What do a Tale of Two Cities, Systematic Review, and multi-disciplinary assessment approaches have in common? Hint: instead of a Dickensian image of squalor and disease, these terms describe challenges and opportunities associated with the protection of public and environmental health at the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Today’s Meet the Directors Session featured Dr. Linda Birnbaum, Director of NIEHS and Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator at the US EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. As described by Administrator Jones, the evaluation of chemicals is somewhat like a Tale of Two Cities, where some chemicals (notably pesticides) receive full premarket evaluation and have robust datasets, while other chemicals (such as Toxics, also known as Commercial Chemicals) bypass a rigorous safety assessment if they are grandfathered chemicals, or if they are new chemicals, the US EPA only has a narrow 90-day window for safety pre-screening. Dr. Peter Goering, SOT Vice President, asked Dr. Birnbaum to identify areas where NIEHS can have the greatest impact on human health. Dr. Birnbaum remarked that use of systematic review to guide evaluation and integration of scientific information and multi-disciplinary collaboration are now critical to advancing public health and reducing both health hazards and risks.
This blog discusses highlights from the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo Session "Meet the Directors: A Conversation with Linda Birnbaum and Jim Jones."