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© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Chandrappa, D. B. Das, Environmental Health - Theory and Practice,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64484-0_2
Chapter 2
Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
Abstract Health impact assessment (HIA) is a process to evaluate the health
impacts of plants, policies, as well as projects quantitatively and qualitatively. HIA
assists the decision-makers to formulate decisions regarding alternatives; unlike the
past, decisions cannot be taken by sacrificing the capacity of the environment to
provide its ecological services. Like the resource, ecological services of any ecological set-up are limited and cannot take pressure beyond their capacity. Any stress
beyond the capacity of nature will result in counter-stress by nature to eliminate the
stress to upkeep nature’s health. This chapter discusses the theory and practice of
HIA along with the relevant methodologies supported by case studies.
2.1 Introduction
Economic sectors like agriculture, transport, trading, entertainment, and housing
have huge impacts on health.
Transport is a key factor that causes air pollution, traffic injuries and noise pollution (Fig. 2.1). But “healthy transport policies” such as use of electric motors, walking and cycling can reduce these risks. In agriculture, agrochemicals may boost crop
yields. But farm workers as well as consumers will be affected due to excessive
chemical exposure.
Increasing recognition of the impacts of human-induced programmes, policies,
plans or projects on the environment resulted in the development of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the 1960s (Burton and Wilson 1983; Bond and
Wathern 1999), and in 1969, the United States became the first country to establish
the basis for EIA. While most other nations followed the example of the United
States (Morgan 2012), it took three decades till HIA was formulated as a separate
form of impact assessment with focus on human health (Scott-Samuel 1996; Birley
and Peralta 1995). Since then, HIA practice has grown and diversified in the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States, and several European countries pioneering in this evolving discipline (Erlanger et al. 2008; Winkler et al. 2020).
HIA is a process to evaluate the health impacts of plans, policies, as well as projects quantitatively and qualitatively. HIA is a means of policy-making for improvement based on social, psychological, economic, political, and environmental factors
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Chandrappa, D. B. Das, Environmental Health - Theory and Practice,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64484-0_2
Chapter 2
Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
Abstract Health impact assessment (HIA) is a process to evaluate the health
impacts of plants, policies, as well as projects quantitatively and qualitatively. HIA
assists the decision-makers to formulate decisions regarding alternatives; unlike the
past, decisions cannot be taken by sacrificing the capacity of the environment to
provide its ecological services. Like the resource, ecological services of any ecological set-up are limited and cannot take pressure beyond their capacity. Any stress
beyond the capacity of nature will result in counter-stress by nature to eliminate the
stress to upkeep nature’s health. This chapter discusses the theory and practice of
HIA along with the relevant methodologies supported by case studies.
2.1 Introduction
Economic sectors like agriculture, transport, trading, entertainment, and housing
have huge impacts on health.
Transport is a key factor that causes air pollution, traffic injuries and noise pollution (Fig. 2.1). But “healthy transport policies” such as use of electric motors, walking and cycling can reduce these risks. In agriculture, agrochemicals may boost crop
yields. But farm workers as well as consumers will be affected due to excessive
chemical exposure.
Increasing recognition of the impacts of human-induced programmes, policies,
plans or projects on the environment resulted in the development of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the 1960s (Burton and Wilson 1983; Bond and
Wathern 1999), and in 1969, the United States became the first country to establish
the basis for EIA. While most other nations followed the example of the United
States (Morgan 2012), it took three decades till HIA was formulated as a separate
form of impact assessment with focus on human health (Scott-Samuel 1996; Birley
and Peralta 1995). Since then, HIA practice has grown and diversified in the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States, and several European countries pioneering in this evolving discipline (Erlanger et al. 2008; Winkler et al. 2020).
HIA is a process to evaluate the health impacts of plans, policies, as well as projects quantitatively and qualitatively. HIA is a means of policy-making for improvement based on social, psychological, economic, political, and environmental factors