Whether you have allergies or asthma, or you just want to avoid exposures to indoor contaminants and allergens, this book will teach you how to have a healthier home. In this thoroughly revised edition of My House Is Killing Me! Jeffrey C. and Connie L. May draw on the dramatic personal stories of their clients to help readers understand the links between indoor environmental conditions and human health. Explaining how air conditioning, finished basements, and other home features affect indoor air quality, the authors offer a step-by-step approach to identifying, controlling, and even eliminating the sources of indoor pollutants and allergens. This new edition includes * more than 60 color photographs * expanded coverage on the dangers posed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by such common items as paint, carpet, and household cleaning products * up-to-date information on the potential risks of installing spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation * completely new case studies of people who improved their indoor air quality by following the authors' advice * brand-new chapters, including " 'Trojan Horse' Allergens," "The Three Ps-Pets, Pests, and People," "Indoor Air Quality in Multi-Unit Buildings," and "Testing and Remediation." Reading My House Is Killing Me! lets you see your house the way an expert would. Along with offering a wealth of practical advice and proven solutions for various problems, the Mays include a glossary of terms and a list of valuable resources. This book is a must for all home occupants as well as perfect for those contemplating moving to or purchasing a property.

Whether you have allergies or asthma, or you just want to avoid exposures to indoor contaminants and allergens, this book will teach you how to have a healthier home. In this thoroughly revised edition of My House Is Killing Me! Jeffrey C. and Connie L. May draw on the dramatic personal stories of their clients to help readers understand the links between indoor environmental conditions and human health. Explaining how air conditioning, finished basements, and other home features affect indoor air quality, the authors offer a step-by-step approach to identifying, controlling, and even eliminating the sources of indoor pollutants and allergens. This new edition includes * more than 60 color photographs * expanded coverage on the dangers posed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by such common items as paint, carpet, and household cleaning products * up-to-date information on the potential risks of installing spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation * completely new case studies of people who improved their indoor air quality by following the authors' advice * brand-new chapters, including " 'Trojan Horse' Allergens," "The Three Ps-Pets, Pests, and People," "Indoor Air Quality in Multi-Unit Buildings," and "Testing and Remediation." Reading My House Is Killing Me! lets you see your house the way an expert would. Along with offering a wealth of practical advice and proven solutions for various problems, the Mays include a glossary of terms and a list of valuable resources. This book is a must for all home occupants as well as perfect for those contemplating moving to or purchasing a property.

During the last two decades, outdoor air pollution has decreased in the United States and in many other industrial nations. But many hazardous pollutants have been found in offices, cars, homes, and hospitals. Outbreaks of illness related to the noninjdustrial work environment have been reported with increasing frequency. And "sick-building," or "tight-building," syndrome has been recognized as a new and serious threat to public health. Indoor Air Pollution: A Health Perspective outlines current research on the subject and examines effotrs to regulate the quality of indoor air. Contributors-including epidemiologists, clinicians, risk assessorsm experts in air monitoring, microbiologies, and engineers-discuss methodologies used in measuring exposures to pollution, strategies for imporving indoor air quality, and other issues. They also assess the health effects of specific pollutants: tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, wood smoke, nitrogen dioxide, biological agents, formaldehyde, and radon.

Concern about the impact of air pollution has led governments and local authorities across the world to regulate, among other things, the burning of fossil fuels, industrial effluence, cigarette smoke, and aerosols. This legislation has often followed dramatic findings about the impact of pollution on human health. At the same time there have been significant developments in our ability to detect and quantify pollutants and a proliferation of urban and rural air pollution networks to monitor levels of atmospheric contamination.
Air Pollution and Health is the first fully comprehensive and current account of air pollution science and it impact on human health. It ranges in scope from meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and particle physics to the causes and scope of allergic reactions and respiratory, cardiovascular, and related disorders. The book has substantial international coverage and includes sections on cost implications, risk assessment, regulation, standards, and information networks. The multidisciplinary approach and the wide range of issues covered makes this an essential book for all concerned with monitoring and regulating air pollution as well as those concerned with its impact on human health.
Key Features
* Only comprehensive text covering all the important air pollutants and relating these to human health and regulatory bodies
* Brings together a wide range of issues concerning air pollution in an easily accessible format
* Contributions from government agencies in the US and UK provide information on public policy and resource networks in the areas of health promotion and environmental protection

The United States has long recognized and honored the service and sacrifices of its military and veterans. Veterans who have been injured by their service (whether their injury appears during service or afterwards) are owed appropriate health care and disability compensation. For some medical conditions that develop after military service, the scientific information needed to connect the health conditions to the circumstances of service may be incomplete. When information is incomplete, Congress or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may need to make a "presumption" of service connection so that a group of veterans can be appropriately compensated. The missing information may be about the specific exposures of the veterans, or there may be incomplete scientific evidence as to whether an exposure during service causes the health condition of concern. For example, when the exposures of military personnel in Vietnam to Agent Orange could not be clearly documented, a presumption was established that all those who set foot on Vietnam soil were exposed to Agent Orange. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee was charged with reviewing and describing how presumptions have been made in the past and, if needed, to make recommendations for an improved scientific framework that could be used in the future for determining if a presumption should be made. The Committee was asked to consider and describe the processes of all participants in the current presumptive disability decision-making process for veterans. The Committee was not asked to offer an opinion about past presumptive decisions or to suggest specific future presumptions. The Committee heard from a range of groups that figure into this decision-making process, including past and present staffers from Congress, the VA, the IOM, veterans service organizations, and individual veterans. The Department of Defense (DoD) briefed the Committee about its current activities and plans to better track the exposures and health conditions of military personnel. The Committee further documented the current process by developing case studies around exposures and health conditions for which presumptions had been made. Improving the Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process for Veterans explains recommendations made by the committee general methods by which scientists, as well as government and other organizations, evaluate scientific evidence in order to determine if a specific exposure causes a health condition. Table of Contents Front Matter General Summary Summary 1 Introduction 2 A Brief History of Presumptive Disability Decisions for Veterans 3 The Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process 4 Legislative Background on Presumptions 5 Case Studies Summary Chapter 6 Establishing an Evidence-Based Framework 7 Scientific Evidence for Causation in the Population 8 Synthesizing the Evidence for Causation 9 Applying Population-Based Results to Individuals: From Observational Studies to Personal Compensation 10 Health and Exposure Data Infrastructure to Improve the Scientific Basis of Presumptions 11 Governmental Classification and Secrecy 12 The Way Forward 13 Recommendations Appendix A: Statement of the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission to the Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process, May 31, 2006 Appendix B: Committee on Evaluation of the Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process for Veterans Open Session Meeting Agendas Appendix C: Glossary Title Page Appendix D: Historical Background Appendix E: Arguments Favoring and Opposing Presumptions Appendix F: Tables: Summary of Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Legislative History Appendix G: VA's White Paper on the Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process Appendix H: IOM's Statements of Task and Conclusions for Agent Orange and Gulf War Reports Appendix I: Case Studies Appendix J: Causation and Statistical Causal Methods Appendix K: Sources of Health and Exposure Data for Veterans Appendix L: Additional Classification and Secrecy Information Appendix M: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff