Toms River by Dan Fagin succeeds on many levels. It is a detailed account of the events leading to extensive pollution and an excessive incidence of cancer in Toms River, NJ. Oddly, although the environmental catastrophe detailed here resulted in one the largest financial settlements in such cases, the story is not well known. Fagin tells that story well.
But he does much more. To put the story in context there is a bit on the development and history of the type of chemical industry involved. He delves into the history of medicine and particularly the association of chemical exposures and cancer and the applications of mathematics and statistics to the study of infectious and environmental diseases giving us the science of epidemiology.
This historical background is important to understanding what happened in Tom’s River and how the high incidence of childhood cancer was shown to be associated with the poisoning of this area near the New Jersey shore.
One would think that all this history and science could be a bit boring to the average reader. But by presenting it well and interspersing these history and science lessons with the human costs and events in Toms River, the book reads well and keeps your interest.
But I must tell you about me here. I am a retired scientist and my work was somewhat related to the issues covered in the book. So although I think all this science and history may be of interest to the average reader, I could be wrong. But I hope not. This specific case may or may not be of interest to potential readers but this issues of environmental pollution and health should be important to nearly everybody.
I had read an advanced reader on my Kindle (courtesy of Netgalley) and the book did seem long. Now that I am finished and writing a review I checked on Amazon and learned the book is 560 pages long (and will not be released until March 19, 2013). So it is a long book and will take a considerable investment of time to read but I thought it well-worth the time spent.
The book seems suitable for several audiences. It is certainly comprehensive and well documented with notes so that someone with a professional interest in environmental studies, public health, or some of the legal issues would benefit from this book. A student or general reader with an interest in any of these issues would learn a good bit of useful information while enjoying a good read.
I had planned on publishing this review around the time of publication but I read an article in the paper (I get the Philadelphia Inquirer which covers news in our neighboring state.) It seems there is currently a controversy in NJ about water quality and the importance of industrial representation in setting standards. I thought NJ residents might be interested that there is a soon-to-be-published book on the role of industry when the water quality in Toms River, NJ was an issue. Of course, I also hope many others read this book, too.
Here is the newspaper report I first read and several other articles I have run across.
This is an important book. Although the book is long and the subject matter complex, Dan Fagin does a great job in presenting the science in a highly readable way. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the association of environmental pollution and health.
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