Environmental-Health Reviews

Mad Cows and Mother's Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication

Published in Hardcover by McGill-Queen's University Press (1997-11)

Authors: Douglas Powell and William Leiss

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Review of Mad Cows and Mother's milk

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-01

This is an excellent book on the issue of risk communication and communication vacuum. For anyone in the fields of public health and health promotion, this is worth the read.

A Must-Have for the Professional PR Library

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-01

Canadian authors Powell and Leiss provide a structured and interesting look at significant case studies, both Canadian and American, of issues and crisis management communications, or as they call it, "risk communications". The book provides an excellent background into risk communications. From dioxins among Canadian natives to silicone breast implants and cow's milk,excellent and recent case studies are deconstructed to identify the key successes and failures of the risk communications process. Finally, the book ends with 10 "lessons" for risk communicators--providing not so much the "how" answers, as the "why" and "what" answers. Easy to read, but scholarly in nature, an excellent addition to any public relations practitioners' library, and particularly Canadian practitioners, who have little to choose from in the way of good and recent Canadian case study analysis.

Science Under Siege: Balancing Technology and the Environment

Published in Hardcover by William Morrow & Company (1993-01)

Author: Michael Fumento

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Interesting

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-23

Not being a scientist Mr. Fumento basically describes himself in this book; "as not only grossly ignorant, but arrogant as well." He wrote this book well. But not being a scientific expert, I would not take his words too seriously. What it did make me do is look further into the many definitions he has for clusters, epidemiology, etc.

He does explain why and how studies and statistics with regards to the studies are done, and that I found interesting and well put.

This is not a scientific journal, but a laymans opinions. He is not a PhD, but an attorney. However, I believe there is a lot of good information in his book. You just know when you read it, you need to look much, much further.

Warning on bad science (Alar,Love Canal,AgentOrange)

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1996-06-10

This book provides an excellent reference for discussions of
the misinformation spread about Alar, Love Canal, dioxin,
Agent Orange, food irradiation, electromagnetic field-induced
cancer, and gasohol. Fumento not only exposes the fertilizer
behind the alarmist campaigns, but provides valuable insight
into how epidemiology works, how to spot bad arguments, and
how to identify acceptable levels of risk in daily life.
Easy and fun to read text from a lawyer who has done his
research. Guaranteed to upset environmentalists, Viet Nam
vets, amateur epidemiologists, Archer-Daniels-Midland,
and anyone else who believes that science should bow to
political expedience.

Technology, Law, and the Working Environment (Industrial Health & Safety)

Published in Hardcover by Van Nostrand Reinhold (1991-04)

Authors: Nicholas A. Ashford and Charles C. Caldart

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Comprehensive overview of subject and materials

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-21

(Unlike another reviewer, I had no trouble with my binding. But even if I had, it would not cause me to give the book itself a bad review. I don't see what the binding had to do with the material presented.)

I read this book for a class in graduate school, and found it to be very informative, very comprehensive, and very well presented. This is also not a book for whimps. It's well written, and goes a very long way to make a complicated subject more understandable BUT the authors do assume that you are an active reader. If you're looking for a short-cut or cheat-sheet through t his type of material, this is not the book for you. However, if you are looking for an excellent publication that gives a good overview, this is a good choice for you. In fact, when my course was over, I elected not to resell my copy. I'm keeping it in my library because it is an excellent reference source!

Poor Quality Binding

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-20

THe material itself is easy to read however as soon as you turn the page it will most likely fall out of the book. I had only opened the book maybe 5 times and pages already started falling out. Not what I would expect from a $60 book.

Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy

Published in Paperback by The MIT Press (2001-04-01)

Author: Joe Thornton

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Thornton's Poison

Helpful Votes: 15 out of 26 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-01

"God created 91 chemical elements, man more than a thousand and the devil created one: chlorine." said Greenpeace in its Belgian August magazine in 1992. That is the credo of Greenpeace for its anti-chlorine campaign and is the fundament of the book of Thornton, who still works (occasionally?) for Greenpeace.
There is no difference in methods used by Thornton as author of his MIT-based book and Thornton as (co)author of several brochures about chlorine/PVC as Greenpeace worker. There is only a difference in style, which makes it even more difficult for the average reader to know where the author is a little economical with the truth. Or to say it with the words of the Hamburg (Germany) court in the case of Greenpeace e.V. vs. Engelbeen: "The reader understands from the actual context of the text that Greenpeace presents facts that are overstated or, even though they give true information about a fact, they do not give all the details, so that at the very least a false impression can be created in the mind of the person receiving the message.". That is what Thornton does again and again in his work.

