Hazardous waste site cleanup and neighborhood redevelopment: an opportunity to address multiple socially desirable goals

Criticisms of the EPA's hazardous waste site remediation programs often focus on the lack of cost-effectiveness of the programs. To make such programs politically and economically viable, policymakers should explicitly include economic and social analyses in environmental risk analyses. Surveys of people living within a half-mile of seven hazardous waste sites show that there are opportunities for joint neighborhood redevelopment and hazardous waste site remediation.
The United States' hazardous waste site remediation programs are being challenged for lacking cost-effectiveness. We argue that these expensive programs will be more cost-effective and viable politically if economic and [...]