SCIENCE AT THE BAR Law, Science, and Technology in America SHEILA JASANOFF "[jasanoff] provides a provocative and informative survey of the multiplying areas of dispute in which science and technology have come t o figure in the legal system. Her topics include product liability, medical malpractice, the regulation of toxics, biotechnology and patents, reproductive rights and dispositions for the dying...Science at the Bar is an important, ground-breaking
On the basis of test results, Augusta Fiberglass determined the biofilter technology to be its least-cost emissions control option. Comparative technology studies indicate that biofiltration is 2-10 times less expensive than thermal oxidation or catalytic oxidation, 10-40 times less expensive than carbon adsorption, and 4 times less expensive than traditional scrubbing technologies. K.S.B.
book, a clearly written work that assists us in coming to grips with the troublesome issues raised by our society's experience in the complicated interplay of science and the law." —Daniel j . Kevles, AMERICAN SCIENTIST ATwentieth Century Fund Book • $17.95 paper
T R A D I N G UP Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy DAVID VOGEL In Trading Up, David Vogel challenges the conventional wisdom that trade liberalization and agreements to promote free trade invariably undermine national health, safety and environmental standards. He analyzes the regulatory dimensions of all major international and regional trade agreements and treaties, and unravels the increasingly important and contentious relationship between trade and environmental, health, and safety standards. "Trading Up is well written, with a wealth of sometimes off-beat detail, and will repay reading." —JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW $17.95 paper
RISK VERSUS RISK Tradeoffs sn Protecting Health and the Environment JOHN GRAHAM AND JONATHAN WIENER FOREWORD BY CASS R SUNSTEIN In Risk versus Risk, John Graham, Jonathan Wiener and their colleagues at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis marshal an impressive set of case studies which demonstrate that all too often our nation's campaign t o reduce risks to our health and the environment is at war with itself. "One would be hard pressed t o find a more important topic than risk tradeoff... Graham and Wiener advocate a proactive, holistic approach rather than heuristic, piecemeal reactions to emergencies-of-the-month... An important, even pathbreaking book" —James B. Lane, POLITICAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY $18.95 paper
E N V I R O N M E N T A L HEALTH Revised Edition DADE W. MOELLER When the first edition of Environmental Health appeared in 1992 it was quickly recognized as the single best resource for students, public health professionals, and general readers concerned with the well-being of the environment and its inhabitants. Now, four completely new chapters on crucial subjects— environmental toxicology, environmental epidemiology, environmental law, and risk assessment—and an additional two hundred pages of text bring this definitive work up t o date. "The text in this new edition of Moeller's book is just as good as the book's cover And,the cover...is excellent...[His] new chapters... are all timely and well written." — D r Genevieve S. Roessler, NEWSLETTER OFTHE HEALTH PHYSICS SOCIETY 57 line illus., 65 tables • 5 1 2 pp. • $49.95 cloth
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Novel ignition unit cuts emissions SmartPlug, an alternative combustion engine ignition device that reduces pollution by promoting more complete fuel consumption, is inching closer to the marketplace. This spring, HydraLytic Technologies, a Sandpoint, Idaho, research and development firm, evaluated its novel sparkplug replacement unit in tests performed with a small-engine manufacturer. Results show that, compared with conventional sparkplug performance, SmartPlug produces 20% more power per unit of fuel combusted, 97% less NOx, 94% less CO, 60% fewer hydrocarbon emissions, and 50% greater thermal efficiency. Tests in automobile-sized engines produced similar results. However, when the novel units are used in gasoline and other traditional fuelfired engines, a leaner air-fuel mixture must be maintained to realize emissions reductions of 40-60%. Conversion from sparkplug to SmartPlug is straightforward. However, whereas a typical sparkplug generates roughly a 0.125-joule discharge, SmartPlugs produce a 25joule burst of energy, nearly instantaneously igniting 2-5% of an engine combustion chamber mixture. The key to SmartPlug's performance is a catalyst-coated ceramic rod located in its interior cavity. The heated catalyst, composed of platinum, rhodium, palladium, cerium, or a combination of these metals, causes air-fuel mixtures to decompose partially into reactive intermediates during a brief preignition period. Mark Cherry, an inventor who teamed up with HydraLytic a year ago, said the SmartPlug design also features an "exhaust gas spring" that self-adjusts to engine conditions and promotes more complete combustion venting any unreacted air-fuel mixture from reaching the ignition chamber prematurely K.S.B
