [Advanced] C5. Undertake an assessment of health risks associated with harmful algal blooms (HABs) and invasive species in the Great Lakes; collaborate in multi-disciplinary teams to address the likely impact of climate change on HABs expansion in the Great Lakes basin [Advanced] C6. Evaluate the health concerns associated with emerging contaminants of concern such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the Great Lakes [Advanced] C7. Undertake a benefit-cost analysis of the risks of eating fish from the Great Lakes especially for communities that are most vulnerable [Advanced] C8. Find, analyze and interpret the published information on measures of exposures and disease status in communities of the Great Lakes basin; critically assess the underlying causes of water-related disease outbreaks in the basin [Intermediate] C9. Articulate the effects of contaminants in the Great Lakes on wildlife populations and the limitations in extrapolating the information to the human population [Intermediate] C10. Apply the principles of virtual elimination of pollutants in developing possible toxic reduction strategies for the Great Lakes basin [Advanced]

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