| Environmental impacts on health have long been a major concern of social reformers, forwarding-looking health professionals, and social movements. The state of a society's environmental health is very related to its social and economic organization. The huge upsurge of synthetic chemicals since World War II has altered the environment in dramatic ways, leading to increased cancers of various types and to other diseases. Actual and potential environmental hazards and catastrophes have become a significant component of the cultural milieu of many societies. Since the 1970s, action by affected citizens has created a major social movement of toxic waste activism that has played a major role in public life, especially in the US, and which has affected the broader environmental movement. In tandem with lay activism, novel and critical approaches by some epidemiologists and other scientists has led to many new approaches to demonstrating links between toxins and health effects. |