Exploring Health Professions

Environmental Health

Environmental health is an area of increasing activity that seeks to elucidate the intersection between environmental agents and health. These pursuits have largely been carried out with concern for human consequences and effects. There is a growing interest to expand this focus to include a consideration of ecological effects, which have impact on non-human systems including flora and fauna.

Practitioners of disciplines that fall within this broad area include engineers, toxicologists, epidemiologists, chemists, biologists, ecologists and nurses. Given the proliferation of the regulatory authority of local, state, and federal governments members of the legal profession and economists have become involved in central issues involving environmental health concerns.

Undergraduate preparation in the sciences or engineering can lead one to pursue graduate level training in environmental health. Programs abound at both the master's and doctoral level.

For further information contact the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), 720 Colorado Blvd., Suite 970S, Denver, Colorado 80246-1925 or www.neha.org.