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How costly is “clean”? An analysis of the benefits and costs of Superfund site remediations

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  • James T. Hamilton

    (Duke University)

  • W. Kip Viscusi

    (Harvard Law School)

Abstract

The 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 embodied 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 embodied in environmental cleanup decisions. © 1998 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Suggested Citation

  • James T. Hamilton & W. Kip Viscusi, 1999. "How costly is “clean”? An analysis of the benefits and costs of Superfund site remediations," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 2-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:18:y:1999:i:1:p:2-27
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6688(199924)18:1<2::AID-PAM2>3.0.CO;2-2
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    Blog mentions

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    1. It's 'Time to Panic' Over Climate Change, Asserts New York Times Op-Ed
      by Ronald Bailey in Hit & Run blog on 2019-02-21 18:25:00
    2. Relax: Gutting the EPA Won't Make Your Air Dirtier and Water More Polluted
      by Ronald Bailey in Hit & Run blog on 2017-03-21 23:35:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Jacob LaRiviere & Matthew McMahon & Justin Roush, 2019. "Second-Best Prioritization of Environmental Cleanups," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(4), pages 1225-1249, April.
    2. Sigman, Hilary, 2001. "The Pace of Progress at Superfund Sites: Policy Goals and Interest Group Influence," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 315-344, April.
    3. Adam Eckerd & Andrew Keeler, 2012. "Going green together? Brownfield remediation and environmental justice," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 45(4), pages 293-314, December.
    4. Schwartz, Amy Ellen & Ellen, Ingrid Gould & Voicu, Ioan & Schill, Michael H., 2006. "The external effects of place-based subsidized housing," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 679-707, November.
    5. Wen, Zongguo & Chen, Jining, 2008. "A cost-benefit analysis for the economic growth in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 356-366, April.
    6. Hangyu Li & Ze Zhou & Tao Long & Yao Wei & Jianchun Xu & Shuyang Liu & Xiaopu Wang, 2022. "Big-Data Analysis and Machine Learning Based on Oil Pollution Remediation Cases from CERCLA Database," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-10, August.
    7. Thomas C. Beierle, 2002. "The Quality of Stakeholder‐Based Decisions," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(4), pages 739-749, August.
    8. Stavins, Robert & Hahn, Robert & Cavanagh, Sheila, 2001. "National Environmental Policy During the Clinton Years," RFF Working Paper Series dp-01-38, Resources for the Future.
    9. Sandra Alker & Adrian McDonald, 2003. "Incorporating sustainable development into redevelopment," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(3), pages 171-182.
    10. Robin R. Jenkins & Elizabeth Kopits & David Simpson, 2006. "Measuring the Social Benefits of EPA Land Cleanup and Reuse Programs," NCEE Working Paper Series 200603, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Sep 2006.
    11. Gayer, Ted & Kip Viscusi, W., 2002. "Housing price responses to newspaper publicity of hazardous waste sites," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1-2), pages 33-51, February.
    12. Lappi, Pauli, 2018. "Optimal clean-up of polluted sites," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 53-68.
    13. Robert B. Avery & Raphael W. Bostic & Glenn B. Canner, 2003. "Assessing the CRA's Necessity and Efficiency," Working Paper 8606, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    14. Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Jurgita Antucheviciene, 2006. "Development of an indicator model and ranking of sustainable revitalization alternatives of derelict property: a Lithuanian case study," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(5), pages 287-299.
    15. Roel Plant & Spike Boydell & Jason Prior & Joanne Chong & Aleta Lederwasch, 2017. "From liability to opportunity: An institutional approach towards value-based land remediation," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 197-220, March.

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