The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Environmental Hygiene II deals with the evaluation of environmental pollutants and their relevance to human health. Main topics include mutagenic and carcinogenic activity of environmental chemicals, specific effects of heavy metals, special biological indicators for screening environmental contaminants and monitoring of indoor/outdoor air pollutants. Furthermore, assessment of exposure to environmental and occupational chemicals in man are presented as well as epidemiological studies on the health effects by environmental pollution, studies of inhalation toxicology and strategies and policy of environmental control.

Environmental pollution raises serious concern worldwide about effects on human health. Based on a recent meeting, this book focuses on diverse aspects of environmental hygiene, dealing with the evaluation of chemical and physical agents and their relevance to human health. To assess the toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of environmental pollutants, a variety of methodological approaches, both in vivo and in vitro, as tissue cultures, isolated organs and animal models, were developed and are described in detail. Data on human exposure, biological monitoring and epidemiological studies are also included. Problems of environmental control and legislation as well as possible provisional steps are discussed.

Covers topics: community mobilization; water source protection, purification and borne diseases; sanitation; mosquito-borne diseases; deforestation and reforestation; farming; pesticides and toxics; solid waste and health care waste; harm from mining and oil extraction. Includes group activities and appropriate technology instructions.

Environmental health law is a wide-ranging, detailed and complex body of law within the UK. Environmental Health Procedures is an established and essential reference source which provides an accessible entry into enforcement and administrative procedures for environmental health. The main legal procedures used in the environmental health field are presented as flow charts supported by explanatory text. The structure of this eighth edition has been revised for ease of use, with each chapter now addressing a single topic instead of a piece of legislation. It also introduces legal guidance for environmental health practitioners to prepare them for the court prosecutions that are an essential part of their work. The book has been updated throughout to reflect new practices, legislation and statutory guidance including: Primary Authorities Authorisations for public water supplies Infectious disease control Port Health RIDDOR Environmental permitting Environmental damage Imported food Empty homes Licensing of housing Licensing of gambling activities Environmental Health Officers/Practitioners and students will find this book invaluable. It will also be an essential reference for all those whose responsibilities demand they keep abreast of current environmental health practices.

This is the second edition of the WHO handbook on the safe, sustainable and affordable management of health-care waste--commonly known as "the Blue Book". The original Blue Book was a comprehensive publication used widely in health-care centers and government agencies to assist in the adoption of national guidance. It also provided support to committed medical directors and managers to make improvements and presented practical information on waste-management techniques for medical staff and waste workers. It has been more than ten years since the first edition of the Blue Book. During the intervening period, the requirements on generators of health-care wastes have evolved and new methods have become available. Consequently, WHO recognized that it was an appropriate time to update the original text. The purpose of the second edition is to expand and update the practical information in the original Blue Book. The new Blue Book is designed to continue to be a source of impartial health-care information and guidance on safe waste-management practices. The editors' intention has been to keep the best of the original publication and supplement it with the latest relevant information. The audience for the Blue Book has expanded. Initially, the publication was intended for those directly involved in the creation and handling of health-care wastes: medical staff, health-care facility directors, ancillary health workers, infection-control officers and waste workers. This is no longer the situation. A wider range of people and organizations now have an active interest in the safe management of health-care wastes: regulators, policy-makers, development organizations, voluntary groups, environmental bodies, environmental health practitioners, advisers, researchers and students. They should also find the new Blue Book of benefit to their activities. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the various types of waste produced from health-care facilities, their typical characteristics and the hazards these wastes pose to patients, staff and the general environment. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the guiding regulatory principles for developing local or national approaches to tackling health-care waste management and transposing these into practical plans for regions and individual health-care facilities. Specific methods and technologies are described for waste minimization, segregation and treatment of health-care wastes in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. These chapters introduce the basic features of each technology and the operational and environmental characteristics required to be achieved, followed by information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each system. To reflect concerns about the difficulties of handling health-care wastewaters, Chapter 9 is an expanded chapter with new guidance on the various sources of wastewater and wastewater treatment options for places not connected to central sewerage systems. Further chapters address issues on economics (Chapter 10), occupational safety (Chapter 11), hygiene and infection control (Chapter 12), and staff training and public awareness (Chapter 13). A wider range of information has been incorporated into this edition of the Blue Book, with the addition of two new chapters on health-care waste management in emergencies (Chapter 14) and an overview of the emerging issues of pandemics, drug-resistant pathogens, climate change and technology advances in medical techniques that will have to be accommodated by health-care waste systems in the future (Chapter 15).