The basic assumption that the introduction of chlorine in an organic molecule in general makes that molecule more toxic is true. But that this is also true for the introduction of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen(oxides), phosphor(oxides), etc. is omitted. Every organochlorine that can be inhaled, ingested or can pass the skin is toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, hormone-disrupting, etc. at some dose. But that is also the case for all organics, whether these contain only carbon and hydrogen (as is especially the case for aromatics) or other elements like oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen,... Again that is omitted from the book.

The introduction of chlorine makes a molecule more fat soluble, but that is similar to the addition of a CH3 group (an extra carbon with three hydrogen atoms) to such a molecule. Indeed some organochlorines are POPs (persistent organic pollutants), that means persistent *and* bio-accumulating *and* toxic. A few hundred of the more than 10,000 industrial and over 2,000 natural organochlorines can be found in human blood. With the today's analytical techniques, we can assume that most of the others are either not persistent enough, or don't bio-accumulate at all, or are released in such minute quantities that they can't be detected, even not after bio-accumulation, which makes their environmental relevance rather questionable. But that also can be said of a few hundred of non-chlorinated materials like PAHs and nitro-PAHs. While their bio-accumulation is mainly at the lower end of the food chain, their impact is far higher than for organochlorines like dioxins, as they are released in quantities which are orders of magnitude higher. Further, (nitro)PAHs are cancer inducers, while dioxins are cancer promoters at high levels, but cancer inhibitors at low levels...

One can write a similar book about the dangers of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphor,... for all life on earth. That will be more difficult than for chlorine, for the simple reason that much less is known of the results of the introduction of these elements into organics. But what is known don't make them less suspect than organochlorines. And nature is not less toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic,... than industry, to the contrary...

A few examples of (deliberate?) omissions by Thornton: Half lives of organochlorines are given in *pure* water (page 33). E.g. for 1,2 dichloroethane (EDC, an intermediate for making PVC) that is 72 *years*. That has nothing to do with real life, where bacteria break down EDC within three *days* (figure from the biological waste water treatment where I work)!
Thornton only gives carcinogenity figures for organochlorines and omits these for the "safe" alternatives (page 60). According to the German Occupational Health Authority, 50% of the workplace carcinogens are nitrogen compounds, 30% others (metals, hydrocarbons) and 20% contain chlorine, while chlorine is involved in 60% of all chemical processes...
Thornton gives the graph of dioxin deposition to the Great Lakes sediment (page 228), but stops in 1980, so that there is a good correlation with chlorine production. But he omits the 1980-2000 data which show that with steady chlorine production (and a tripled PVC production), dioxin deposition has fallen dramatically back to the pre-1945 levels.
Thornton even promotes alternatives for PVC (page 366), where the process (iron ore sintering, all from uncontaminated raw materials!) emits orders of magnitude more dioxins than PVC in its whole life cycle. The steel sector is good for 118 g TEQ dioxins in Belgium, the PVC industry emits only 0.025 g... Rather strange for a promotor af the "precautionary principle"...

There are such incredible (deliberate?) errors in what he says about the emissions of the EDC/VCM factory where I work, which are published every year since 1989 (and occasionally by the Dutch government and the UNEP), which are known by Greenpeace, that this alone completely discredits his work.

But if you believe that chlorine is invented by the devil, this is the book for you. If you are more critical, look at the detailed critique on the Chlorophiles web pages...

Sincerely,

Ferdinand Engelbeen
Worker in a chlorine/EDC/VCM/herbicides production site in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Double Value: on Environmental *and* Information Strategy

Helpful Votes: 17 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-02

This is the best of the several environmentally-oriented books I have reviewed recently, and it offers a double value: not only does it lay out a persuasive social, economic, and political case for abandoning the Risk Paradigm of permissive pollution in favor of an Environmental Paradigm of zero pollution; but it also provides a very fine--really excellent--case for why the current government and industry approaches to information about the environment and threats to the environment are severely flawed. In a nutshell, the current approach divorces "good science" (code for permitting what you can't prove will kill the planet today) from social consciousness and good policy; and the current approach insists on studying risk one contaminant at a time, rather than as a whole.

