The Dose Makes the Poison: A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

by M. Alice Ottoboni (Author) "The word chemical has become a dirty word in our modern American vocabulary..." (more)
Key Phrases: poison paranoia, practicing risk management, nonpersistent pesticides, United States, New York, Suggested Reading (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Alice Ottoboni's second edition of "The Dose Makes The Poison", a "plain language guide to toxicology" is must reading for every industrial hygienist, client, employer, and daily contact of the industrial hygienist. Ottoboni takes us on a well organized tour of toxicology in layman's terms. The distinctions between poison, toxicity and hazard are sharply drawn. Thorough explanations of factors that influence toxicity are included. Cogent examples using using everday items like foods which contain toxic materials (caffeine in coffee, solanine in potatoes, or ethanol in vodka) make clear the ability of the body to handle divided doses. Dr. Ottoboni helps us understand the difference between the trauma we cause from a needless fear of a chemical than the trauma we cause when we permit exposure to toxicologically significant amounts of that chemical. -- Dr. H. L. Kusnetz, past president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the American Academy of Industrial Hygiene (AAIH)

Product Description
The Dose Makes the Poison A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology Second Edition M. Alice Ottoboni Increasing media coverage of reports on the effects of chemicals, new recognition within government and industry of the need to protect against exposure, and other current issues are elevating the public’s concern about the health effects of synthetic chemicals in our environment. Unfortunately, much of this concern is based more on sensational news reports and half-truths than on scientific facts. This second edition of a widely read and highly acclaimed work reviews and explains the facts of chemical dangers in a clear and understandable manner. It objectively discusses the factors determining whether chemicals in our air, food, and water are harmful or harmless, and puts the dose - response relationship of chemicals in proper perspective. Effects of chemicals encountered at home and at work are presented in layman’s language to assure understanding without having to turn to other references. Thoughtful discussions of controversial issues help you to understand news media reports on toxicology, avoid the half-truths that lead to "poison paranoia," and make informed judgments about our use and control of chemicals. Extensively revised, the second edition is also reorganized to expedite access to specific information. All experimental and analytical methods are in one section, and references to the origins of toxicology and regulation of chemicals are in another separate section to improve ease of reading. In addition, coverage of subjects such as public distrust of science, epidemiology, reproductive toxicology, and risk have been expanded to provide a better understanding of the relationship of toxicology to current environmental problems. All aspects of exposure and its effects are reviewed, including

• How chemicals cause harm—toxicity, sensitization, corrosiveness, irritation, radioactivity, and other properties
• Routes of exposure—skin, inhalation, oral, and combinations
• Factors that influence degree of toxicity—species, age, sex, nutrition, state of health, presence of other chemicals, adaptation, and possibly, light
• Chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects

Chapters on toxicity of chemicals address no-effect levels and thresholds, margins of safety, and bioaccumulation. You’ll see how the effects of chemicals are studied and how health problems are traced to environmental causes. Also clarified are differences between actual risk and perceived risk of various chemicals. With the media presenting us daily with new findings on chemical risks, this book provides a welcome "antidote" to the confusion. The Dose Makes the Poison is an easy-to-read review of toxicology that has become "required reading" for scientists and managers throughout industry; public health officials; environmental scientists; industrial hygienists; hazardous waste workers ; and anyone who wishes to improve his or her understanding of toxic chemicals without taking the time to go back to school.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471288373
• ISBN-13: 978-0471288374
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,011,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useful book, plodding effort, April 16, 2002

By	Nicolas S. Martin (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dr. Ottoboni has two simple objectives in writing this book: to descibe the basics of toxicology and to refute unscientific views about chemicals and their toxicity that lead to unwarranted scares. She accomplishes her goals, but with some discomfort for the reader. Her style is that of a didactic bureaucrat and there are many words that could have been trimmed by an assertive editor. Considering the technical nature of the book and its many scientific assertions, it is inexcusable that the book has no footnotes. Apparently the reader is supposed to accept her declarations at face value. Ottoboni occasionially falls into a trap that she herself warns against by commenting about issues on which he has no expertise. She says, for instance, that the "medical profession now generally accepts the premise that stress can exert a profound influence on the course of many illnesses. Stress can actually be an etiologic (causitive) agent for some cases of such diseases as high blood pressure, ulcers, allergies, colitis, and even cancer." Unfortunately for her, the fact that it was generally accepted did not make it true that ulcers are caused by stress. They are now known to be caused by a bacteria and the former claim that they were caused by stress is a major embarassment to medicine, which made this bogus claim in lieu of proof. It is also highly contestable that the other diseases she names are actually caused by stress, and she offers no evidence for her claim. (Medicine has a tragic history of attributing many diseases to emotional disorder, not the least of which was epilepsy, but Ottoboni shows no awareness of this.) Ottoboni should have restricted herself to what is proven, not what is "accepted." When she writes that "an authority in one field is not, of necessity, an authority in all of the others" she should have understood that that also applies to herself. Instead of this expensive book I would suggest a couple of very well written and documented books that go at the same issues from different perspectives. The first is Edith Efron's "The Apocalyptics : How Environmental Politics Controls What We Know About Cancer," and the second is the recent book, "The Skeptical Environmentalist," by Bjorn Lomborg. Both are superb, readable and worth buying. Borrow the Ottoboni book from the library.