Combined Ecological-Human Health Risk Assessment: A Case for Change

Current applications of quantitative human health risk assessment do not adequately consider end points important to long-term public health. Public health criteria absent from standard assessments include measurements of fertility rates, growth and development, and functional status during child-bearing years. Also absent is consideration of indirect adverse health effects from degradation of air, water, soil and food, habitat loss and climate change. A potential remedy for this is to incorporate human health risk assessment into an ecological scheme like the EPA Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment (EPA/630/R-92/001 February 1992). Humans should be described as integral members of ecosystems with emphasis placed upon both short-term individual health and transgenerational population health. Ways in which the application of ecological concepts to risk assessment defines an enhanced public health orientation to environmental hazard are discussed. Barriers to a combined approach are identified. Interdisciplinary research must be supported to develop a combined ecological-human health risk assessment framework.Master of Public Healt