Scientific discoveries, new tools, and improved approaches have rapidly expanded the field of environmental health—the study of environmental influences on human health and disease. Evaluating the utility and importance of findings derived from these new tools and new approaches in guiding public health decisions can be a daunting challenge.
At the request of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, the National Academies formed the Standing Committee on Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions to facilitate communication among government, industry, environmental groups, and the academic community about scientific advances that may be used in the identification, quantification, and control of environmental impacts on human health.
New methods and approaches that can be used to identify and control environmental impacts on human health are explored in regular workshops that provide a public venue for exchanging information and discussing potential implications for environmental health decisions.