This book is persuasive; I believe author has the right stuff and should be consulted on major policy issues. I believe the underlying moral values and intellectual arguments that this book makes, about both science and social policy, should be adopted by the Cultural Creatives and the independent voters of America, and that the recommendations of this book are so serious as to warrant country by country translations and promulgation.

This book is exceptional in that is combines a readable policy essay for the non-technical citizen, with deeply documented technical appendices and notes that support a middle ground series of chapters relating scientific findings to long-term policy issues.

From many small actions come revolutionary change--this book is a necessary brick in the road to environmental reform. The bottom line is clear: every year more and more toxins are building up in our blood streams, and this is going to have an overwhelmingly negative impact on the humanity, capability, and survivability of our great grandchildren three generations down--we have not have grandchildren seven generations down if the insights from this book fail to reach the people, and through the people, the policy makers and legislators.

A well crafted deception

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-10

This is a mojor work, with much of the science and logic extremely sound. Unfortunately, it a a misleading and deceptive argument, based on the classical flaws of logic used by rabid environmentalists to mislead the public. It is so well documented and reasoned that it requires complex arguments, not generally comprehesible to other than the technical specialist to understand. The author therefor starts by discrediting technical specialists as being stooges in the pay of the chemical industry. Good move. Among its other flaws is to show that some orgaochlorides are very dagerous and others are pervasive in the environment. It then condems the entire class of chemicals, first just because they are manmade (un-natural). It does not admit that the chemicals which are pervasive are the least harmful, or not harmful at all, and those that are harmful are not pervasive. One statement I particularly enjoyed is that, loosley quoted, the public should not allow scientific information or method to cloud their opinion of organochlorine chemicals! All in all, a great read for those who need to understand the flawed and false logic of the "rabid" enviromentalists. The author is a former executive of Greenpeace.

Pandora's thinking

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25

Though unpersuasive, the author seems well-intended. The problems underlying his book are commonplace within discussion of environmental pollutants. What are some?

Thornton states "organochlorines dominate virtually all of the official and unofficial lists of hazardous pollutants in the environment." It is less appreciated environmental scientists merely scratch the surface of chemical complexity. There may be tens of thousands of residues of synthetic (and natural) compounds that could be detected in the environment with sensitive analytic methods. Yet for many substances, no analytic methods exist, nor is there a comprehensive program to explore the potentially vast universe. Thornton is crucially misled by accepting official and unofficial lists as comprehensive or thoughtful. This selection bias leads him to focus on chlorine-compounds. His book is based on myopic appreciation of chemical complexity in the environment. This problem also pervades many studies on which Thornton relies and cites. It is wiser to appreciate how little is known about substance residues in the environment than to assume environmental chemists are doing more than scratching the surface of what could be analyzed.

Statistical association does not establish causality. Yet, this fundamental principle is oft forgotten, owing to hunger for a pollutant to blame. Papers published in journals may properly mention a pollutant is only "associated" with an effect. In common discussion, however, well-intentioned people may claim causality that is not established and even far-fetched. Given the myriad of synthetic residues in the environment, how could one be distinguished as harmful, to the exclusion of the vast array of other possibilities, known or unknown? Generally, it cannot. The eminent epidemiologist Sir Richard Peto, who helped establish the case against cigarettes, opines today that "an incredible amount of epidemiological rubbish is published." How true. Then some of these rubbish studies can be lumped together in a book like this one.

Our health is influenced by the foods that we eat. These too contain enormous chemical complexity, including natural pesticides intrinsic to plants, defenses against predators. When chemists report much lower exposures to synthetic residues, it is very difficult to isolate their risk, amid all the potentially confounding factors. Generally, risk estimates are based NOT on observed dose/response relationships at environmental doses, but on cautious assumptions derived from vastly higher doses to test species. Some claim we have "toxic chemicals" in our bodies. In a sense they are right, but only because all substances are toxic in sufficient dose. There will often be low doses below which no harm is likely. An everyday example: taking an aspirin may be healthful, but to swallow a bottle of pills might be fatal. Is aspirin toxic? Yes, at sufficient dose, no, at apt doses. By this logic, laundry lists of chemicals with supposed propensity to induce cancer, such as Table 2.1, set aside the essential issue of dose and signify nothing.

