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Over the past twenty years or so, epidemiologists and toxicologists have accumulated a wealth of information showing that exposure to many environmental contaminants can have significant adverse effects on public health.
But how much do environmental diseases and disabilities cost us?
Until recently, this has been a difficult question to answer because of uncertainties about the proportions of different diseases and disabilities that can be attributed to environmental exposures, and because the health and related costs have been difficult to quantify. But now, environmental health scientists are reaching agreement on the percentages of some common diseases and disabilities that can be linked with exposure to environmental contaminants. At the same time, health economists are making significant advances in constructing ‘cost of illness' models that include direct healthcare costs and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and needs for special educational and social services. These two developments are paving the way for innovative studies on the costs of diseases and disabilities that can be attributed to environmental contaminants.
In July 2005, the CHE WA Research & Information Working Group released a study on the Economic Costs of Diseases and Disabilities Attributable to Environmental Contaminants in Washington State. The Working Group also prepared a press release. Following the release of the study, Dr. Kate Davies, its principal author, has published several articles on the health and related costs of environmental diseases and disabilties:
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The Collaborative on Health and the Environment – Washington
