David Rosner, PhD, Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health, Columbia Univ, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, 212-305-1727, dr289@columbia.edu and Gerald Markowitz, PhD, John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center, New York, New York, NY 10025.

The precuationary principle was developed in Europe in the context of threats to the environment. In this presentation we describe how the precautionary principle has been applied to environmental risks in the US and then explore application of the precuationary principle to a different context: occupational health. In this domain, one of the central policy challenges revolves around what the precuationary principle would demand to protect workers' health: measures that make the workplace safe or measures that make the workplace safer.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore the application of the precautionary principle to occupational and environmental health threats
• Draw out the lessons of history for applying the precautionary principle

Keywords: History, Environmental Health Hazards

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.