Summarizes the main findings of a major European-wide project launched in 1991 to determine the state of the environment and its effects on human health. Information from close to 50 European countries is presented and discussed. In summarizing these findings, the report aims to identify the main environmental threats to human health and establish priorities for action, including areas where collaboration between sectors and among countries is required. Throughout, particular attention is given to health and environmental hazards in the countries of central and eastern Europe and the newly independent states of the former USSR. A brief introduction to the project is followed by an overview of the economic situation in Europe, concentrating on economically-determined factors, such as the use of polluting fuels, that may damage the environment. A chapter focused on the links between environmetal exposure and health assesses the extent to which each of nine major diseases is influenced by the environment. Hazards discussed range from an increase in thyroid cancer following the Chernobyl accident, through outbreaks of foodborne disease, to the consequences of exposure to specific chemicals. Summary tables indicate estimated exposure of the general population, and of workers, to environmental risk factors, the size of the population exposed, and the potential effects on health. A second major chapter discusses each of 13 environmental hazards in terms of the extent of exposure in Europe, changes over time, areas where the risk is most severe, and the priority issues for public health action. The book concludes with a list of 47 recommendations for action based on the priority environmental and health issues identified.

DC.EURO

eng fre ger rus.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

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