EFFECTS OF CHEMICALS 281
Regulatory agencies are often understaffed and under-
funded. Attention of existing resources is usually allocated
on the “squeaky wheel” principle. They move from current
crisis to current crisis and are frequently unable to devote
enough time to prevention of new crises. This is contrary to
good public health practice.
At times competition among various interest groups can
lead to inconsistent positions by responsible officials. In the
Report of the Surgeon General (1981) it was stressed that
smoking, particularly cigarette smoking, can cause many
types of cancers. However, the Surgeon General declined
to take issue with the continued granting of subsidies to
tobacco growers by noting that price supports are considered
an economic and agricultural issue and not an issue concern-
ing public health.
The most visible of Surgeon Generals, Dr. C. Everett
Koop, was also the most outspoken about the dangers of
tobacco use. He became something of a folk hero and was
highly respected.
There have been some instances where persons not in
sympathy with environmental control and public health have
been appointed to high positions in environmental protec-
tion. The need for environmental protection does not change
with political climate. Efforts to regress are a serious eco-
nomic error. Damage from deferred action can cost many
times the sums initially saved and the health effects can be
cumulative. Public health practice is the basis of the great
majority of environmental efforts.REFERENCESAdams, J., Virtual Risk and the Management of Uncertainty. Paper pre-
sented at the Royal Society Conference on Science, Policy and Risk.
London. March 18, 1997.
Anon., Minimata Case Is Settled Decades Later. Chemical Engineering, p. 46,
June 1996.
Anon., New Standards in the Works for Peticide Regulation, Chemical
Engineering, p. 25, August 1996.
Ayers, S.M., Conference on Metropolitan Air Pollution, Wagner College,
New York, 1967.
Barth, D.S. et al., J.A.P.C.A., 21 , 544, 1971.Brandt, A.D., Industrial Health Engineering, John Wiley and Sons, New York,
1947.
Chiaramonte, J. et al. , N. Y. S. J. of Medicine, p. 394, Feb. 1970.
Epstein, S.S., Nature, 228 , 816, 1969.
Faith, W.L. and A.A. Atkisson, Air Pollution, 2nd Ed., Wiley-Interscience,
New York, 1972.
Ferrand, E.F., Effects of Air Pollutants, The Encyclopedia of Environmental
Science and Engineering, 4th Ed., Gordon and Breach Science Publish-
ers, New York. 1998.
Glasser, M., L. Greenburg and F. Field, Arch. Environ. Health, 15 , 684,
1971.
Heuss et al., J. A. P. C. A., 541, 1971.
Hopkins, E.S. and W. Schulze, The Practice of Sanitation, Williams and
Wilkins, Baltimore, 1958.
Junge, C.E., Air Chemistry and Radioactivity, Academic Press, New York,
1963.
Karaffa, M.A. et al., Evaluation of Asbestos Levels in Two Schools Before
and After Asbestos Removal, EPA/600/52-89/010, Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1989.
Kendall, D.M., A Summary of Panel Recommendations: Report of a Panel
on Food Safety to the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and
Health, Washington, D.C., 1969.
Kermode, G.O., Scientific American, 3 , 15, 1972.
MacNeil–Lehrer News Hour, September 20th, 1989.
Maxcy, K., Ed., Rosenau, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 8th Ed.,
Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1956.
Needleman, H.L. and P.J. Landrigan, Toxins at the Pump, N.Y. Times, March
13th, 1996.
Oberle, M.W., Science, 165 , 991, 1969.
Perlman, M.E. et al., Pediatrics, 47 , 391, 1971.
Policy Making, Department of Trade and Industry, London, March 18,
1997.
Proctor, R.N., Cancer Wars, Basic Books, New York, 1995.
Report of the Surgeon General, 1981.
Report of the Surgeon General, 1989.
Rouche, B. Eleven Blue Men, Little, Brown and Co., New York, 1953.
Salvato, J., Environmental Health, The Encyclopedia of Environmental Sci-
ence and Engineering, 4th Ed., Gordon and Breach Science Publishers,
N.Y., 1998.
Walker, R.S., The Quest for Knowledge versus the Quest for Votes, IEEE
Technology and Society Magazine, Spring 1997.PAUL BAHAM
U.S. Merchant Marine AcademyJAMES R. PFAFFLIN
Gillette, New JerseyC005_004_r03.indd 281C005_004_r03.indd 281 11/18/2005 10:21:39 AM11/18/2005 10:21:39 AM