Environmental health /

A subject as broad as environmental health poses tough challenges for a textbook author. When recommending the 1st edition (1992) of Moeller's book to classes in environmental health, this reviewer cautioned students that its treatment of most topics was too superficial. This remains a problem with the new edition. Moeller clearly understands environmental health and most requisite topics are covered, some quite well. The emphases are sometimes difficult to fathom; i.e., the workplace chapter hardly mentions industrial hygiene or ergonomics, while its coverage of regulations is inadequate and essentially ignores the role of OSHA. The same criticisms extend to chapters on air, water, and waste. More space is devoted to how wells are dug than to water quality testing. The chapter on injury control contains much new information. The final chapter is very interesting, touching on a broad range of issues. Regrettably, human population growth is treated as a given, rather than a hazard to be addressed, and its impacts on all the other environmental problems are not clarified. The strength of the book lies in clarifying for the student the breadth of this field. Many new references will guide students to the literature. There is still no great text on this subject, but this is the most usable one currently available. M. Gochfeld; Robert Wood Johnson Medical School