Paul Sandifer
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Title: When Toxic Substances Are The Problem, But Substance Toxicity Per Se May Not Be
Most disaster response efforts focus on reducing or eliminating deaths, acute injury and exposures to infectious diseases and toxic substances, and economic losses. These, along with geographic scope, tend to get widespread and sometimes sensationalized coverage in national and international media. Less widely recognized and studied are the chronic health effects that may develop over long time periods following a catastrophic event, especially psychosocial and mental health effects. In this presentation, I will provide a brief introduction to the changing disaster landscape and then discuss health effects of a couple of case studies: (1) the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and (2) releases of toxic chemicals from train derailments, chemical plant accidents, and flooding. I will also emphasize the importance of considering disaster effects through lenses of individual and community vulnerability and histories of marginalization and discrimination. The presentation will conclude with identification of toxic stress, not toxic materials, as the common denominator of long-term and broad-scale disaster health impacts, based on reviews of numerous environmental disasters. It is the most ubiquitous and pervasive effect of disasters, resulting in mental and physical disorders that can persist for a long time. While not often recognized, disaster-associated stress can be exacerbated by, and contribute to, a wide range of health problems. Understanding that stress is often at the center of negative health effects of traumatic events is crucial for both short- and long-term treatment and care. Thus, it is important that effects of acute and chronic stress be evaluated and periodically assessed among disaster survivors going forward. One method for assessing toxic stress, known as Allostatic Load, will be discussed briefly. Disaster preparedness and response plans, especially at the local community level, should include stress management, but unfortunately most do not at present. Even absent clinical assessments of stress, community-managed disaster risk reduction programs can help alleviate anxiety and reduce stress by preparing and empowering communities to deal with disasters at least in part on their own.
About the Speaker: Paul Sandifer, College of Charleston
Dr. Paul Sandifer’s education includes a B.S. in Biology from the College of Charleston and Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of Virginia. Since 2015, he has worked part-time at the College of Charleston as Founding Director of the Center for Coastal Environmental and Human Health. From 2018-2024 he also was Deputy Director for a multi-institutional Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions headquartered at the University of South Carolina. Prior to coming to the College, Paul worked in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as Senior Scientist, Science Advisor to the NOAA Administrator, and Chief Science Advisor for the National Ocean Service. Before NOAA, he served with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources as a Marine Scientist, Marine Resources Director, and agency Director. He is broadly experienced in ecological and aquaculture research, natural resource management, science policy, and environmental health science. His most recent work has concentrated on ocean health-human health linkages, human health impacts of disasters, climate impacts in coastal areas, and disaster risk reduction capacity building in environmental justice communities.
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