With environmental issues such as global warming, pollution, and diseases spread by vectors and contaminated food in the news, people need information about the effects of these problems. This book offers an overview of the major fields that compose this discipline. The introduction defines environmental health, its concerns, and the consequences of contamination. The rest of the book covers specific areas of environmental health: ecology, toxicology, epidemiology, food-borne disease, vector-borne disease, air quality, water quality, radiation, and occupational health.
Each chapter begins with a vignette illustrating a problem, followed by key concepts of the topic, discussion questions, and a bibliography. The book is aimed at health-care professionals who may encounter conditions caused by environmental contamination, but students and those interested in the subject will find it useful. A background in basic science and mathematics will be necessary to use the information effectively. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.

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Modern chemicals and technology support living in the contemporary society. These same substances also make people ill, damage plants and animals, and affect our environment. Written in plain English, this handbook is a comprehensive source on everyday environmental health issues. It uses language for general readers, college students, environmental health practitioners, lawyers, public administrators, and regulators. When medical terms are introduced, the layperson’s equivalent is enclosed in parentheses, such as afebrile (not having a fever). Environmental factors rarely enter into the clinician's differential diagnosis (p. x). International in scope, authors describe ailments that originated in diverse locations, such as Queensland fever. They also focus upon the symptoms rather than the industrial cause: black lung is covered, but not the industry from which it is derived—coal mining. . . .This volume will prove useful to college students, environmental health practitioners, lawyers, public administrators, and regulators.

American Reference Books Annual