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Growing public concern about pollution's impact on
human health is one reason environmental protection issues have flowed
into the mainstream. Environmental health and safety specialists,
studying the effects of environmental conditions on human well-being,
work to protect the public from exposure to harmful environmental
substances. They research, inspect, and assess risks or potential
risks to a community. Although some occupations in environmental health
and safety require professional degrees, others do not--but all rely
heavily on technical knowledge and an ability to explain complicated
issues to the public.
Environmental Epidemiologist
Environmental epidemiologists study connections between environmental
exposure and disease, thus making some diseases preventable. Finding
the cause is the key to prevention. These workers have linked radon
with lung cancer, found that interior house paint can cause mercury
poisoning in children; and discovered that dust from soybeans caused
an asthma epidemic in Barcelona, Spain. "Environmental epidemiologists
do a large variety of things, depending on where they work," says
Dr. Wendy Kaye, Chief of the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch
in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Division
of Health Studies in Atlanta. "It ranges from looking at existing
data for environmental problems and health conditions to doing a large,
complex study to see if a set of environmental factors causes a specific
outcome."
Environmental epidemiologists in State public health departments regularly
field telephone calls from community residents reporting illnesses
or other health problems--for example, that everyone on a city block
is sick. The epidemiologist decides whether to investigate further
by determining whether the main criteria--group and exposure--are
met. A typical epidemiologic study involves a well-defined group with
high exposure to a potential hazard. People in an office or at a jobsite
meet both criteria, but occupational studies may not be conclusive.
"Leads start by identifying risks in the workplace," says Dr. Walter
Stewart, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at John Hopkins University
in Baltimore, Maryland. However, he says, workplace studies cannot
answer all the questions arising in regard to environmental pollutants.
Investigating potential environmental-health links, such as that between
exposure to radon and development of lung cancer, is known as chasing
clusters. "There is a whole host of problems with disease clusters,"
says Stewart. "On the positive side, investigations may provide information
that offers insight about the causes of disease. If there is a strong
suspicion of an environmental cause, then an investigation should
be initiated; however, these studies can be costly and may yield nothing."
Kaye cites a figure of about 5 to 10 percent of clusters that warrant
further research. Epidemiologists can often determine fairly quickly
that about half the suspected clusters are not true ones, thus eliminating
those from study. "But of the remaining 50 percent, deciding which
clusters to chase in trying to find that 5 to 10 percent is a hard
call," says Kaye.
Employment and working conditions.
Environmental epidemiology is a growing field, says Kevin Doyle, of
the Environmental Careers Organization, and the demand for epidemiologists
in general exceeds the supply, according to Stewart. Dr. Ruth Etzel,
Chief of the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch of the National
Center for Environmental Health, a unit of the Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta, attributes the demand to increasing public concern
about environmental issues affecting health. According to Etzel, environmental
epidemiology "is where a large number of questions that are occurring
in the 1990s and 2000s are going to be." She adds, "Jobs in infectious
diseases epidemiology are getting extremely hard to find, but environmental
epidemiology is booming."
Most environmental epidemiologists work for the Federal Government
or in State public health departments. The biggest Federal employer
is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, primarily the
Centers for Disease Control, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences;
a small number also are employed by EPA. Other environmental epidemiologists
teach and conduct research at medical centers, universities, and schools
of public health. Private consulting firms sometimes hire epidemiologists
to work on environmental issues, and a few large companies sometimes
employ epidemiologists for occupational health studies.
Environmental epidemiologists spend about one-third of their time
in the community doing studies, another one-third at a computer analyzing
the results of the studies, and the final one-third on teaching and
administrative duties, says Etzel. Administrative duties usually increase
with experience. And some workers deal with the public more frequently
than others. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
for example, was created as part of Superfund; it must respond to
petitions from the public. On the other hand, environmental toxicologists,
whose work is similar to epidemiologists, usually are laboratory based
and do more experiential studies than population-based ones.
Annual salaries for entry-level environmental epidemiologists in the
Federal Government range from $27,789 to $40, 298 (GS 9 to 12) for
those with master's degrees and $33,623 to $47,920 (GS 11 to 13) for
Ph.D.'s. In addition, Federal workers in some metropolitan areas receive
a pay differential to compensate in part for higher costs of living.
"Those salaries are true for any kind of epidemiology in the Federal
Government," says Kaye. "Salaries for some State workers are better,
some are worse."
Because environmental epidemiological studies can take years to complete,
this is not an occupation for the impatient. "For people who need
immediate answers, it can be frustrating," says Etzel. "It's a great
place for people who like challenges." Another potential downfall,
she says, is the political sensitivity of environmental topics. Stewart
agrees, adding that the limited money for studies often is affected
by it. "At the State or county level, you've got people knocking on
your door, so what do you do?" he says. "Studies are done sometimes
for political reasons."
Training requirements.
Few programs currently exist for environmental epidemiology, so students
must take an active role in their own career preparation. "A lot of
people hired as environmental epidemiologists had basic training in
epidemiology but no training in environmental epidemiology," says
Kaye. "What you end up doing, how you define yourself, is often how
you become an environmental epidemiologist."
At a minimum, epidemiologists have master's degrees in epidemiology.
Others hold Ph.D.'s, M.D.'s or M.P.H. degrees which may include environmental
coursework and practical experience. "I tell students to choose a
dissertation topic that has something to do with the environment.
Find a tutor or mentor who has an interest in an environmental topic
such as water pollution, air pollution, or pesticide use," says Etzel.
"Then, when you're out in the job market, it shows you have a true
interest in the field." And because opportunities vary from State
to State -- Texas, for example, currently has no shortage of environmental
epidemiologists -- relevant training can be key.
At least three universities have programs in environmental epidemiology.
Johns Hopkins University is one, and students who enter the program
includes coursework in epidemiologic methods, application of mathematics,
and biostatistics. The core work of the environmental field of study
includes toxicology and molecular biology, and students may continue
with advanced coursework in environmental or occupational epidemiology.
The University of North Carolina and Harvard University also have
programs with an environmental emphasis.
Section
1: Introduction
Section
2: Of Greening and
Greenbacks
Section 3: Environmental
Protection (previous section)
Section 4: Environmental
Health and Safety
Section 5: Natural
Resources Management (next section)
Section 6: Environmental
Education and Other Professions
Section 7: Technicians
Without 4-year Degrees
Section 8: Exploring
the Field
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