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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Tragic Failures: How and Why We Are Harmed by Toxic Chemicals

Tragic Failures: How and Why We Are Harmed by Toxic Chemicals

Hardcover

Series: Romanell Lectures

PhilosophyMedical Reference

ISBN10: 0190635754
ISBN13: 9780190635756
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Mar 16 2017
Pages: 264
Weight: 0.65
Height: 1.10 Width: 5.10 Depth: 7.10
Language: English
The world is awash in chemicals created by fellow citizens, but we know little to nothing about them. Understanding whether even the most prevalent ones are toxic would take decades. Many people have tragically suffered serious diseases and premature death, including children during development. Why has this occurred?

Many factors contribute, but two important ones are the laws permitting this and the manner in which science has been used to identify and assess whether or not products are toxic. Both are the outcome of legislative, corporate, and judicial choices.

Congress created laws that in fact keep public health officials and the wider population in the dark about the toxicity of virtually all substances other than prescription drugs and pesticides. Facing considerable ignorance about toxic substances, impartially motivated scientists seeking to protect the public health are constrained by the natural pace of studies to reveal toxic effects. Corporate pressures on public health officials and scientific obstruction substantially heighten the barriers to protecting the public.

When people have suffered serious as well as life-threatening diseases likely traceable to toxic substances, judicial errors barring relevant science in the personal injury (tort) law can and have frustrated redress of injustices.

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Philosophy