Organo-chlorines "build to higher and higher concentrations in air, water, and sediments." How to explain the 95+ percent decline in many organo-chlorines on a global basis during the past three decades? Conveniently unmentioned.

Thornton errs by claiming the first chlor-alkali production technology used mercury. Diaphragm factories began in Germany during 1890, whereas the first mercury cell factory began in 1894. A trivial error, yet needless, germane when an author is writing about this industry.

Thornton alludes to the promise of greener substances. Tellingly, this notion is not elaborated upon in any meaningful way. He seems to imagine a world in which all waste materials are instantly biodegraded. This is a common delusion among those who believe in a faith called Green Chemistry.

Some environmentalists dwell on a few old bugaboos, yet do not call for exploration of whether substances used today - including ones without chlorine -- yield environmental residues. They look narrowly or backwards. "The scale and severity of the [chlorine] threat is rivaled only by the hazards associated with climate change, nuclear technologies, and the reduction of biological diversity." How can someone in effect compare vinyl siding (containing chlorine) to a nuclear weapon? When an author does not pay heed to uncertainties and adopts simplifying assumptions, he is absurdly led to equate a socially useful, ubiquitous plastic with a nuclear weapon. One is reminded of poet William Butler Yeats: "the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Thornton suggests sperm abundance is decreasing among human males, owing to chlorine. Since this book was published by MIT Press, the unsuspecting might be troubled. Would not a press at a distinguished university aim to convey facts, with responsible appreciation for uncertainties?

What is the author's dreamy solution? A government-designed economy, steered by a technocratic elite of scientists in good standing among environmental activists. During the course of the 20th century, political planning of economies has fallen into disrepute. The thinking in this book helps exemplify why.

Hydrochloric acid in our stomach helps digest food and destroy disease agents. This biological need for chlorine is not to be learned from Thornton.

Yet, his book has value, even if entirely unintended. It could serve as reading material for a graduate-level class that aims to help students cultivate critical thinking on environmental topics. Strongly-held concerns about exposures to trace chemicals seem common in the U.S. media. Education that empowers students to weigh over-hyped claims carefully could serve the public good.

What are some books that offer more reliable education? There are many good ones, of which a few options:
John Emsley. The Consumer's Good Chemical Guide. (W.H. Freeman)
W. Baarschers. eco-facts & eco-fiction. (Routledge)
Aaron Wildalsky. But is it True? (Harvard U Press).
Geoffrey Kabat. Hyping Health Risks: environmental hazards in daily life and the science of epidmemiology. Columbia Univ. Press.
J. Rodricks. Calculated Risks: understanding the toxicity and human health risks of chemicals in our environment (Cambridge U. Press).
John F. Ross. Living Dangerously: navigating the risks of everyday life. (Perseus)
National Research Council. Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the human diet. National Academy Press.

A Clear Eyed View of The Problem...And A Solution

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-15

Mr. Thornton has an eagle-eye view of the problem and presents it in layman's terms. This is a book that is well-written, factual, and presents actual solutions instead of just ringing the alarm bell.

The current industry-driven approach which assumes chemicals "innocent until proven guilty" has clearly failed us. It is based on a microscopic and simple linear chemical-by-chemical rating system. This approach does not take into account accumulation of pollutants nor does it address the myriad and exponential effects of the chemicals in all the complex systems in the biosphere whose dynamics are still only dimly understood. This approach is heavily tilted towards the polluters as Mr. Thornton so skillfully shows.

Mr. Thornton presents a solution that includes a much more prudent "guilty until proven innocent" approach that puts the rights of human beings and the planet first. He proposes viable alternatives for chlorine-based products and proposes a new paradigm for rating chemicals and classes of chemicals that takes into account all the "unknowns" and accumulation problems that the pro-industry (and one currently used by our own EPA)...does not.

Mr. Thornton advocates true science be applied to the problem instead of the "good science" that industry always touts. Unfortunately the term [servant]whore to corporate interests.

A call to arms has been rasied and champion has arisen. Mr. Thornton, on behalf of all humans, plants, and animals....thank you. An excellent job and stunningly good book.

