(DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)Toxic Chemicals in America: Controversies in Human and Environmental Health
By: Kelly Tzoumis, School of Public Service
Every year, about four billion pounds of toxic chemicals are generated and released by U.S. industries. Do these chemicals pose a potential health threat to American families, including vulnerable groups like children and the elderly? Is their manufacture and use adequately regulated to protect both human and environmental health? Is the Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act truly the first major overhaul of toxic chemical regulation in forty years to put human health first, as its supporters asserted? Or is it a fatally flawed bill that does the bidding of industry by undermining strong state environmental and public health laws, as some detractors claim?
This two-volume set addresses those questions.
(Image courtesy of ABC CIO Press)
What inspired you to write this book?
My background bridging natural and social sciences was the impetus to write the book. It is dedicated to my daughter and husband, who both urged me to write the book and supported me throughout the process.
What’s the most surprising thing you learned while writing this book?
The research examined the long history of the use of toxic chemicals that affect human and environmental health. The patterns in public policy and administration of managing these chemicals have changed over time. The framing of the benefits and health risks of these chemicals is something the U.S. continues to struggle with in terms of balancing health effects of the science and economics with societal protection.
About the author:
Kelly Tzoumis is a professor in the School of Public Service and has worked in academe since 1995 teaching environmental policy. Her research focuses on the intersection of public management and policy of environmental issues. Before joining DePaul, she was a Distinguished Fulbright Chair of Environmental Studies in Italy and served as IPA Congressional Fellow for former Senator Paul Simon.
She has worked for the U.S. Department of Energy as an environmental scientist and program manager in two national laboratories. She also worked in Washington, D.C., in the fields of Superfund and brownfields remediation, environment impact statements, nuclear waste, environmental justice and environmental issues.
Publisher, release date:
ABC CIO Press, December 2020
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