History
The Division was founded in 1980 as part of the multi-campus Northern California Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH). COEH was created by the state legislature to provide training, research, and clinical service for California workers, and includes UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis.
- In 1992, Dr. Paul Blanc and Dr. John Balmes became Division Chiefs at Parnassus-Mt Zion and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH).
- In 2002, Dr. Balmes also became Director of the COEH.
- In 2015, Dr. Blanc became Chief of an integrated three-campus Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
- In 2020, Dr. Carisa Harris-Adamson, became Director of COEH.
- In 2023, Dr. Gina Solomon became Chief of the now-renamed Division of Occupational, Environmental and Climate Medicine (OECM) at UCSF.
The Division has long been the site of a Health Research Services Administration and CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)- funded training program, the UCSF OEM Residency. This ACGME-accredited residency, governed by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, is one of the largest in the United States. Division physicians provide clinical care at the UCSF Medical Center, SFGH (now renamed ZSFG), and the Veterans Administration Medical Center campuses, as well as medical direction for Occupational Health Services for employees at all three sites. The Division was central in UCSF’s employee health response to COVID-19. Members of the Division faculty are prominent in a variety of scholarly endeavors. OECM faculty members also play leading roles in public health policy activities at the state, national, and international levels.
Selected Dates in Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine History
| January 16 | January 16, 1936 - Dr. Leonard Goldwater testifies to Congress on Gauley Bridge silicosis disaster |
| January 27 | January 27, 1974 - First newspaper notice of angiosarcoma deaths linked to vinyl chloride |
| February 21 | February 21, 1891 - Springhill Mine Disaster, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| March 20 | March 20, 1953 - Tony Mazzochi takes leadership of United Gas, Coke, and Chemical Workers’ local |
| March 25 | March 25, 1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Fire |
| March 28 | March 28, 1979 - Partial meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant |
| April 22 | April 22, 1915 - First World War I - use of chlorine gas by German forces |
| May 1 | May 1, 1956 - First public health report on new disease of the central nervous system in Minamata, Japan |
| June 12 | June 12, 2012 ‐ IARC classifies diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) |
| July 6 | July 6, 1884 - Prussia enacts first workers compensation statute |
| September 9 | September 9, 1977 - Joint Press Conference by OSHA, EPA, and FDA to disclose plans to control exposure to DBCP, a sterility-causing pesticide |
| September 27 | September 27, 1962 - Silent Spring by Rachel Carson first published |
| October 4 | October 4, 1716 - James Lind born in Scotland; he went on to systematically study the prevention of scurvy and otherwise improve the occupational health of seafarers. |
| November 3 | November 3, 1633 - birth of Bernardino Ramazzini, author of the ealiest known book on occupational diseases, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba ("Diseases of Workers") |
| November 9 | November 9, 1815 - Humphrey Davy announces miner’s safety lamp to Royal Society |
| November 25 | November 25, 1960 - First showing of CBS Reports’ “Harvest of Shame” on migrant agricultural workers |
| December 5 | December 5, 1952 - Killer London fog begins |
| December 29 | December 29, 1970 - OSHA act signed |
| December 30 | December 30, 1969 - Coal Mine Safety act passed |