Waste remediation: Can we afford it?

The nation is paying a high price for an environmental cleanup program that neither protects public health nor conserves dollars. Current estimates of cleanup costs for Superfund sites across the nation total $1 trillion. If current (Superfund) practices continue, the answer to the question, 'Can we afford the cleanup?' is a resounding no. To correct the situation, the author recommends (1) identifying and remediating sites that pose a clear and present risk to human health, (2) prioritizing sites on the basis of risk, (3) linking the degree of remediation to the degree of risk, and (4) establishing realistic goals in the light of current technology. Adopting more reasonable and realistic goals is necessary in order to save the Superfund program. No policy can stand for long on so unstable a foundation