Date: March 5, 1999 PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT
BETTER INFORMATION NEEDED TO GUIDE EFFORTS IN ADDRESSING
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Concerns have grown in recent years that industrial plants,
waste facilities, and other potential polluters are more likely to
be sited in poorer communities, and that pollutants from these
facilities are making people sick. In response, a growing movement
known as "environmental justice" has sought to ensure that no
particular part of the population is disproportionately burdened by
the negative effects of pollution. And researchers now are
beginning to examine how these environmental hazards may affect
human health.
However, research so far has not generally been able to tie the
health problems of minority and poor communities to environmental
stressors such as chemicals, noise, or air pollutants, according to
a new report from a committee of the Institute of Medicine. To
fill this gap in the knowledge base, the report calls for more
research that ultimately could help policy-makers weigh the
possible environmental risks of a facility against the positive
benefits -- like jobs and tax revenue -- that it might provide
to local citizens.
Based on information gathered in site visits to Arizona,
Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington, as well as a review of
the scientific literature, the committee concluded that there are
identifiable communities of concern that are exposed to higher
levels of pollutants than others, and are not well-equipped to deal
with them because of a limited involvement in the political
process. In addition, residents of these communities may not
be aware of many of their exposures and may be more vulnerable to
health problems because of poor nutrition, inadequate health care,
and other factors.
To help improve the level of information available to all
parties, the report recommends actions in four key areas -- public
health, research, education, and health policy.
--Public health officials should rigorously apply the principles
of risk
assessment to identify the sources of potential problems; design
and
implement interventions to prevent them; and evaluate the
effectiveness of
those interventions in improving health. Federal, state, and local
public
health agencies need to work together more closely to collect and
coordinate information on environmental health concerns and link it
to
affected populations and communities.
--Researchers should acknowledge that environmental justice is
a legitimate
field of study and devote appropriate resources to it. They need
to focus
on four principles -- improving the science base, trying to collect
data
that is relevant to policy-makers, involving the concerned
communities in
their work, and communicating their findings to all stakeholders.
--Educators should work to improve understanding of
environmental justice
issues among community residents and health professionals,
including
medical, nursing, and public health practitioners. They also
should make
efforts to increase the number of health professionals specializing
in
environmental and occupational medicine.
--Policy-makers should take environmental justice concerns
seriously, even
if the field lacks a rigorous science base. They should be
attentive to
potential hazards and meticulous about involving the affected
communities
in the decision-making process.
The study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health,
the U.S.
Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. A committee roster follows.
The
Institute of Medicine is a private, non-profit organization that
provides
health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the
National
Academy of Sciences.
Copies of TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: RESEARCH, EDUCATION,
AND HEALTH
POLICY NEEDS are available from the National Academy Press for
$37.95
(prepaid) plus shipping charges of $4.50 for the first copy and
$.95 for
each additional copy; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242.
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
Division of Health Sciences Policy
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
JAMES R. GAVIN III, M.D., PH.D.(*) (COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR) DONALD R. MATTISON, M.D. (COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR) REGINA AUSTIN, J.D. DAVID R. BAINES, M.D. GEORGE FRIEDMAN-JIMNEZ, M.D., PH.D. BERNARD D. GOLDSTEIN, M.D.(*)
JAMES G. HAUGHTON, M.D., M.P.H.(*)
SANDRAL HULLETT, M.D., M.P.H.(*)
LOVELL A. JONES, M.S., PH.D.
CHARLES LEE
ROGER O. MCCLELLAN, D.V.M.(*)
MARY ANN SMITH, PH.D.
WALTER J. WADLINGTON, LL.B.(*)
INSTITUTE STAFF
ANDREW POPE, PH.D.
(*) Member, Institute of Medicine
Contacts: Dan Quinn, Media Relations Officer
Kristen Nye, Media Relations Assistant
(202) 334-2138; e-mail
Senior Scientific Officer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Chevy Chase, Md.
Medical Director
March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation
White Plains, N.Y.
William A. Schnader Professor of Law
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Philadelphia
Family Practice Physician
St. Maries Family Medicine Clinic
BARUCH FISCHHOFF, M.A., PH.D.(*)
Professor of Social and Decision Sciences, and
Professor of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
Director
Occupational and Environmental Health Clinic
Bellevue Hospital
New York University
New York City
Director
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and
Professor and Chairman
Department of Environmental and Community Medicine
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Piscataway, N.J.
Medical Director
Public Health Programs and Services
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Executive Director
West Alabama Health Services Inc.
Eutaw
Director, Experimental Gynecology-Endocrinology
Department of Gyneologic-Oncology
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas
Houston
Director of Environmental Justice
United Church of Christ
Commission for Racial Justice
New York City
President
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Assistant Professor
School of Public Health
University of Texas
Houston
James Madison Professor of Law
University of Virginia School of Law, and
Professor of Legal Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Charlottesville
Study Director
