Environmentally Induced Illnesses

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.

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

Thomas Kerns
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2001
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0827-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5042-8
Imprint: McFarland

“recommended”—Choice; “thoroughly documented”—Booklist; “a very broad view of chemicals in our environment—one that clearly shows the complex nature of the problem—and the truly alarming data”—Townsend Letter; “far-reaching”—Midwest Book Review; “warms the soul with wisdom…a recipe for a safer, healthier world, with liberty and justice for all”—MACI Newsletter.