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Edward F. Fitzgerald,¹ Lawrence M. Schell,¹ Elizabeth G. Marshall,¹ David O. Carpenter,¹ William A. Suk,² and Jan E. Zejda³

¹School of Public Health, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY 12203 USA
²National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709 USA
³Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Sosnowiec, Poland

Abstract

For the last 50 years, the economic and industrial development of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe has been achieved at the cost of environmental degradation. The health risks posed by this pollution to children and the steps necessary to ameliorate such risks are only beginning to be investigated. At a recent conference in Poland, sponsored in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, participants from 11 countries in the region, together with scientists from Western Europe and the United States, met to share information regarding pediatric environmental health in Central and Eastern Europe, to consider methodologic issues in the design and conduct of such studies, and to discuss preventive strategies. This report summarizes the deliberations, outlines problem areas such as heavy metals and air pollution, delineates research and training needs to help Central and Eastern Europeans deal more effectively with such problems, and recommends specific future actions and collaborative efforts. Key words: air pollution, Central Europe, child health, Eastern Europe, environmental pollution, heavy metals. Environ Health Perspect 106:307-311 (1998) . [Online 5 May 1998]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1998/106p307-311fitzgerald/ abstract.html

Address correspondence to E.F. Fitzgerald, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, 2 University Place, Room 130, Albany, NY 12203 USA.

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Michal Krzyzanowski of the World Health Organization, European Centre for Environment and Health, Bilthoven, Netherlands, in preparing the manuscript. The conference was supported in part by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant # 3P42ES0491306S1.

Received 3 October 1997 ; accepted 16 March 1998.