Silent Scourge

How does pollution impact our daily quality of life? What are the effects of pollution on children''s development? Why do industry and environmental experts disagree about what levels of pollutants are safe? This clearly written book traces the debates over five key pollutants - lead mercury noise pesticides and dioxins and PCBs - and provides an overview of the history of each pollutant basic research findings and the scientific and regulatory controversies surrounding it. It focuses in particular on the impact of these pollutants on children''s psychological development their intellectual functioning behaviour and emotional states. Only by understanding the impact of pollution can we prevent future negative effects on quality of life and even pollution disasters from occurring. This volume will be of great interest to parents child health care experts public health officials regulators and health and environmental lawyers.