Low-dose extrapolation model selection for evaluating the health effects of environmental pollutants is a key component of the risk assessment process. At a workshop held in Baltimore, Maryland, on 23-24 April 2007, sponsored by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, a multidisciplinary group of experts reviewed the state of the science...

Considering that the coordination of economic development and environmental protection has become a worldwide concern and that China's environmental pollution and ecological destruction are mainly attributable to limitation of its future economic development, this paper presents a discussion on the symbiotic relationship between the economic development and environmental protection. The present...

Dyella ginsengisoli strain LA-4 can efficiently degrade environmental pollutants such as biphenyl and azo dyes. Here, we present a 4.55-Mb draft genome sequence of strain LA-4, which may provide further insights into the molecular mechanism in environmental pollution remediation.

INTRODUCTION Clinical environmental medicine deals with environmental effects on human health in individual patients. Patients seek medical advice for problems of many different kinds that may be due to environmental exposures; such exposures must be considered carefully along with other potential causes. An environmental medical assessment should include thorough medical history-taking and phy...

Qualitative research uses nonnumeric data to understand people's opinions, motives, understanding, and beliefs about events or phenomena. In this analysis, I report the use of qualitative methods and data in the study of the relationship between environmental exposures and human health. A primary search for peer-reviewed journal articles dated from 1991 through 2008 included the following three...

Use of biobank-based study designs enables minimisation of several major sources of bias in genetic epidemiologic studies and has the potential to resolve major bottlenecks for progress. E.g., case-control studies nested in biobanks can minimise selection biases by enabling inclusion of all eligible cases and controls in the study base. Use of population-based biobanks in combination with case ...

The willingness to view risk as part of daily life has vanished. A risk-averse mindset among environmental regulators engenders confusion between the ethics of intention and the ethics of consequence, leading to the elevation of the precautionary principle with unintended and often unfortunate outcomes. Environmental risk assessment is conservative, but the actual level of conservatism cannot b...

Editor’s note: NEHA strives to provide up-to­ date and relevant information on environmen­ tal health and to build partnerships in the pro­ fession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column from the Environmental Health Ser­ vices Branch (EHSB) of the Centers for Dis­ ease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal. In this column, EHSB and guest authors from across CDC wi...

Physicians and public health professionals working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 8 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) received several telephone calls requesting information regarding the safety of recycled tire crumb as a playground surface constituent placed below children's play structures. There were no reported symptoms or adverse health effects ...

The rapid growth in the number of older Americans has many implications for public health, including the need to better understand the risks posed to older adults by environmental exposures. Biologic capacity declines with normal aging; this may be exacerbated in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. This decline can result in compromised pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic responses...