Background
Multiple aspects of the environment in which we live, learn, work and play impact our health. However, it is the general practice of governmental agencies/policy makers responsible for protecting public health and the environment to focus on one factor at a time, more specifically one environmental contaminant at a time. For example, EPA traditionally has used the risk assessment paradigm to assess exposures and risks to single chemicals. For many years, the environmental justice movement and local communities have advocated for the consideration of multiple exposure and cumulative impacts in environmental policy and decisions. Further, the social context/real word context in which exposures to environmental contaminants occur also needs to be reflected in the science that supports EPA’s decision-making, as emerging evidence demonstrates that social and contextual factors may enhance the toxic effects of both single and multiple environmental contaminant exposures. Such considerations require new models for assessing the toxicity of environmental hazards, advanced methods for analyzing complex interactions between multiple stressors, and enhanced access to community-level knowledge and resources. Under a 2009 RFA, the EPA STAR program awarded 7 grants to fund cumulative human health risk assessment research on how the combination of harmful factors affect human health, including poor and underserved communities with extensive pollution problems.
Goal:
The goal of this meeting is to share and discuss progress of this ground-breaking research on cumulative risks and methods for assessing the combined health impacts of multiple stressors.
Outcomes:
- Shared knowledge about innovative approaches for data analysis methods for combining stressors.
- Understanding the opportunities and barriers for applying cumulative assessments in environmental decision-making.
- Enhancing community engagement in research on cumulative risk.
Contacts
Devon Payne-Sturges; payne-sturges.devon@epa.gov; (703) 347-8055
Myles Morse; morse.myles@epa.gov; (703) 347-8074 |
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