Creating Environmental and Occupational Health: A Journal and the Field it Shaped, 1919–2009

A century of the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health

“…The Archive component of the title would continue into the 1960s, when it became the Archives of Environmental Health, and again into new millennium as the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health. 1 The latter change was intended to signal that the journal remained open to contributions on workplace health, as it had from the beginning. It was intended to counter the idea that environmental health was a separate field entirely and instead to emphasize that occupational health and environmental health are different aspects of one unitary field and belong together.…”

“…Another achievement of the AEH was its contribution to US environmental protection standards in air quality, 28 as well as being a major outlet for crucial air pollution studies during the early years of the new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1 One such researcher whose groundbreaking work appeared in the AEH and would significantly influence air pollution standards was Carl M. Shy from the University of North Carolina. His research from the Community Health and Environmental Surveillance Studies (CHESS) as well as his pre-CHESS work published in the AEH during 1973 29 and followed up in 1982, 30 for example; provided important information regarding the effects of air pollution on schoolchildren.…”

“…The contemporary Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health can trace a continuous publication history through seven sequential journal titles over 100 years. 1 Its unbroken publication record is sometimes difficult to trace through several mergers and name changes until 1960, when the journal became known as the Archives of Environmental Health; with later variations on that name. Unfortunately, a change in publisher during 1960 reset the volume number to start over; possibly to make the journal seem fresher.…”

From “Occupational” to “Industrial”: Issue 1 of theAMA Archives of Industrial Health, January 1955

“…1 The Archive component of the title would continue into the 1960s when it became the Archives of Environmental Health, and again into new millennium as the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health (AEOH). 61 Interestingly, these ongoing name changes reflect a wider social awakening in the early 20th Century as it became increasingly clear that EOH, as a discipline, should be viewed more from the workers' position, rather than as a servant of industry, employers or corporations. The fact that the transition was not straightforward however, is reflected in the journal's title which contained the term "Industrial Hygiene" from foundation until the late 1940s, followed by the term "Occupational Medicine"until the 1950s, before changing back to the term 'Industrial Health' in the mid 1950s, as described in the current Vignette.…”

Celebrating a Milestone in EOH: The Pioneering First Issue of theJournal of Industrial Hygiene, May 1919

“…27 The second book review was written by Cecil K. Drinker and examined the book: Physical and Occupational Re-Education of the Maimed by Jean Camus (published by the William Wood & Company, New York, 1919). 31 Aside from the pioneering nature of the journal itself, it is also necessary to acknowledge the scientific importance of the articles it contained. 30 In the modern world, with scientific journals being ubiquitous in virtually all fields, (including EOH), it is difficult to comprehend what a pioneering feat publication of the first JIH issue really was.…”