Environmental health is a public health discipline concerned with the intricate relationships between natural and built environments and human health and well-being. It systematically investigates, assesses, and controls external physical, chemical, and biological factors, alongside related behaviors and environmental risks, aiming to prevent disease and foster environments conducive to optimal health outcomes.
Ontological type
Risk Assessment
Core Methods
Exposure Pathways
Exposure Measurement Era
1960 - 1990
Air Pollution Epidemiology
1991 - 2004
Integrated Exposome and Burden
2005 - 2024
Exposure Measurement Era era
Irving J. Selikoff [1], with affiliations at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [3] and City University of New York [4], defined key directions in the exposure measurement era. His key contributions include the asbestos-focused work Asbestos Exposure and Neoplasia [7] and Asbestos Exposure, Smoking, and Neoplasia [8], which linked asbestos exposure to neoplasia and underscored the need for exposure-driven risk assessment in environmental health. Edo D. Pellizzari [2], connected with Johns Hopkins University [5] and University of Arizona [6], advanced biomonitoring and personal exposure surveillance during this era. His work culminated in The TEAM Study [9], Personal exposures, indoor-outdoor relationships, and breath levels of toxic air pollutants measured for 355 persons in New Jersey [10], and Personal exposure to volatile organic compounds [11], which collectively advanced population-level exposure assessment and informed regulatory approaches.
Air Pollution Epidemiology era
C. Arden Pope [1], affiliated with Harvard University [3] and Johns Hopkins University [4], was a leading figure in this era of airborne particulate health effects. His key contributions include establishing population-level links between fine particulate air pollution and mortality and cardiopulmonary morbidity, as demonstrated in An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities [7], Respiratory Health and PM10 Pollution: A Daily Time Series Analysis [8], and Lung Cancer, Cardiopulmonary Mortality, and Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution [6], which were crucial for guiding regulatory attention and public health risk assessment in this era. Douglas W. Dockery [2], affiliated with Harvard University [3] and University of California, San Francisco [5], also shaped this era's evidence base. His work encompassed the six-city mortality association [7], the Philadelphia mortality study [9], and The National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study Part II [10], which collectively strengthened population-level links and spurred multicity networks and standardized analytic methods in environmental health.
Integrated Exposome and Burden era
Michael Jerrett [1] is a leading figure associated with the University of Pennsylvania [3] and the University of California, Los Angeles [4] during this era. Jerrett [1] has driven key contributions in this era, advancing cross-media exposure assessment and burden estimation, as reflected in Global estimates of mortality associated with long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter [7], Spatial Analysis of Air Pollution and Mortality in Los Angeles [8], and Ambient Air Pollution and Atherosclerosis in Los Angeles [9], which collectively quantified population mortality burden and informed policy-oriented health risk assessments. Francine Laden [2] is associated with Harvard University [5] and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [6] during this era. Laden [2] contributed to key cross-disciplinary insights through papers such as Global estimates of mortality associated with long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter [7] and Reduction in Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality [10], which demonstrated the health benefits of emission reductions and informed environmental health policy.