CONCERNED ABOUT deleterious effects of environmental pollution on the nation's health, a group of health professionals is forming the National Association of Physicians for the Environment.
Their object in bringing together physicians, other health professionals, government officials, and environmental organization representatives is to draw up a program for dealing with hazards to health in living and working environments. The group held its first national conference in Washington, DC, in association with the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery.
The association was incorporated just 2 months ago, according to John Grupenhoff, PhD, Science and Health Communications Group, Bethesda, Md, who says: "It seems to me that every environmental or pollution problem is or will become a medical or public health problem. Thus, pollution prevention can be disease prevention."
Grupenhoff says that, based on his work to date with medical specialty societies, he feels they are in a position to make