ABSTRACT
Environmentally transmitted infectious disease constitutes the oldest environmental health problem. Environmental spread of infectious diseases, food-borne and water-borne illness, and soil-borne parasitic infections still occur each year. Drinking water may be obtained from either surface sources or underground sources. Microbiological testing determines the sanitary quality of environmental samples and gives the degree of contamination. Heterotrophic plate count provides an approximate enumeration of live heterotrophic bacteria. A wide variety of enteric pathogenic organisms may occur in environmental samples. Escherichia coli is the most common and well-known microorganism in the human intestinal tract. Fungi include yeasts and molds. Yeasts are unicellular and molds are multicellular filamentous organisms. Most common pathogenic fungi are Aspergillus. Radioactivity in water and wastewater originates from natural and artificial sources. The development of nuclear science and its application to power development, industrial operations, and medical uses require that attention be given to formulating techniques to assess the resultant environmental radioactive contamination.
