Chair | Mary B. Rice, MD, MPH | Boston, MA |
Vice Chair | Kevin Cromar, PhD | New York, NY |
Committee Member | Isabella Annesi-maesano, MD, PhD, DSc | Paris, Ile de France, France |
Committee Member | Rebecca Bascom, MD, MPH | Hershey, PA |
Committee Member | Jessica Castner, PhD, RN | Grand Island, NY |
Committee Member | Daniel L. Costa, DSc | Chapel Hill, NC |
Committee Member | Erika Garcia, PhD, MPH | LOS ANGELES, CA |
Committee Member | William D. Hardie, MD | Cincinnati, OH |
Committee Member | Anne Hicks, MD, PhD, FRCPC | Edmonton, AB, Canada |
Committee Member | Howard M. Kipen, MD, MPH | Piscataway, NJ |
Committee Member | Brenda Marsh, MD, PhD | Portland, OR |
Committee Member | Meredith C. McCormack, MHS, MD | Baltimore, MD |
Committee Member | Janice Nolen | Washington, DC |
Committee Member | Robert Paine, MD | Salt Lake City, UT |
Committee Member | Peter S. Thorne, MS, PhD | Iowa City, IA |
Staff | Gary Ewart | Washington, DC |
A principal function of the Environmental Health Policy Committee is to serve as a collaborative resource for the staff of the ATS Government Relations Office and to advise the ATS Executive Committee and Board of Directors on issues of policy importance and priorities for ATS action. It monitors, evaluates the scientific rationale for, and proposes policies that seek to control ambient air pollutants, occupational exposures to respiratory toxicants, and indoor air pollution, as well as to mitigate the health impacts of climate change. The Committee coordinates its activities with the Health Policy Committee and the Environmental and Occupational Health Assembly of the ATS. In particular, it monitors activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Committee also proposes legislation when appropriate to maintain the effectiveness of air quality laws, including the U.S. Clean Air Act.
Benchmarks, 2019-2020:
• Support policy-making that is based on scientific evidence and promotes environmental health, through multiple avenues of communication, including: reports and editorials in scientific journals, editorials in the public press, educational briefs and letters to Congress, and Congressional expert testimony.
• Monitor and participate in the federal rulemaking process for regulations addressing air quality, occupational health and climate change through submission of written comments and legal Amicus briefs.
•Produce the annual ATS Health of the Air Report on health effects of air pollution above ATS-recommended standards;
•Develop a strategic plan for presentation to the ATS Board of Directors for how the ATS can track, reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions attributable to ATS activities, in order to align our actions with current science on climate change.