Medical aspects of the hazardous waste problem

Although no one knows exactly how much toxic material continues to be released into our environment, most observers believe the amount is substantial. In the last few years, in the state of Massachusetts alone, 22 communities have had their municipal water supplies seriously compromised by chemical contamination, (1) causing alarm and dismay among water users. Nation-wide, public concern has reached the point that in some opinion polls, hazardous waste ranks second only behind inflation as a cause of serious worry. Despite widespread anxiety, shared by public health officials, few studies have shown conclusive evidence of health consequences from toxic materials in the environment. Even in the case of such gross contamination as in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York, health effects have been difficult to establish. (2) This is partly due to intrusion of the adversary process in cases where liability is involved; it is also a result, however, of inherent technical problems that plague any determination of health hazard. This paper reviews some of these problems, considers some current risk assessment approaches, and touches on medicolegal and regulatory aspects of the hazardous waste problem.