About

Edward A. Emmett, MD, MS, is a Professor and the Chief of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He serves as the Director of Academic Programs in Occupational Medicine and is an Associate Scholar at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit within the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Additionally, he is a Research Fellow at the Wharton Risk Management & Decision Processes Center and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Public Health Initiatives. Dr. Emmett's research expertise focuses on diseases caused by environmental and occupational exposures, clinical toxicology, and the impact of disease and injury on industry and the community. His clinical expertise involves diseases caused by toxic agents in the environment and at work, and he is engaged in risk communication and working with communities in environmental health research.

Research topics

• Engineering
• Environmental health
• Metallurgy
• Waste management
• Materials science
• Pathology
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Asbest und andere gefährliche faserige Mineralien: Potenzielle Expositionswege und damit verbundene Gesundheitsrisiken

  Kompass Pneumologie · 2023-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Zusammenfassung Es gibt 6 Arten länglicher Mineralpartikel (EMP), die bestimmten dimensionalen und morphologischen Kriterien entsprechen und als Asbest bekannt sind. Da Asbest für Gesundheitsprobleme wie die Asbestose und das maligne Mesotheliom verantwortlich ist, wurde er gut erforscht. Trotzdem kommt es weltweit weiterhin zu einer erheblichen Exposition, die möglicherweise 125 Millionen Menschen am Arbeitsplatz betrifft und jährlich Tausende von Todesfällen durch Exposition in Haushalten verursacht. Es gibt jedoch andere EMP, wie z.B. faserigen/asbestiformen Erionit, die als Karzinogene eingestuft sind und in Gebieten, in denen sie in lokale Baumaterialien eingebaut oder durch Erdbewegungen in die Umwelt freigesetzt wurden, mit Krebs in Verbindung gebracht wurden. Erionit ist ein stärkeres Karzinogen als Asbest, da es aber selten für kommerzielle Zwecke verwendet wird, wurden die Expositionswege weniger gut untersucht. Trotz der offensichtlichen Ähnlichkeiten zwischen Asbest und faserigem Erionit unterscheiden sich ihre Gesundheitsrisiken und Expositionspfade erheblich. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Gefahren, die von EMP ausgehen, mit besonderem Schwerpunkt auf Erionitfasern. Er umfasst eine Diskussion der globalen Standorte von Erionit und ähnlichen gefährlichen Mineralien, einen Vergleich der vielfältigen Expositionspfade für Asbest und faserigen Erionit, eine kurze Diskussion der verwirrenden Nomenklatur im Zusammenhang mit EMP und Überlegungen zur Zunahme globaler Mesotheliomfälle.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Occupational Health Care

  2022-01-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Asbestos and Other Hazardous Fibrous Minerals: Potential Exposure Pathways and Associated Health Risks

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2022 · 66 citations

  • Environmental health
  • Medicine
  • Waste management

  There are six elongate mineral particles (EMPs) corresponding to specific dimensional and morphological criteria, known as asbestos. Responsible for health issues including asbestosis, and malignant mesothelioma, asbestos has been well researched. Despite this, significant exposure continues to occur throughout the world, potentially affecting 125 million people in the workplace and causing thousands of deaths annually from exposure in homes. However, there are other EMPS, such as fibrous/asbestiform erionite, that are classified as carcinogens and have been linked to cancers in areas where it has been incorporated into local building materials or released into the environment through earthmoving activities. Erionite is a more potent carcinogen than asbestos but as it is seldom used for commercial purposes, exposure pathways have been less well studied. Despite the apparent similarities between asbestos and fibrous erionite, their health risks and exposure pathways are quite different. This article examines the hazards presented by EMPs with a particular focus on fibrous erionite. It includes a discussion of the global locations of erionite and similar hazardous minerals, a comparison of the multiple exposure pathways for asbestos and fibrous erionite, a brief discussion of the confusing nomenclature associated with EMPs, and considerations of increasing global mesothelioma cases.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ascertainment Bias in a Historic Cohort Study of Residents in an Asbestos Manufacturing Community

