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Indoor air and human health
277 ecosystems has received attention. In the U.S.A. more than 50% of the nation's drinking water supply and 80% of its rural domestic and livestock needs are supplied by groundwater. Protection of the quality and supply of groundwater is an important topic, especially in those countries where groundwater provides the sole water supply and which is often recycled many times. This book provides an excellent account of the process and compounds which enter groundwaters, their classification and requirements for establishing water quality standards. In order to protect groundwater, adequate hydrogeologic information is required which is lacking in many regions. Modern methods of data collection pay little heed to what the data is required for, and how it is to be assessed. Usually, groundwater supplies extend far beyond local authorities, hence a need for national planning, an accepted method for classifying groundwater quality and establishing acceptable standards for both point and dispersed sources of contamination.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Indoor Air and Human Health, by R.B. Gammage and S.V. Kaye, (Proc. 7th Life Sciences Syrup., Knoxville, Tennessee, October 29-31, 1984) Lewis Publishers Inc., distributed by J. Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1985, 430 pp. Price: £39.00. To date the main emphasis on mans exposure to pollutants and contaminants has been concerned with those substances which are released into the external environment and their transfer along foodchains to man. Indoor exposure has been neglected, although, in recent years, the importance of cigarette smoke and radon release from building materials has received considerable attention. This book considers the following: indoor air quality, radon, microbes, hygiene, cigarette smoke, products of combustion, organic compounds, but not metals, which are often present in high concentrations within houses and present a hazard, especially to children and babies. Although this book is mainly concerned with the respiratory route of entry of contaminants, it does identify the many problems which exist; the methods of sampling and analysis have their own particular problems, but even more daunting is the assessment of risk, and relating cause to effect. Often, the problem is related to an exposure to very low concentrations, with occasional high exposures which are linked to social and economic considerations. Radon is identified as an area requiring urgent treatment, while passive cigarette smoking is considered of less concern and one of public education. It would have been useful if this book had included an overview of the types of contaminants and pollutants which are likely to be found in common types of houses and offices. One comment reports that 65% of children under the age of 2 have
278
had a significant respiratory episode, which emphasises the complexity of the problem and the need for proper epidemiological surveys.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Hazardous Building Materials, edited by S.R. Curwell and C.G. March, Associated Book Publishers (UK) Ltd., 1986, 139 pp. Price: £16.00. This book provides a guide to alternative materials to those which are known to present a hazard, for example asbestos, man-made fibres, lead, various metals, plastics and toxic chemicals. The use of building data sheets is presented as a series of tables in which building requirements are identified, together with a listing of alternative materials, technical comments, health comments and cost comments. Problems arising in existing buildings, and from maintenance and alterations, are considered, especially with reference to DIY enthusiasts. Many problems exist, such as disclosure of information and the ever changing formulations of many materials.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Childhood Exposure to Environmental Lead, MARC Rep. No. 34. Tech. Rep. Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre, Kings College, University of London, 1986, 74 pp. Price: £5.00. Today, despite considerable effort, it is still not possible to provide an exact relationship between environmental lead and blood lead in children. Each child is exposed to different concentrations of lead during childhood and responds according to individual characteristics, albeit that there is a relationship to levels of lead in the local environment. One of the unknowns which is difficult to quantify is the amount of lead ingested from dust and dirt. In the absence of any simple relationship between levels in the environment and those in blood a reliable margin of safety is required when establishing environmental quality standards for lead; for example, it seems prudent to reduce or eliminate lead in gasoline. The type of problem found for lead is also associated with other contaminants and pollutants, many of which have not been subjected to the considerable research effort devoted to lead over many decades. Nevertheless, in my opinion, a balance has to be achieved between action to reduce or remove sources of lead and accepting some defined value, which has to be linked to well-defined effects.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Indoor Air and Human Health, by R.B. Gammage and S.V. Kaye, (Proc. 7th Life Sciences Syrup., Knoxville, Tennessee, October 29-31, 1984) Lewis Publishers Inc., distributed by J. Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1985, 430 pp. Price: £39.00. To date the main emphasis on mans exposure to pollutants and contaminants has been concerned with those substances which are released into the external environment and their transfer along foodchains to man. Indoor exposure has been neglected, although, in recent years, the importance of cigarette smoke and radon release from building materials has received considerable attention. This book considers the following: indoor air quality, radon, microbes, hygiene, cigarette smoke, products of combustion, organic compounds, but not metals, which are often present in high concentrations within houses and present a hazard, especially to children and babies. Although this book is mainly concerned with the respiratory route of entry of contaminants, it does identify the many problems which exist; the methods of sampling and analysis have their own particular problems, but even more daunting is the assessment of risk, and relating cause to effect. Often, the problem is related to an exposure to very low concentrations, with occasional high exposures which are linked to social and economic considerations. Radon is identified as an area requiring urgent treatment, while passive cigarette smoking is considered of less concern and one of public education. It would have been useful if this book had included an overview of the types of contaminants and pollutants which are likely to be found in common types of houses and offices. One comment reports that 65% of children under the age of 2 have
278
had a significant respiratory episode, which emphasises the complexity of the problem and the need for proper epidemiological surveys.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Hazardous Building Materials, edited by S.R. Curwell and C.G. March, Associated Book Publishers (UK) Ltd., 1986, 139 pp. Price: £16.00. This book provides a guide to alternative materials to those which are known to present a hazard, for example asbestos, man-made fibres, lead, various metals, plastics and toxic chemicals. The use of building data sheets is presented as a series of tables in which building requirements are identified, together with a listing of alternative materials, technical comments, health comments and cost comments. Problems arising in existing buildings, and from maintenance and alterations, are considered, especially with reference to DIY enthusiasts. Many problems exist, such as disclosure of information and the ever changing formulations of many materials.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton
Childhood Exposure to Environmental Lead, MARC Rep. No. 34. Tech. Rep. Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre, Kings College, University of London, 1986, 74 pp. Price: £5.00. Today, despite considerable effort, it is still not possible to provide an exact relationship between environmental lead and blood lead in children. Each child is exposed to different concentrations of lead during childhood and responds according to individual characteristics, albeit that there is a relationship to levels of lead in the local environment. One of the unknowns which is difficult to quantify is the amount of lead ingested from dust and dirt. In the absence of any simple relationship between levels in the environment and those in blood a reliable margin of safety is required when establishing environmental quality standards for lead; for example, it seems prudent to reduce or eliminate lead in gasoline. The type of problem found for lead is also associated with other contaminants and pollutants, many of which have not been subjected to the considerable research effort devoted to lead over many decades. Nevertheless, in my opinion, a balance has to be achieved between action to reduce or remove sources of lead and accepting some defined value, which has to be linked to well-defined effects.
Plymouth (United Kingdom)
E.I. Hamilton