Element of Risk

The Politics of Radon
Erscheinungsjahr 1994
ISBN: 978-0-19-509367-4
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 371 g

Radiation, radioactivity, radon: these are words that, since Hiroshima, the Cold War and Three Mile Island, have conjured fear and fascination for many Americans. The danger of radon - a colourless, odourless gas that could seemingly strike any home and afflict its residents with cancer, was brought home in the 1980s when whole neighbourhoods were deemed unsafe due to a perceived threat from radon. But how much of a threat does radon really pose? Is the government's aggressive policy warranted. Indeed, is their a legitimate threat at all? These are the questios Leonard A. Code asks in this provocative and fascinating new book, and his answers are ones that all homeowners will want to understand. In clear, non-technical language, Code dispells many of the myths surrounding radon as he makes recommendations for a coherent reasonable environmental policy towards what is, certainly, a dangerous gas. As he carefully traces the development of the US indoor radon policy, Code illuminates the many scientific uncertainties that lie behind it, exposes the policies of those who stand to gain from radon policy decisions made in Washington, and challenges the EPA's risk-cost assessment of radon levels. Thoughtful and timely, ELEMENT OF RISK illuminates one of the most important public policyissues of our time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cole, Leonard A.

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technische Zuverlässigkeit, Sicherheitstechnik
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltverschmutzung, Umweltkriminalität, Umweltrecht
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Analytische Chemie Umweltchemie, Lebensmittelchemie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface

- 1: The Development of Radon Policy

- 2: The Science of Uncertainty

- 3: Leapers and Loopers

- 4: Lopers and Loppers

- 5: Federal Regulators and Congress

- 6: Radon in the States and the Case of New Jersey

- 7: Private and Public Interests

- 8: The Press, Science, and Radon

- 9: Radon Policies in Other Countries: Sweden and Finland

- 10: Democracy, Risk, and Reason

- Appendix A: Radioactive Decay Chain of Uranium-238

- Appendix B: Letters

- Appendix C: The Environmental Protection Agency/Advertising Council Messages

- Appendix D: Differing Perspectives on Radon Policy by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy

- Appendix E: Radon Policies of the American Medical Association and the Health Physics Society

- Index

Über Autor(innen)

Teaches in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Rutgers University, Newark and is author of the widely acclaimed Clouds of Secrecy: The Army's Germ Warfare Tests Ovr Populated Areas