Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Really Dangerous in the World Around You

496 Pages·2002·7.82 MB·English

by  David Ropeik

RISK

R I S K
A Practical Guide for Deciding
What’s Really Safe
and What’s Really Dangerous
in the World Around You
DAVID ROPEIK
AND
GEORGE GRAY
HoughtonMifflinCompany
Boston • NewYork
2002
Copyright©2002byDavidRopeikandGeorgeGray
Allrightsreserved
Forinformationaboutpermissiontoreproduceselectionsfrom
thisbook,writetoPermissions,HoughtonMifflinCompany,
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VisitourWebsite:www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Ropeik,David.
Risk : apracticalguidefordecidingwhat’sreallysafeandwhat’sreally
dangerousintheworldaroundyou / DavidRopeikandGeorgeGray.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN0-618-14372-6
1.Riskassessment. 2.Environmentalriskassessment.
3.Healthriskassessment. I.Gray,George(GeorgeM.) II.Title.
T174.5.R662002
613.6—dc21 2002075934
BookdesignbyJoyceC.Weston
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
QUM 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
THISBOOKISTHEWORKOFTHEAUTHORSANDDOESNOTREPRESENTTHE
OPINIONSORJUDGMENTSOFTHEHARVARDCENTERFORRISKANALYSISOR
HARVARDUNIVERSITY.
THISBOOKINCLUDESINFORMATIONABOUTAVARIETYOFTOPICSRELATED
TOHEALTH.THEIDEAS,PROCEDURES,ANDSUGGESTIONSCONTAINEDINTHIS
BOOKARENOTINTENDEDTOREPLACETHESERVICESOFATRAINEDHEALTH
PROFESSIONAL.ALLMATTERSREGARDINGYOURHEALTHREQUIREMEDICAL
SUPERVISION.THEAUTHORSANDPUBLISHERDISCLAIMRESPONSIBILITYFOR
ANYADVERSEEFFECTSRESULTINGDIRECTLYORINDIRECTLYFROMINFORMA-
TIONCONTAINEDINTHISBOOK.
“Thecarpaltunnel,”“Theanatomyofsciatica,”and“Particulatesin
therespiratorysystem”illustrations©2002FairmanStudios,LLC.
ToMichaelFisherforthevisionfromwhichthis
bookwasborn;toTobyandAnnandeveryoneinour
familiesfortheirideas,encouragement,andpatience;
andtoLauraforherinspirationalcourageand
exampleatkeepingriskinperspective.
(cid:1)

CONTENTS
Introduction 1
PART I. HOME, TRANSPORTATION, WORK
1.Accidents 23
2.AirBags 34
3.Alcohol 39
4.ArtificialSweeteners 48
5.BadBacks,CarpalTunnelSyndrome,andOther
RepetitiveTaskInjuries 53
6.Caffeine 64
7.CellularTelephonesandDriving 70
8.CellularTelephonesandRadiation 76
9.ElectricalandMagneticFields 81
10.Firearms 87
11.FoodborneIllness 97
12.FoodIrradiation 104
13.GeneticallyModifiedFood 109
14.MadCowDisease 117
15.MicrowaveOvens 121
16.MotorVehicles 125
17.SchoolBuses 135
18.Tobacco 139
PART II. THE ENVIRONMENT
19.AirPollution(Indoor) 151
20.AirPollution(Outdoor) 166
21.Asbestos 180
22.BiologicalWeapons 186
23.CarbonMonoxide 195
viii CONTENTS
24.DDT 202
25.DieselEmissions 207
26.EnvironmentalHormones 212
27.HazardousWaste 223
28.Incinerators 232
29.Lead 241
30.Mercury 247
31.NuclearPower 254
32.OzoneDepletion 264
33.Pesticides 270
34.Radiation 283
35.Radon 294
36.SolarRadiation 299
37.WaterPollution 308
PART III. MEDICINE
38.AntibioticResistance 321
39.BreastImplants 329
40.Cancer 336
41.HeartDisease 348
42.HumanImmunodeficiencyVirus 363
43.Mammography 369
44.MedicalErrors 376
45.OverweightandObesity 384
46.SexuallyTransmittedDisease 392
47.Vaccines 401
48.XRays 410
Appendix1:VariousAnnualandLifetimeRisks 421
Appendix2:TheRiskMeters 429
Acknowledgments 443
Notes 445
Index 459
RISK