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Estimating the Economic Benefits of Cleaning Up Superfund Sites: The Case of Woburn, Massachusetts

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Author Info
Kiel, Katherine
Zabel, Jeffrey

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Abstract

Superfund was established in 1980 to deal with closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites. Given the large amounts of money being spent on cleanups of Superfund sites, one might hope that the money is being spent in a cost-effective manner, but there is little evidence that the estimated benefits from cleanup affect the cleanup decision. We apply the hedonic method to house prices to estimate the individual willingness to pay (WTP) to clean up a Superfund site. We then show how the individual WTP can be used to calculate the total benefits from cleaning up the site so that a cost-benefit analysis of Superfund cleanup can be undertaken. We apply our technique to the two Superfund sites in Woburn, Massachusetts. We find that the benefits from cleaning up these sites are in the range of $72 million to $122 million (1992 dollars). It is likely that these benefits are greater than the present value of the estimated costs of cleaning up these sites. Thus it appears that the cleanup of the Woburn Superfund sites results in positive net benefits to society. Copyright 2001 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics.

Volume (Year): 22 (2001)
Issue (Month): 2-3 (March-May)
Pages: 163-84
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Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:22:y:2001:i:2-3:p:163-84

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Web page: http://www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=102945

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  1. Michael Greenstone & Justin Gallagher, 2005. "Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program," NBER Working Papers 11790, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Ida Ferrara & Stephen McComb & Paul Missios, 2007. "Local Willingness-to-Pay Estimates for the Remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds in Nova Scotia," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 33(4), pages 441-458, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Ho, Sa Chau & Hite, Diane, 2004. "Economic Impact Of Environmental Health Risks On House Values In Southeast Region: A County-Level Analysis," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 19921, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  4. Kim, Jungik & Goldsmith, Peter & Thomas, Mike, 2004. "Using Spatial Econometrics To Assess The Impact Of Swine Production On Residential Property Values," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20186, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  5. Trudy Ann Cameron, 2003. "Directional Heterogeneity in Distance Profiles in Hedonic Property Value Models," University of Oregon Economics Department Working Papers 2003-17, University of Oregon Economics Department, revised 01 Jul 2003. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Deaton, B. James & Hoehn, John P., 2002. "The Effect Of Hazardous Waste Sites On Property Values In Zones Of High Industrial Activity: A Hedonic Approach," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19612, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  7. Trudy Ann Cameron & Graham D. Crawford, 2003. "Superfund Taint and Neighborhood Change: Ethnicity, Age Distributions, and Household Structure," University of Oregon Economics Department Working Papers 2003-38, University of Oregon Economics Department, revised 01 Dec 2003. [Downloadable!]
  8. Wernstedt, Kris & Alberini, Anna & Heberle, Lauren & Meyer, Peter, 2004. "The Brownfields Phenomenon: Much Ado about Something or the Timing of the Shrewd?," Discussion Papers dp-04-46, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
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