BOOK REVIEW:

Designer Poisons: How to Protect Your Health and Home from Toxic Pesticides

Many authors have contacted The Consumer Law Page seeking inclusion on this site. This book so impressed us that we wrote this review.

In two words: thank goodness.

This book is a long overdue source of essential information on common  household pesticides by a highly respected medical doctor and scientist well  versed in environmental and occupational medicine. It is a powerhouse of  information on diseases, adverse health effects and potential injuries caused by household pesticides.

Written by one of the nation's foremost authorities on pesticides, Dr. Marion  Moses, Designer Poisons' major focus is on chronic effects: the seemingly  small, and apparently minor, exposures which occur on a regular basis over a  long period of time but which tragically result in cancer, reproductive  disorders, and damage to the brain and nervous system. The culprits? A broad  range of commonly available chemicals that are readily found at home and used  day in and day out by the unsuspecting. Although acute health effects are also  clearly described by the author, the major value of this book is that it addresses  the devastating effect of chronic exposures.

The U.S. chemical industry prefers to ignore chronic effects and EPA and  NIOSH mandated Material Safety Data Sheets are seriously deficient because  they are limited to describing the symptoms of acute exposures, when for most  workers it is the repetitive, long-term exposure that is the cause of devastating  injuries and death. Moses is to be applauded for forthrightly addressing the  chronic exposure issues in this new book.

The book is packed with unique, detailed tables listing potential chronic effects  for the active ingredients in hundreds of brand name products sold  over-the-counter and used by professional exterminators in the home, on  humans, pets, and lawns. It also cross indexes chemical names with trade and  generic names.

Designer Poisons is a valuable and authoritative source of essential information  on the health aspects of pesticides. This book is an invaluable reference for  assessing potential pesticide-related illnesses and evaluating the responsibility of  manufacturers for resulting injuries.

This book is strongly recommended for physicians, toxicologists, occupational  medicine clinics, public health officials, health and safety regulation  administrators, attorneys and anyone interested in the diagnosis, etiology and  prevention of chronic chemical exposure injuries and illnesses.

Designer Poisons: How to Protect Your Health and Home from Toxic Pesticides by Marion Moses, M.D., 1995. Soft cover, 413 pp., $19.95

Pesticide Education Center
P. O. Box 420870
San Francisco, CA 94142

pec@igc.apc.aorg
415-391-8511
800-732-3733.
  (REPRINTED COURTESY OF ALEXANDER, HAWES, & AUDET, LLP / Consumer Law Page)