Here's the audio file (MP3/16.5MB/1:12:22) for this Saturday, October 18, 2008, session: Download C4_EnviroHealth
By Courtney Mitchell
The links between human health and environmental factors are extremely complex and not fully understood. It is hard to communicate environmental health as an “issue” to the public, because it is hardly cut and dry. However, Gwen Collman of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) applauds current efforts to identify harmful chemicals and inform the public in order for people to make educated consumer decisions. Collman believes that one of the best ways a journalist can report on environmental health is to portray personal stories and make sure to maintain the credibility of their report by citing experts, not biased professionals.
Scientists struggle to compile comprehensive data in the face of gaps in scientific knowledge, like the lack of basic biological knowledge of female reproductive systems, poor public health records, and exposures being poorly understood at all life stages. However, the science has become much more definitive since the 1980s, when the method of determining links to environmental hazards consisted of asking recently diagnosed patients what they think they may have been exposed to.
Since there is still such a lack of understanding of normal human female reproductive biology, it is increasingly difficult to understand abnormalities. Therefore, the scientific data available linking environmental factors to women’s health continues to be a work in process. Animal studies are useful in that there are numerous similarities between the endocrine systems of animals and humans. Real human studies are most important, but hard to conduct, because humans are not raised in controlled environments. Several current human research studies were discussed, such as The Sisters Study which tests air, water, and dust home samples as well as the hair, toenails, blood, and urine of 50,000 women who have sisters with breast cancer over a period of ten years.
Copies of a report titled "Hormone Disruptors and Women’s Health: Reasons for Concern," which summarizes the outcomes of the Women’s Reproductive Health and the Environment Workshop held in 2008, are available here.
An article that provides more in-depth information and data is titled "Advocate’s Guide to State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment" can be found here.
Journalists are encouraged to contact the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to identify active and credible scientists in a wide range of research fields.
Comments