Evolution of environmental epidemiologic risk assessment

Abstract

Epidemiology has historically played an important role in the recognition of causes for diseases affecting the health of the public. Initially, epidemiology was concerned with infectious diseases. Later it became involved in metabolic and dietary deficiency diseases. Most recently, epidemiology has addressed the question of the public health effects of chemicals from production facilities, accidental spills, and chemical waste disposal sites. Concurrent improvements in the sensitivity of chemical analyses have enabled the identification of chemicals arising from waste disposal sites in the soil, air, drinking water, and food supplies of neighboring residential areas, albeit usually at very low concentrations. This knowledge has created great concerns among the affected populations and their public health agencies. The responsibility for interpreting the potential severity of the health effects of these environmental contaminants has fallen to those scientists experienced in epidemiology. This has led to a subdiscipline, reactive epidemiology, which describes investigations focused on specific events, usually under emotion-laden circumstances, rather than scientific merit. The reactive epidemiologist is rigidly constrained as to the size, timing, and location of the study. There is a strong requirement for public communication skills. New data bases are needed including "sentinel" diseases that are linked to exposure to chemicals, records of land use, and residency data for the population at risk.