Calculating Risks? The Spatial and Political Dimensions of Hazardous Waste Policy (Regulation of Economic Activity)
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: September 10, 1999
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 340
ISBN-13: 9780262082785
Subjects: Central government policies; Risk assessment; Waste management; Hazardous Waste Disposal And Treatment; Political Science; Environmental Studies; Business/Economics; Economics - General; Environmental Science; Public Policy - General; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Public Affairs & Administration; Environmental Policy; Government policy; Hazardous waste site remediati; Hazardous waste site remediation; Hazardous wastes; United States
First sentence: During the 1980s risks from hazardous waste sites ranked as the top environmental problem in popular opinion surveys.
Description: "In this book James T. Hamilton and W. Kip Viscusi present the first comprehensive analysis of the magnitude of hazardous waste risks and of the efficacy of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program."--BOOK JACKET.

"By matching agency decision data to detailed census information using geographic information systems (GIS) technology, the authors show that most hazardous waste sites do not pose sufficient risk to merit the most stringent cleanup options. Those sites that do pose considerable risk to exposed populations often receive inadequate attention, because government decisions to target cleanups are based more on political factors than on actual risks.

The authors propose policy reforms that could significantly reduce cleanup costs without sacrificing the protection of human health."--BOOK JACKET.