Environmentally Induced Illnesses: Ethics, Risk Assessment and Human Rights - Softcover

Kerns, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786408278 ISBN 13: 9780786408276

Publisher: McFarland, 2001

Synopsis

Readers drawn to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague, or Theo Colburn's Our Stolen Future will appreciate this work by Thomas Kerns as well. The growing epidemics of chemically induced illnesses from long-term, low-dose exposure to toxicants in both developed and developing nations are being studied by serious researchers. Questions are being raised as to how societies will deal with these new problems. Kerns's book is the first to directly address the ethical dimension of managing environmental health and ubiquitous toxicants (such as solvents, pesticides, and artificial fragrances). The work includes recent medical literature on chronic health effects from exposure to toxicants and the social costs of these disorders; relevant historic and human rights documents; recommendations for public policy and legislation; and primary obstacles faced by public health advocates. College instructors and students, victims of chemical sensitivity disorders, public health workers, scientists, and policymakers who are interested in the challenge of these emerging epidemics will find Kerns's text highly informative.

About this title

About the Author

College professor Thomas Kerns teaches medical ethics and philosophy at North Seattle Community College in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

Kerns noticed a metallic taste in his mouth when he was 51. He consulted various doctors but got no diagnosis until a doctor experienced in environmental medicine identified it as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). Kerns, then working on a master's in public health, began the research and reasoning that eventuated in this thoroughly documented, closely argued book on the problems of long-term exposure to low doses of chemicals. Kerns is trying to increase awareness of MCS, which leads to much more than just cancer and which lack of government regulation and labeling, the ubiquity of the substances causing MCS (found in artificial fragrances, furniture, carpeting, pesticides, and many other products), and the political and financial power of chemical companies make a widespread debilitating condition. Kerns describes the body systems that can be damaged by MCS and relates many aspects of the problem to human rights. Readers who stick with the book or use it as a reference will learn much about a frequently hidden or casually dismissed malady that affects millions. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: McFarland
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786408278
• ISBN 13: 9780786408276
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304