From Critical Science to Solutions

First Published in 2017. In this volume, the editor collected articles that primarily appeared in the “Scientific Solutions” section of New Solutions, A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy. The articles in the book are grouped into three general categories, starting with Critical Science. These articles are primarily critiques of “how science is done” or how science is incorporated into public health policy in the United States and elsewhere. The second category is what I have called Precautionary Science. These articles, such as the ones by Dement on asbestos and Solomon, and colleagues on the risks of manganese, essentially call for precautionary regulations to reduce exposures where there is substantial but, in the eyes of some, less than definitive scientific knowledge. The final category is Solutions Science. In some ways, this represents the current stage of precautionary science, where we have begun to look at larger societal issues and have moved beyond traditional scientific approaches and critiques.