Environmental Hazards: Toxic Waste and Hazardous Material.This handbook in the World Contemporary Issues series by ABC-CLIO is a comprehensive reference guide for researchers arid ar·id adj. 1. Lacking moisture, especially having insufficient rainfall to support trees or woody plants: an arid climate. 2. legislative analysts tackling the topics of pollution by hazardous waste Hazardous waste Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes. , pesticides, toxic substances, asbestos asbestos, mineral asbestos, common name for any of a variety of silicate minerals within the amphibole and serpentine groups that are fibrous in structure and more or less resistant to acid and fire. and oil. Written by two Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University, main campus at University Park, State College; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1855, opened 1859 as Farmers' High School. professors, the book places the environmental and public health dangers of such substances in a public policy framework. It features a complete annotated bibliography An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the research that has been done. It is still an alphabetical list of research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a brief summary or annotation. of books in the field as well as an extensive list of articles, government documents, videocassettes and organizations. A chapter describing federal and selected state laws and regulations is also useful. The authors trace the history of environmental legislation and chronicle the fundamental laws that established the nation's system for managing hazardous materials. Special attention is given to hazardous waste cleanup and the Superfund legislation, also known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (aka SuperFund) ). This discussion yields a pertinent perspective as Congress debates the reauthorization of and possible changes to this landmark legislation. The bulk of the handbook covers the topic in an objective, descriptive manner. A brief "Perspective" section, however, gives the authors' opinion on the ethical dimensions of managing toxic materials and the assessment of risk to human health and the environment. They assert, "As a fundamental premise it must be recognized that a [hazardous materials management Materials management is the branch of logistics that deals with the tangible components of a supply chain. Specifically, this covers the acquisition of spare parts and replacements, quality control of purchasing and ordering such parts, and the standards involved in ordering, ] policy cannot be guided by the philosophy that no risk is valid. Any policy will entail risks of some harm to the environment and individuals at some future time. A policy for the protection of health must be based on a method of assessing systematic risks so as to prevent the environment and human beings from experiencing basic harm deemed unjustifiable." Legislators must assess various policy options by weighing the information provided by risk assessment and the evaluation technology. Sorting out such challenges is assisted by the solid work found in this handbook. |
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