Study shows net gain from pollution rules

[fizzana]

A new White House study concludes that environmental regulations are well worth the costs they impose on industry and consumers, resulting in significant public health improvements and other benefits to society. The findings overturn a previous report that officials now say was defective.

The report, issued this month by the Office of Management and Budget, concludes that the health and social benefits of enforcing tough new clean-air regulations during the past decade were five to seven times greater in economic terms than were the costs of complying with the rules. The value of reductions in hospitalization and emergency room visits, premature deaths and lost workdays resulting from improved air quality were estimated between $120 billion and $193 billion from October 1992 to September 2002.

By comparison, industry, states and municipalities spent an estimated $23 billion to $26 billion to retrofit plants and facilities and make other changes to comply with new clean-air standards, which are designed to sharply reduce sulfur dioxide, fine-particle emissions and other health-threatening pollutants.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20030927/ts_washpost/a7586_2003sep26

I'm waiting to see how they'll spin this one.

[rusty charly]

1. also here

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/politics/28COST.html

[doubleplusgood]

2. someone's going to the woodshed

..for releasing this report

[wellst0nev0ter]

3. *Waits For BFEE-Contrived Administrative Office To Provide "Dissent"*

[sandnsea]

4. Must reduce health care costs

Then it will be economically acceptable to kill people.

What the fuck is this? I can understand a local water plant evaluating the cost of an upgrade to the actual health benefit to the people, but to just do this on a cost/benefit basis seems to me a bit sick.

We need to be careful with these studies if we ever manage to get control of health care costs in this country.

[jamesinca]

5. Dupe

Air quality study finds laws well worth it
White House report says the benefits of regulations exceed economic cost

Eric Pianin, Washington Post Saturday, September 27, 2003

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/27/MN114910.DTL