000			01600pab a2200169 454500
008			180718b1999 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aHamilton, James T.
245			_aHow costly is "clean"?: an analysis of the benefits and costs of superfund site remediations
260			_c1999
300			_ap.2-27
362			_aWinter
520			_aThe cleanup of hazardous waste sites under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program is governed by a number of legislative and regulatory constraints. Congress passed legislation in 1986 directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pursue permanent remedies that embodies stringent cleanup standards. The agency has chosen to use conservative assumptions in risk assessments at hazardous waste sites, including a presumption that on-site risks for hypothetical future residents should be calculated in the site remediation process. This article offers the first comprehensive assessment of the cost-effectiveness of these Superfund cleanups. Our results reveal that many EPA Superfund remediations fail a partial benefit-cost test. For a sample of the 150 Superfund sites, we find that at the majority of sites the expected number of cancers averted by remediation is less than 0.1 cases per site and that the cost per cancer case averted is over $100 million. The analysis demonstrates the importance of explicitly calculating the trade-offs embodies in environmental cleanup decisions. - Reproduced
650			_aWastes
700			_aViscusi, W. Kip
773			_aJournal of Policy Analysis and Management
909			_a40104
999			_c40104 _d40104