Title
Balancing Economics and Health in Setting Environmental Standards
Date of Original Version
5-1981
Type
Article
Published In
Annual Review of Public Health Vol. 2: 183-200 (May 1981)
Abstract or Table of Contents
No one likes to face the prospect of harm or loss, especially if the situation is not of one's choosing. Carcinogens added to food, noxious air pollutants, and toxic substances' in the environment increase the risk of untoward events. If nothing can be done to lower the risk, because the technology doesn't exist or is too expensive, one can rage at the circumstance, but must bear the loss. But surely the probability of loss should be removed or at least lowered as much as possible when that is technologically feasible and the costs can be borne without bankrupting an industry.