The prevention approach applies to many sectors and activities. The federal and Minnesota pollution prevention acts focus primarily on industrial sources and on hazardous and toxic materials. However, the concept of pollution prevention applies much more broadly. Pollution prevention is one of many environmental protection tools. Using the prevention and control approaches together in environmental protection is similar to the using both prevention and treatment of disease in protecting human health.
Pollution prevention is analogous to preventive medicine.
It is widely accepted that attention to diet, exercise and lifestyle factors and regular check-ups can help prevent disease before it occurs. However, once a medical problem arises, medication or surgery must be used to cure or treat the problem. Such approaches can have greater cost, risk and negative side-effects than prevention. The overall health of a population requires aggressive attention to both of these approaches. Likewise, in environmental protection, prevention is preferred because it stops pollution problems before they start, but control and treatment of wastes are also necessary.