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021-02-24 · 15 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This paper describes follow-up for a cohort of 4530 residents living in the asbestos manufacturing community of Ambler, PA, U.S. in 1930. Using re-identified census data, cause and date of death data obtained from the genealogic website Ancestry.com, along with geospatial analysis, we explored relationships among demographic characteristics, occupational, paraoccupational and environmental asbestos exposures. We identified death data for 2430/4530 individuals. Exposure differed significantly according to race, gender, age, and recency of immigration to the U.S. Notably, there was a significant difference in the availability of year of death information for non-white vs. white individuals (odds ratio (OR) = 0.62 p-value < 0.001), females (OR = 0.53, p-value < 0.001), first-generation immigrants (OR = 0.67, p-value = 0.001), second-generation immigrants (OR = 0.31, p-value < 0.001) vs. non-immigrants, individuals aged less than 20 (OR = 0.31 p-value < 0.001) and individuals aged 20 to 59 (OR = 0.63, p-value < 0.001) vs. older individuals. Similarly, the cause of death was less often available for non-white individuals (OR = 0.42, p-value <0.001), first-generation immigrants and (OR = 0.71, p-value = 0.009), second-generation immigrants (OR = 0.49, p-value < 0.001), individuals aged less than 20 (OR = 0.028 p-value < 0.001), and individuals aged 20 to 59 (OR = 0.26, p-value < 0.001). These results identified ascertainment bias that is important to consider in analyses that investigate occupational, para-occupational and environmental asbestos exposure as risk factors for mortality in this historic cohort. While this study attempts to describe methods for assessing itemized asbestos exposure profiles for a community in 1930 using Ancestry.com and other publicly accessible databases, it also highlights how historic cohort studies likely underestimate the impact of asbestos exposure on vulnerable populations. Future work will aim to assess mortality patterns in this cohort.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The United States, globalisation, and health and safety

  2021-09-30

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  We explore the changing face of globalisation with respect to workplace risk and product risk in the United States with particular reference to the chemical industry. We illustrate that for some sectors changes may be seen as a return to historic positions of exceptionalism rather than as a novel response to emerging trends. We will discuss opportunities and challenges for harmonisation of approaches to occupational health and safety and the introduction of legislation in the United States and later Europe that addresses the control of toxic substances more broadly. We then discuss the potential impact of another aspect of American exceptionalism which supposes that the United States is the leader of a capitalist world. We postulate that for some sectors the very essence of the business model is an effort to have a more reasoned approach to capitalism and to the safety of processes and products for humans and the environment.

  PublisherDOI

• Outcomes of a Survey-Based Approach to Determine Factors Contributing to the Shortage of Occupational Medicine Physicians in the United States

  Journal of Public Health Management and Practice · 2021-03-31 · 9 citations

  article

  CONTEXT: There is a long-standing shortage of formally trained Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM) physicians despite OEM practitioners experiencing high satisfaction and low burnout. OBJECTIVE: To explore the root causes of this shortage and suggest potential remedies. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were administered to medical students queried regarding OEM training, practicing OEM physicians queried regarding timing of specialty choice, and OEM Train-in-Place (TIP) program graduates queried regarding satisfaction with training. RESULTS: Of 247 medical student respondents, 70% had heard of OEM, 60% through one lecture. Of the 160 OEM physicians, 17% first became aware of OEM as medical students, and most would have chosen a different path had they heard sooner. Most TIP program trainees reported that they would not have undertaken specialty training without a TIP program (89%). CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to introduce OEM earlier in medical education and TIP programs for mid-career physicians may help overcome persistent shortages of OEM specialists.

