Hazardous Waste Management: Inefficiencies in the United States Environmental Regulatory Approach

Hazardous wastes are a by-product of the technological age in which we live. Until recently, disposing of such wastes was not considered a social problem. The issue evolved slowly, as environmental degradation and the resulting health risks could no longer be ignored. A U.S. federal regulatory structure has been evoked to address the problem; it primarily consists of RCRA - designed to prevent future contamination, and CERCLA - a means of rectifying past mistakes. Nonetheless. vast inefficiencies remain. Americans still have not been asked to pay the true costs of modern technology - a sum that would include the price of disposal. Economists argue for the adoption of market-incentive strategies. Scientists, too, have developed potential solutions. Ethical, political and legal uncertainties also are abundant and, for the most part, have not been made part of the rule-making process. It is these issues which are to be examined.