Environmental Health and Nursing Practice

This is the first book for nurses on how the environment affects nursing practice. Nurses should be concerned with environmental issues for two reasons: 1. Many diseases (such as asthma, lead poisoning, and some cancers) are caused by exposures to toxins in the environment; and 2. Hospitals themselves are sources of pollutants, through release of mercury and dioxin (a byproduct of incinerating plastic PVC products). The book includes information on basic environmental health principles and commo