ANN ARBOR—Scientists should play a pivotal role in establishing environmental health policy, but because science is neither black nor white, the role of science is often diminished, misunderstood and misinterpreted by policy makers and the media, according to organizers of the I. A. Bernstein Symposium at the University of Michigan.

For example, in 1990 in Great Britain when an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as mad cow disease) was on the uprise, people asked if it posed a threat to humans. Science couldn’t provide a definitive yes or no; still, policy makers urged the public not to worry. A few years later, the first cases of people becoming infected with BSE were reported. After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, there were reports of airborne contamination as far away as Scandinavia and Wales. Despite the opinion of scientists, policy makers said there was nothing to worry about. Contamination was later detected in milk.

“Unfortunately, the nature of science does not fit the popular picture held by society at large, which likes to believe that science can resolve complex issues by identifying exactly what is true and what is not true. When science fails to provide definitive answers, public mistrust escalates, prompting policy makers and their masters, the politicians, to lose confidence in the ability of science to be useful to them,” said James H. Vincent, chair of the Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, U-M School of Public Health.

“At the end of the day, the role of scientists seems to have been diminished. The nature of science is always schools of thought. Scientists rarely agree 100 percent. It is my message that scientists should at least be consulted in the process at the highest policy levels,” he said.

The role of science in establishing environmental public health policy is the topic of I.A. Bernstein Symposium, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., March 12 at the U-M School of Public Health. Those scheduled to speak include: The symposium is named for Isadore A. Bernstein, U-M professor of biological chemistry and environmental and industrial health. He died from cancer in 1998 at age 78. Bernstein was known for his work in environmental toxicology and cutaneous biochemistry. He was widely regarded as one of the outstanding scholars and teachers in his field.

Dow Chemical Company

Kathryn E. Kelly

Ian A. Greaves

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