Summary

One of the most troubling aspects of pollution in this age is its pervasiveness—there are few places left where a person or an animal can live without being exposed to pollution. Toxic substances travel great distances through the air, and many of these substances eventually fall from the atmosphere onto growing crops and open waters. Meat and milk-producing animals ingest pollutants, produce growers spray large amounts of toxic pesticides onto food intended for people's dinner tables, and both animals and humans ingest small amounts of unhealthy compounds in water. Scientists now detect an array of toxic compounds—or compounds that harm the body—in the blood and tissue of almost every person from whom they collect a sample.

Pollution provides up-to-date research in the field of environmental medicine. Focusing on specific toxin categories as well as the health effects of various types of pollution, this new, full-color guide will come in handy for middle and high school students concerned with issues that affect our environment.

Chapters include:

• The Emergence of Environmental Medicine
• Epidemiology of Environmental Diseases
• Environmental Toxins 
• Hazards in the Air
• Food and Water Hazards
• Populations at Risk
• Veterinary Environmental Medicine.

Specifications

Full-color photographs and line illustrations. Index. Appendixes. Glossary. Sidebars. Print and Web resources. Tables and charts.

About the Author(s)

Anne Maczulak, Ph.D., has more than 25 years of experience as a microbiologist in university laboratories. She completed her undergraduate and master's studies at Ohio State University and earned her doctorate from the University of Kentucky. She has authored peer-reviewed journal articles and technical reports and has served on corporate microbiology committees. Maczulak has given presentations to national environmental health associations as well as workshops on surface water.