Hyping Health Risks: Environmental Hazards in Daily Life and the Science of Epidemiology Review
Posted by
Clifford Powell
on 8/18/2012
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Labels:
cancer,
environmental health,
environmentalis m,
epidemiology,
health,
public health,
public policy,
risk communication
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Professor Kabat does an excellent job in describing how a combination of zealous regulators, activists, and media can combine to magnify "alarming" results of preliminary, usually inadequate or poorly done studies. Once these headlines are in the public psyche, it can take years, even decades, of further, expensive studies to demonstrate the early alarms were false. Meanwhile, many are scared, and billions of dollars are spent to "fix" or "avoid" the so-called problem.
Four examples are explored in detail, complete with literature references. They are: a) environmental chemicals can cause breast cancer, b) electromagnetic fields (mostly from power lines) can cause various cancers, c)radon gas in homes can cause lung cancer, and d)the (lack of)effects of second-hand smoke. The discussions are thorough and convincing. In addition, Professor Kabat has a chapter describing the science of epidemiology, and points out the usefulness as well as the weakness of the technique.
This is an excellent read for both the layman and the professional in the field.
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