The Science of Environmental Health
March 2006
The Science of Environmental Health: Multidisciplinary, intergenerational, interspecies, interdependent, global, local and important
Cindy Russell, M.D.
Chair Environmental Health Committee
“The basic resource of a nation is its people. In strength it can be no greater than the health and vitality of its population. Preventable sickness, disability, and physical or mental incapacity are matters of both individual and national concern.” John F Kennedy.
The exploding field of environmental and public health has demonstrated an alphabet soup list of human diseases or conditions directly related to environmental factors , each preventable to one degree or another. Asthma, autism, allergies, birth defects, breast cancer, depression, endocrine disorders, endometriosis, infertility issues, immunologic diseases, learning disabilities, lymphoma, lung cancer, melanoma and many other conditions have a growing body of literature discussing environmental factors in the causation of these diseases (air pollution, mercury poisoning, pesticide use, manufacturing waste).
Environmental health science combines expertise from many disciplines that link findings from medicine, ecology, zoology, toxicology, pharmacology, neurosciences, biochemistry, organic chemistry, biotechnology and epidemiology to a growing list of human diseases (cancer, birth defects, neurological pathology, endocrine disruption, immune suppression). In 2001 the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) was created to assure credibility in the evolution of this field. Those who have been involved have worked hard to keep the science honest, objective and accountable. Their publication Environmental Health Perspectives bridges basic science with clinical medicine. The programs at the NIEHS evolve from and are relevant to the community.
The issues affecting human health are broad and include global warming, nuclear proliferation, mercury contamination, genetically modified foods, toxins in the home, industrial bio accumulative toxins, population, over consumption, diet, transportation, incineration of medical waste. Our modern complex society adds fast food, chronic stress and a lack of exercise to this expanding problem list. We need to look at how our lifestyles and consumer choices are adversely affecting our health and our planet. The health of our population absolutely depends on the health of the environment. Canaries are no longer used in the coal mine but the coal mine has become our Earth and we the canaries. Recent bio monitoring studies of synthetic chemicals in our bodies have shown that we are not only what we eat but also what we breathe, drink, scrub, lather, spray and burn. We have become one with our Styrofoam cups and IV tubing made from PVC.
We are inextricably connected to the web of life which supports us but which is in peril. Being engaged in the solutions and taking a precautionary approach is how we must move forward. Looking for least toxic alternatives in the actions of our daily lives and in medicine is important. We must understand the root causes of disease related to the environment that have either been overlooked or discounted due to economic, social or political factors.
I encourage you to attend seminars in our April Environmental Health Conference Series listed in this newsletter and to join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (www.healthandenvironment.org). You will begin to learn about the issues, the science behind them and then understand better how to treat your patients and our planet. Future issues of the Bulletin will highlight healthier choices in foods, cosmetics, household cleaning agents and more. Thank you for your participation and interest.
For more information:
NRDC- www.NRDC.org
Union of Concerned Scientists- www.ucsusa.org/
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- www.ipcc.ch/
Global Warming Hotspots- www.climatehotmap.org/
