Turning Science into Action
People are exposed to increasing amounts of toxic chemicals in air, food, water, personal care and cleaning products, at home and at work. The problem is so large, we cannot protect ourselves with individual actions alone - we need policy change.
That's why we share the science and best scientific methods to inform and guide policies that protect people from harmful chemicals, particularly those who are especially vulnerable such as pregnant people and children, and those who are disproportionately impacted.
How to Strengthen EPA's Mission to Protect Health
To help EPA put science and public health front and center, PRHE collaborated with top scientists and chemical policy experts from around the country to develop evidence-based recommendations to improve hazard and risk assessment, and prevent harms from chemicals and pollutants.
Major Policy Areas
Chemicals and TSCA
We analyze federal chemical policy and EPA's implementation of the updated Toxic Substances Control Act, the law that governs regulations of chemicals in commerce.
Science Integrity
PRHE developed the Navigation Guide systematic review methodology to better evaluate the quality and strength of the evidence on how hazardous chemicals impact health.
Industry Documents
From lead and tobacco to hiding the truth about fossil fuels and climate, polluters have a long history of manipulating science and public opinion to maintain their corporate interests. We help gather these documents as part of UCSF's Industry Documents Library.
Policy Strategies
Public Comments
We monitor EPA and other regulatory body actions and comment on whether they are following the best science and protecting health. Public comments are essential to holding government agencies accountable.
Legislative Briefings
PRHE planned legislative briefings to inform policymakers and staff about issues related to implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act and science and decision making at EPA.
Science Action Network
PRHE launched the Science Action Network for Health and the Environment to bring together environmental health scientists to be a strong voice for science integrity and to prioritize health in chemical and environmental policy.
Published Papers
Every day, the public is exposed to multiple industrial chemicals via food, water, air, and consumer products. Many are known to be toxic and can increase the risk of adverse health effects, including cancer, asthma, developmental disabilities, and infertility. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for making evidence-based policies to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals.
As part of a Guideline Developers Network initiative, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Professor Lisa Bero (University of Sydney) held a one-day workshop on 17 April 2018 for organisations involved in developing guidance in public and environmental health.
Systematic reviews, which assess the risk of bias in included studies, are increasingly used to develop environmental hazard assessments and public health guidelines. These research areas typically rely on evidence from human observational studies of exposures, yet there are currently no universally accepted standards for assessing risk of bias in such studies. The risk of bias in non-randomised studies of exposures (ROBINS-E) tool has been developed by building upon tools for risk of bias assessment of randomised trials, diagnostic test accuracy studies and observational studies of interventions. This paper reports our experience with the application of the ROBINS-E tool.
In this comment, we summarize several scientific concerns with the recently published systematic review from O’Connor and colleagues that examined the relationship between proximity to animal-feeding operations and health of individuals in nearby communities.
In the United States, one in six children are affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in flame-retardant chemicals are measured ubiquitously in children. We conducted a systematic a systematic review regarding developmental exposure to PBDEs and intelligence or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and attention-related behavioral conditions in humans.
We found that despite concern for the combined effects of environmental chemicals and stress, this is still an under-studied topic, though limited available human studies indicate chemical exposures exert stronger effects than stress, and this effect is generally larger in the presence of stress.