Review of: DADE W. MOELLER, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. (Harvard University Press 1992). [332 pp.] Abbreviations, credits, index, preface. LC 91-20836; ISBN 0-674-25858-4. [$39.95 cloth. 79 Garden Street; Cambridge MA 02138.

Gleason, John M.

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RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)Volume 4Number 3 RISK: Issues in Health & Safety Article 13June 1993Book ReviewJohn M. GleasonFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/riskPart of the Environmental Public Health Commons, and the Occupational Health and IndustrialHygiene CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Hampshire – School of Law at University of New HampshireScholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002) by an authorized editor of University ofNew Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact ellen.phillips@law.unh.edu.Repository CitationJohn M. Gleason, Book Review , 4 RISK 275 (1993).Book ReviewErratumThe citation for this review is 4 RISK 263 (1993) in most commercial databases.This book review is available in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002): https://scholars.unh.edu/risk/vol4/iss3/13Book Reviews 275DADE W. MOELLER, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. (HarvardUniversity Press 1992). [332 pp.] Abbreviations, credits, index, preface. LC91-20836; ISBN 0-674-25858-4. [$39.95 cloth. 79 Garden Street; Cambridge MA02138.]This well-written and well-documented book has its origins in asurvey course, "Principles of Environmental Health," which ProfessorMoeller has taught for more than 25 years at the Harvard School ofPublic Health. Accordingly, included in the fourteen chapters arechapters dealing with typical environmental health issues such as air,water, food, waste disposal, rodents and insects, the development ofenvironmental standards, and environmental monitoring. However,perhaps the most attractive feature of Moeller' s book is the inclusion ofmaterial that is atypical in a book of this type; for example, chaptersdealing with occupational safety and workplace issues, injury control,energy, electromagnetic radiation, and disaster response.The broad coverage of the book prompted me to review it todetermine if it would be an appropriate text for a course I teach that dealswith risk analysis and the management of environmental risk. While thetext is not appropriate as the main text in a course of that nature, it is anexcellent supplemental text for such a course. Furthermore, it is aneasy-to-read general reference on issues of environmental health,particularly because of Moeller's detailed documentation. That is, ratherthan simply providing information, Moeller routinely documentssources, which is most helpful for those who wish to pursue specificissues in more detail.The last chapter, "A Macroscopic View," is a jewel. It deals withglobal environmental issues including ozone depletion, acid rain, thegreenhouse effect, deforestation, loss of topsoil, and destruction of thewetlands. This chapter provides an excellent general discussion of theseimportant issues, and, in my opinion, the chapter should be the firstchapter in the book, rather than the last. If placed first, it would providea global perspective from which to view the more narrow environmentalhealth topics covered in the other chapters. Because the chapter is sogood, it is also perhaps the most disappointing. That is, the brevity of4 RISK - Issues in Health & Safety 263 [Summer 1993]treatment of the various issues is somewhat disappointing. Of course,the reader recognizes that this chapter is simply supplemental to theenvironmental health focus of the book. However, the excellenttreatment of these global issues leaves the reader desiring a morecomprehensive treatment.Other particularly attractive features of the book include an extensiveexamination of electromagnetic radiation (the longest chapter in thebook), and a discussion of disaster response. Environmental effects ofelectromagnetic radiation are the subject of increasing controversy, andthe chapter devoted to this issue increases the value of the book as areference source. Similarly, the disaster response chapter is a goodreference source for those with an interest in this topic.In summary, while Moeller's book provides a good treatment of themore typical environmental health issues, it also provides a broadercoverage than is expected in a book of this type. Because of the level ofdocumentation, the book is not only a good textbook, it is also a handygeneral reference source for the topics covered.John M. Gleasontt Dr. Gleason is Professor of Decision Sciences and Systems College of BusinessAdministration, Creighton University. He is also on the Editorial Advisory Board ofRISK.

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