Cyanide toxicity (Case studies in environmental medicine)

Published in Unknown Binding by U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1991)

Author: Kenneth W Kulig

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Kingsley Amis - in a world of his own

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-03-19

What does this writer intend exactly? Hollow charcters you would personally boot out of a dinner party, plus linguistically dubious attempts at Russian double talk. An utter bore this book: God! I'm beginning to sound like Sir Kingsley himself.

Another good one

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-24

Well-written, entertaining, and a bit surprising. I've read almost all of his novels ... most are good, a few are great, a couple are marginal. This is a good one. It is not at all obvious that the hero is better off at the end than at the beginning. Thinking is required of the reader so if that isn't your thing, don't bother.

entertaining, not involving

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-03-08

A decent novel but nothing spectacular. Amis is (wordily) witty as always, but the conflict here seems contrived and the whole thing runs out of energy near the end. Too much dialogue with the prof's various friends, most of it repetitive. After reading five Amis novels I'm beginning to think his Lucky Jim was a bit of a fluke.

Amis crafts a timely story of post cold war social comment.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-17

Not content to limit himself to his usual playgrounds of lampooning modern English society and exacerbating the battle of the sexes, Amis shows off a scholarly appreciation of the differences, once shrouded by the iron curtain, between conservative and corrupt post-Soviet Russian society and the Western world. In a very readable yarn Amis does all this without bogging down in heavy moralization. The story of the romance between a bookish British professor of Russian and a young Russian Poet in the west for the first time is entertaining, sharp, witty, and wise. This is Amis the writer as a mature sophisticate who manages to keep his erudition in check.

Living on Less: An Authoritative Guide to Affordable Food, Fuel, and Shelter

Published in Paperback by Sussex Publishers (1998-01)

Author: John Vivian

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Living on Lesssss- Less is more with this book Don't buy It.

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-08

Don't waste your money! Buy the first book its great...

A good book for those stating the process of self sufficency

Helpful Votes: 18 out of 21 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-18

This is a very good book for pointing people twords the path of self-sufficence. It is a general guide book that will allow people to get an idea of the trials and joys to be found in the back to the land movement. It is a starter book. The topics are general, and specic information is left to more specialized manuals. But for those who are beginng to think about taking an alternative to the "rat race" this book should give a good jump start.

Not a waste of money, but nor worth $30

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-10

some good ideas, but not worth the original price.

Some good stuff, but nothing new

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-10

If you subscribe to the Mother Earth News, Countryside Magazine, or Backwoods Home -- don't bother buying this book. If you've read your magazines, you know all this stuff already.

Otherwise, it is a great compilation of material that a beginner might not know. It's a heavy read, but great if you have a pressing interest in the subject material. It's heavy on the "getting there" and lighter on the "when you've gotten there" info. I've read better books on the subject -- but I've read worse, too.

The Promise and Peril of Environmental Justice

Published in Hardcover by Brookings Institution Press (1998-07)

Author: Christopher H. Foreman

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Ideology heavy, technically light

Helpful Votes: 15 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 1999-06-11

Having a background in solid and hazardous waste, environmental and occupational health, and a very good grasp of the environmental justice area, I was disappointed with the technical content of this work and with its obvious agenda of strong criticism for the EJ movement. Technically, I had many concerns about this work, I will provide two examples here:

1. Chapter 2, pg. 9, Mr. Foreman notes that hazardous waste facilities handle only a fraction of the hazardous waste generated in the U.S. The remainder being processed on site. These are treatment and concentration technologies that allow the waste to be transfered to TSDF facilities in highly concentrated form. This statement is self-evident to anyone with a background in environmental science and engineering..further the source of this quote is cited as a Waste Management Inc. executive, one of the first corporations to be named in the early EJ litigation..hardly an unbiased technical source.

2. Numerous statements in the chapter on Health are made concerning the impact of environmental exposures on health which should be supported by sound technical references on the topic. This field with the exception of lead is largely unexplored..which Foreman notes. However, some of the skepticism exhibited in this analysis in regard to the health impacts of environmental exposures is supported by such sources as The Washington Times and The Atlantic Monthly, while wonderful publications in there own right, they are not scientific, technical journals dealing solely with the issue of environmental health and human exposure.

