Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pollution then and now -- Rubber duck wars (in which Rick questions toxic toys) -- The world's slipperiest substance (in which Bruce travels to Teflon Town) -- The new PCBs (in which Rick fans the flame-retardant fire) -- Quicksilver, slow death (in which Bruce eats much tuna) -- Germaphobia (in which Rick goes antibacterial) -- Risky business: 2,4 -- D and the sound of science (in which Bruce ponders pervasive pesticides) -- Mothers know best (in which Rick drinks from a baby bottle) -- Detox.

Pollution is no longer just about belching smokestacks and ugly sewer pipes-now, it's personal. The most dangerous pollution, it turns out, comes from commonplace items in our homes and workplaces. To prove this point, for one week authors Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround all of us. Using their own bodies as the reference point to tell the story of pollution in our modern world, they expose the miscreant corporate giants who manufacture the toxins, the weak-kneed government officials who let it happen, and the effects on people and families across.