  PublisherDOI

• Asbestos in High-Risk Communities: Public Health Implications

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021-02-07 · 28 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs)-mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis-are well known as occupational diseases. As industrial asbestos use is eliminated, ARDs within the general community from para-occupational, environmental, and natural exposures are more prominent. ARD clusters have been studied in communities including Broni, Italy; Libby, Montana; Wittenoom, Western Australia; Karain, Turkey; Ambler, Pennsylvania; and elsewhere. Community ARDs pose specific public health issues and challenges. Community exposure results in higher proportions of mesothelioma in women and a younger age distribution than occupational exposures. Exposure amount, age at exposure, fiber type, and genetic predisposition influence ARD expression; vulnerable groups include those with social and behavioral risk, exposure to extreme events, and genetic predispositions. To address community exposure, regulations should address all carcinogenic elongated mineral fibers. Banning asbestos mining, use, and importation will not reduce risks from asbestos already in place. Residents of high-risk communities are characteristically exposed through several pathways differing among communities. Administrative responsibility for controlling environmental exposures is more diffuse than for workplaces, complicated by diverse community attitudes to risk and prevention and legal complexity. The National Mesothelioma Registries help track the identification of communities at risk. High-risk communities need enhanced services for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and social and psychological support, including for retired asbestos workers. Legal settlements could help fund community programs. A focus on prevention, public health programs, particularization to specific community needs, and participation is recommended.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Challenging Global Waste Management – Bioremediation to Detoxify Asbestos

  Frontiers in Environmental Science · 2020-03-03 · 37 citations

  articleOpen access

  As the 21st century uncovers ever-increasing volumes of asbestos and asbestos-contaminated waste, we need a new way to stop 'grandfather's problem' from becoming that of our future generations. The production of inexpensive, mechanically strong, heat resistant building materials containing asbestos has inevitably led to its use in many public and residential buildings globally. It is therefore not surprising that since the asbestos boom in the 1970s, some 30 years later, the true extent of this hidden danger was exposed. Yet, this severely toxic material continues to be produced and used in some countries, and in others the disposal options for historic uses - generally landfill - are at best unwieldy and at worst insecure. We illustrate the global scale of the asbestos problem via three case studies which describe various removal and/or end disposal issues. These case studies from both industrialised and island nations demonstrate the potential for the generation of massive amounts of asbestos contaminated soil. In each case, the final outcome of the project was influenced by factors such as cost and land availability, both increasing issues, worldwide. The reduction in the generation of asbestos containing materials will not absolve us from the necessity of handling and disposal of contaminated land. Waste treatment which relies on physico-chemical processes is expensive and does not contribute to a circular model economy ideal. Although asbestos is a mineral substance, there are naturally occurring biological-mediated processes capable of degradation (such as bioweathering). Therefore, low energy options, such as bioremediation, for the treatment for asbestos contaminated soils are worth exploring. We outline evidence pointing to the ability of microbe and plant communities to remove from asbestos the iron that contributes to its carcinogenicity. Finally, we describe the potential for a novel concept of creating ecosystems over asbestos landfills ('activated landfills') that utilize nature's chelating ability to degrade this toxic product effectively.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Congenital anomalies, labor/delivery complications, maternal risk factors and their relationship with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-contaminated public drinking water

  UNC Libraries · 2020-11-08

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  We have previously examined the associations between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure, birth weight and gestational age in individuals exposed to PFOA-contaminated residential drinking water from the Little Hocking Water Association (LHWA). In this investigation, we expand the scope of our analysis to examine the associations between PFOA, congenital anomalies, labor and delivery complications and maternal risk factors.

  PublisherDOI

• Occupational Health Care

  2020-01-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R25ES012591

  NIH · $839k · 2008

Frequent coauthors

• D. Belsito

  Columbia University Irving Medical Center

  1221 shared

• Frances J. Storrs

  Oregon Health & Science University

  1149 shared

• James R. Nethercott

  University of Toronto

  1060 shared

• D. Linn Holness

  St. Michael's Hospital

  1057 shared

• R. M. Adams

  Stanford University

  1057 shared

• Robert L. Rietschel

  1051 shared

• James S. Taylor

  Cleveland Clinic

  1050 shared

• Vincenzo De Leo

  University of Siena

  1040 shared