Exposed


Book Description




Laying Waste


Book Description

A Niagara Falls, N.Y., reporter uncovered the Love Canal toxic waste scandal in 1978, and now relates tales of thousands of chemical dumps that contaminate waters, soil and air in the United States.




Toxic Communities


Book Description

From St. Louis to New Orleans, from Baltimore to Oklahoma City, there are poor and minority neighborhoods so beset by pollution that just living in them can be hazardous to your health. Due to entrenched segregation, zoning ordinances that privilege wealthier communities, or because businesses have found the OCypaths of least resistance, OCO there are many hazardous waste and toxic facilities in these communities, leading residents to experience health and wellness problems on top of the race and class discrimination most already experience. Taking stock of the recent environmental justice scholarship, a Toxic Communities aexamines the connections among residential segregation, zoning, and exposure to environmental hazards. Renowned environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor focuses on the locations of hazardous facilities in low-income and minority communities and shows how they have been dumped on, contaminated and exposed. Drawing on an array of historical and contemporary case studies from across the country, Taylor explores controversies over racially-motivated decisions in zoning laws, eminent domain, government regulation (or lack thereof), and urban renewal. She provides a comprehensive overview of the debate over whether or not there is a link between environmental transgressions and discrimination, drawing a clear picture of the state of the environmental justice field today and where it is going. In doing so, she introduces new concepts and theories for understanding environmental racism that will be essential for environmental justice scholars. A fascinating landmark study, a Toxic Communities agreatly contributes to the study of race, the environment, and space in the contemporary United States."




Toxic Chemicals


Book Description

Catastrophic events such as the Bhopal, India tragedy and rising incidences of cancer in areas neighboring industrial facilities have heightened concern over the use of toxic chemicals in manufacturing and industry. Based on the authors' research conducted in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this book explores the history of toxic chemical release reporting programs, presents data on the toxicity of chemicals currently in use, discusses variables that contribute to the relative toxicity of a substance, compares existing programs for reducing environmental threats, and provides specific recommendations for reducing or eliminating the use of toxic chemicals.




Toxic Chemicals in America


Book Description

This one-stop resource is ideal for understanding the extent to which toxic chemicals are used in U.S. industry and agriculture—impacting public health and the environment through everything from industrial solvents to children's toys. Every year, about 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are generated and released by U.S. industries. Do these chemicals pose a potential health threat to American families, including vulnerable groups like children and the elderly? Is their manufacture and use adequately regulated to protect both human and environmental health? Is the Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, signed in June 2016 by President Barack Obama with bipartisan support, truly the first major overhaul of toxic chemical regulation in 40 years to put human health first, as its supporters asserted? Or is it a fatally flawed bill that does the bidding of industry by undermining strong state environmental and public health laws, as some detractors claim? This two-volume set addresses all of those questions. Moreover, it presents and examines arguments marshaled by business interests, community leaders, scientists, activists, and lawmakers alike. It thus provides users with the information they need to accurately assess the impacts—pro and con—that industrial chemicals are having in shaping the world in which we work, eat, drink, breathe, and play.




Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses


Book Description

Providing material for practitioners and students alike, Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses is a clear and straightforward presentation of industrial toxicology. Exposure to toxic chemicals is of major concern to health professionals. In recent years, the scope and importance of hazardous materials toxicology has expanded and now impacts financial institutions, government, private corporations, and many other organizations as well. Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses presents the myriad health implications of hazardous chemicals in a single source. This book is organized so that readers can proceed from a general perspective on the problem of chemical exposure and toxic responses to an understanding of toxicology and a method of inquiry. Written for anyone who needs practical toxicological information, the book compactly and efficiently presents the scientific basis of toxicology as it applies to the workplace. It covers the diverse chemical hazards encountered in the work environment and provides a practical understanding of these hazards for those charged with protecting the health and well being of people at work. Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses consists of three parts: Part I establishes the general principles of industrial toxicology; Part II addresses specific effects of toxic agents on specific physiological organs and systems; and Part III is devoted to the evaluation of hazards in the workplace.




Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune


Book Description

In the early 1980s, two water-supply systems on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were found to be contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). The water systems were supplied by the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point watertreatment plants, which served enlisted-family housing, barracks for unmarried service personnel, base administrative offices, schools, and recreational areas. The Hadnot Point water system also served the base hospital and an industrial area and supplied water to housing on the Holcomb Boulevard water system (full-time until 1972 and periodically thereafter). This book examines what is known about the contamination of the water supplies at Camp Lejeune and whether the contamination can be linked to any adverse health outcomes in former residents and workers at the base.




Environmental Neurotoxicology


Book Description

Scientists agree that exposure to toxic agents in the environment can cause neurological and psychiatric illnesses ranging from headaches and depression to syndromes resembling parkinsonism. It can even result in death at high exposure levels. The emergence of subclinical neurotoxicity-the concept that long-term impairments can escape clinical detection-makes the need for risk assessment even more critical. This volume paves the way toward definitive solutions, presenting the current consensus on risk assessment and environmental toxicants and offering specific recommendations. The book covers: The biologic basis of neurotoxicity. Progress in the application of biologic markers. Reviews of a wide range of in vitro and in vivo testing techniques. The use of surveillance and epidemiology to identify neurotoxic hazards that escape premarket screening. Research needs. This volume will be an important resource for policymakers, health specialists, researchers, and students.




Monitoring Human Tissues for Toxic Substances


Book Description

The National Human Monitoring Program (NHMP) identifies concentrations of specific chemicals in human tissues, including toxicologic testing and risk assessment determinations. This volume evaluates the current activities of the NHMP; identifies important scientific, technical, and programmatic issues; and makes recommendations regarding the design of the program and use of its products.




As Long as Grass Grows


Book Description

The story of Native peoples’ resistance to environmental injustice and land incursions, and a call for environmentalists to learn from the Indigenous community’s rich history of activism Through the unique lens of “Indigenized environmental justice,” Indigenous researcher and activist Dina Gilio-Whitaker explores the fraught history of treaty violations, struggles for food and water security, and protection of sacred sites, while highlighting the important leadership of Indigenous women in this centuries-long struggle. As Long As Grass Grows gives readers an accessible history of Indigenous resistance to government and corporate incursions on their lands and offers new approaches to environmental justice activism and policy. Throughout 2016, the Standing Rock protest put a national spotlight on Indigenous activists, but it also underscored how little Americans know about the longtime historical tensions between Native peoples and the mainstream environmental movement. Ultimately, she argues, modern environmentalists must look to the history of Indigenous resistance for wisdom and inspiration in our common fight for a just and sustainable future.