The lack of technical rigor exhibited in, what is in my opinion, a highly critical review of a grassroots movement left me dissappointed. I had hoped for a work that encouraged and inspired EJ advocates to a more vital movement.

The book provides an outstanding analysis of EJ issues

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 1999-02-26

"The Promise and Peril of Environmental Justice" provides a brilliant analysis of the public policy setting of Environmental Justice. What I got out of the book is that environmental regulations are inherently flawed because public participation in facility permitting comes near the end of permitting process. Because of this, impoverished communities with fewer political resources feel helpless to affect the siting of industrial facilities. Activists use this feeling of helplessness, along with bogeyman of increased risk, to rally opposition to a given facility. However, as described in the book, the increased risk posed by such a facility is almost always inconsequential. The author argues that the Environmental Justice movement is not about decreasing risk or improving community health, but rather community empowerment. Additionally, the author suggests that quality of life in impoverished communities can be improved through participation in the economic development that is spawned by environmental regulations. An example of this would be community participation in brownfields projects.

The book is formatted in a style of a graduate-level textbook, with all of the sources of the book properly documented. This format, however, does not detract from the book's analysis of the public policy issues associated with Environmental Justice. I enjoyed Foreman's writing style and thought some passages were especially well-written. I wish all of my textbooks would have been this compelling.

As an environmental compliance professional at a highly visible facility, I never quite understood why certain residents were so hostile toward our facility, why the efforts of local activists were at times disjointed, or why regulators would subject themselves to seemingly unnecessary public meetings. This book clarifies the motivations of these various groups in dealing with controversial facilities. I would recommend this book to both environmental regulators and compliance personnel in the private sector. I believe that meaningful strategies for community involvement in environmental permitting can be crafted based on the analysis presented in this book.

Long on ideology, light on substance

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-29

Although Foreman outlines the ideological basis of the environmnetal justice movement quite thoroughly, he fails to provide an adequate examination of how the movement is supposed to function in the real world. He examines the problems that the EJ movement faces in translating its ideological beliefs into real world actions, but Foreman does not present a substantive explanation for how it could be more effective in affecting the changes it desires. Overall, a fairly boring read.

The book provides an outstanding analysis of EJ issues

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-15

"The Promise and Peril of Environmental Justice" provides a brilliant analysis of the public policy setting of Environmental Justice. What I got out of the book is that environmental regulations are inherently flawed because public participation in facility permitting comes near the end of permitting process. Because of this, impoverished communities with fewer political resources feel helpless to affect the siting of industrial facilities. Activists use this feeling of helplessness, along with bogeyman of increased risk, to rally opposition to a given facility. However, as described in the book, the increased risk posed by such a facility is almost always inconsequential. The author argues that the Environmental Justice movement is not about decreasing risk or improving community health, but rather community empowerment. Additionally, the author suggests that quality of life in impoverished communities can be improved through participation in the economic development that is spawned by environmental regulations. An example of this would be community participation in brownfields projects.

The book is formatted in a style of a graduate-level textbook, with all of the sources of the book properly documented. This format, however, does not detract from the book's analysis of the public policy issues associated with Environmental Justice. I enjoyed Foreman's writing style and thought some passages were especially well-written. I wish all of my textbooks would have been this compelling.

As an environmental compliance professional at a highly visible facility, I never quite understood why certain residents were so hostile toward our facility, why the efforts of local activists were at times disjointed, or why regulators would subject themselves to seemingly unnecessary public meetings. This book clarifies the motivations of these various groups in dealing with controversial facilities. I would recommend this book to both environmental regulators and compliance personnel in the private sector. I believe that meaningful strategies for community involvement in environmental permitting can be crafted based on the analysis presented in this book.

Cleanroom Technology: Fundamentals of Design, Testing and Operation

Published in Hardcover by Wiley (2001-09-12)

Author: William Whyte

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Average review score:

helpful, but not great

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-21

The book is an easy reading, with a very entertaining chapter on how the basic cleanroom concepts have been developed historically.

The book would benefit greatly from being more specific. E.g. it talks about how panels in a room need to be washable and made of non-outgassing materials, but fails to be specific enough on what materials actually can be used (the only specific construction materials mentioned were steel, aluminum and PVC, with the latter being an outgassing plastic). Brand names and type of paint, are not mentioned.

