Environmental chemical hazards are a highly contentious topic in modern life. Nearly every nation on earth has faced its own environmental crises, and also shares perspectives on the possibility of global catastrophes. Of the many global concerns we face, the environmental issue is unique in many ways. The greatest of these is the fundamental scientific nature of the issue, and the extent to which our opinions are formed based on high-level scientific inquiry and assessment. The two key fields of study on this issue, environmental epidemiology and exposure assessment, are still given separate names because of their separate historical roots and scientific traditions, but are seen increasingly as inseparable aspects of the same basic investigation. In this book, Thomas J. Smith and David Kriebel assert that important advances in the quantification of environmental risks can only come through a true synthesis of the two fields. They have built a common biologic model of exposure, physiologic response, and disease, a synthesis of the various existing models which serves to both simplify and improve the application of environmental epidemiology and exposure assessment to current and future environmental chemical risks. When exposure assessor and epidemiologist agree from the start on the model for their study, the conceptual framework for the study they design and the analyses they carry out are much more likely to yield useful exposure-risk information. An explicit biologic model of the apparent processes linking exposure to disease should form the basis for any study seeking to quantify risk from environmental chemicals.

This widely used text provides a clear and critical summary of research approaches to the epidemiological study of workplace hazards. It describes the historical development of occupational epidemiology, methods for characterizing occupational exposures, and techniques for designing and implementing epidemiologic studies in this area. The relative strengths and limitations of various study designs for investigating specific health outcomes are emphasized. Also included are more advanced discussions of statistical analysis, exposure and dose modeling, and subsequent applications of data derived from epidemiologic research, as in meta-analysis, pooled analysis, and statistical analysis, exposure and dose modeling, and risk assessment. Since the first edition was published 15 years ago, there have been numerous advances in epidemiologic methods to accommodate a broadened scope of investigations of occupational exposures and associated adverse health outcomes. Thus, in this Second Edition the authors have updated their discussions of methodology to include such topics as case-cohort and case-crossover designs and statistical analysis of repeated measures data, and have expanded the examples they use throughout the book to demonstrate the applications of these methods to a wide range of acute and chronic health outcomes. They have also added a new chapter on occupational health sureillance. Their text is unique for its strong emphasis on the definition and assessment of exposures, the application of quantitative exposure data to epidemiologic models, and the recognition that improvements in workplace risk identification and quantification will come from careful integration of theseapproaches. This fine volume will serve both as a textbook for courses on occupational epidemiology and as a practical handbook of the design, implementation, and evaluation of research in this field.

Few people have made greater contributions to protecting and improving the environment than the scientist, teacher, activist Dr. Barry Commoner. For half a century, Dr. Commoner has been an international leader in the environmental movement. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday, a symposium was held at which invited speakers discussed his contributions to a wide range of environmental issues. This book, collecting many of the invited papers, provides fascinating insights into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most influential scientists and social activists. Chapters contributed by other activists, scientists, and scholars including Ralph Nader, Tony Mazzocchi and Peter Montague cover many of Dr. Commoner's major contributions.

Few people have made greater contributions to protecting and improving the environment than the scientist, teacher, activist Dr. Barry Commoner. For half a century, Dr. Commoner has been an international leader in the environmental movement. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday, a symposium was held at which invited speakers discussed his contributions to a wide range of environmental issues. This book, collecting many of the invited papers, provides fascinating insights into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most influential scientists and social activists. Chapters contributed by other activists, scientists, and scholars including Ralph Nader, Tony Mazzocchi and Peter Montague cover many of Dr. Commoner's major contributions.