Reckless Laws, Contaminated People: Science Reveals Legal Shortcomings in Public Health Protections
Item Type
Abstract
Based on the analysis of the U.S. law, this chapter argues that a much more systemic approach with appropriate premarket testing is needed to reduce exposures to toxicants. I describe the contamination of citizens, sketching some findings from developmental toxicology. I review failures of reckless postmarket laws and diagnose some of these failures. Learning from the ethics of medical experimentation and premarket laws, I suggest more prudent legal structures. The chapter first highlights that the adverse health effects of toxicants are much wider than cancer. People are at risk for reproductive effects, immune system dysfunction, and neurological problems, among others.
Publication Title
Publication Year
2014
Publication Date
2014
Publisher
Source
JSTOR
License
ISBN
978-1-78238-236-2
Physical Description
pp. 195-214
Series
Science and Politics in a Toxic World