Same with protective clothing: it specifies how small/large the pores need to be but fails to provide a good selection of brand names that work (other than Tyvek and Goretex).

It appears the author is more knowlegable in the area of protective clothing, filtration, and cleanroom conduct, but is probably less knowledgable in the area of construction materials.

A list of references embedded in the text, science writing style, would also help.

Not yet delivered

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-12

Not yet delivered. Already ond and half monthes gone.
I already payed the charge money. I wonder what is goning on.

comprehensive and sound

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-29

Comprehensive and sound guide for clean room design and operation. It helped me while establishing the microelectronics facility.

Invisible Illnesses

Published in Paperback by Freedom Press (CA) (2002-03-01)

Authors: Gloria Gilbere and D. A. Hom.

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A good resource, but should not be your only resource

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-11

Gilbere wrote a kind of "one size fits all" book for people with MCS, fibromyalgia, and other psychosomatic/chemical and difficult-to-define diseases. I would agree that a fresh approach is necessary, particularly with the way Western medicene treats people with psychosomatic illnesses. I would encourage anyone to read the book and utilize the suggestions in the book as appropriate, with several caveats.

First, the book reads like an advertisement for the different products that Gilbere has used or recommends for people with MCS. By all means, if they help you, buy them, but I would carefully consider what may or may not help you before you spend a lot of money.

Second, the book is somewhat poorly written and dances around the issue of what really will cure specific diseases. Your specific problem may be solved by just one of her recommendations, or none of them, but her shotgun approach involves a great deal of time, effort, and possibly discomfort for the patient and much of the products and procedures can be debated as to whether they are helpful - or proven.

Last, the book does cover the emotional elements of psychosomatic/chemical illnesses but is perhaps underemphasized. WAY underemphasized.

I would recommend the book, as I mentioned in the title, but I wouldn't use it as your only resource. Also, good judgement must be used - the book can do more harm than good if you are averse to chemical smells or food additives and so on - reading about the different negative effects of chemicals and what is making our air, food, and enviornment toxic can lead to greater fear of adverse effects and a more restricted lifestyle. econ

NOTHING NEW

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-20

A friend informed me of this book, but I was very disappointed. It was the same old info that I have previously read in other health books.

Another AWESOME book!

Helpful Votes: 28 out of 31 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-09

Dr. Gilbere does it again here and in more detail. This book is a wonderful book that related hidden illnesses to a problem most doctor's are not addressing. Your intestinal and colon health. This is a major place to look for the cause of these so-called "Invisible Illnesses" She goes allot more into detail than in her first book "I Was Poisoned by my Body" which is a great book as well. This one talks allot about specific diets, colonics, colon cleansing etc. There are very vital tools to getting well and she talks all about them here.
This would be a very good investment in anyone's health to read this book.

"Be Well"

SC-Guide/Safe Drinking Water

Published in Paperback by Random House, Inc. (1996-05-07)

Author: Scott Alan Lewis

List price: $10.00

New price: $2.00
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Sierra Club Guide to Safe Drinking Water reviewed

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-04

One would expect a more thorough treatment from a reputable group like the Sierra Club. This book is more of an outline of what SHOULD be covered; the detail on many important topics is either sketchy or completely lacking. This is a shame given the lack of good reference sources on what is a very basic health and public safety issue. I would recommend that interested readers check out Colin Ingram's book instead.

Good political info, not enough personal advice

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-25

This book does a great job of covering the political aspects of drinking water. It includes a list of major cities and their violations of drinking water regulations, a list of people/agencies to contact about drinking water, and a list of EPA drinking water standards. However, it falls a little short when giving information and advice on drinking water hazards and alternatives in the home. "The Drinking Water Book" by Colin Ingram gives a lot more information in a better format.

Clearest guide ever on how to ensure your water is safe!

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 1996-07-27

Clearly and interestingly traces the causes and sources of drinking water contamination. Allows even the layest of readers to quickly grasp the scope of the problem. Plenty of details on how to test your water and how to corret problems that have been detected. Unfortunately the drinking water supply across the US is not as clean as it should be to adequately protect the health of those who rely on it. Anyone who cares about there health should read, and use, this outstanding book.

Environmental-Health Books