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Science remains an eminently social institution, though the interactions between science & society are often poorly understood. This article addresses the context of recent efforts to identify environmental contributions to cancer. The authors first examine cancer incidence & discuss how incidence patterns may be related to air pollution & occupational & general toxic chemical & xenestrogen exposures. They then discuss the social context in which cancer research & treatment occurs, including the dominating role of the biomedical model & socioeconomic factors, including regulatory strategies that address single chemicals, corporate conflicts of interest, & the manipulation of public opinion. Last, they consider the broad context out of which cancer arises & discuss the merits of applying the precautionary principle to sustainable social policies. Progress in reducing cancer may be fruitfully made by returning our attention to broad-scale factors such as those affecting the quality of air, water, workplace, household environments, & the global climate. 92 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]

This article compares the state of policies concerning three different diseases/conditions with putative environmental factors: asthma, breast cancer, & Gulf War related illnesses. By comparing the state of four different types of policies -- research funding, regulations, compensation/treatment, & citizen participation -- the authors demonstrate the dynamic relationship between policies & health social movements. They identify four factors that shape policy for these three diseases: the science base supporting the environmental causation hypothesis, prevalence & perception of risk, the sources of support for the environmental causation hypothesis, & the strength of health social movements. All four factors contribute to policy outcomes, but they find the strength of health social movements to be particularly important for the three diseases they examine. In some cases, social movement activity can be more important than the strength of the science base in terms of policy outcome success. 2 Tables, 2 Figures, 20 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]