Hazards: Technology and Fairness (1986)

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ECONOMIC, LEGAL, AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE 184 CLEANUP AND MANAGEMENT original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. ered in incineration. However, incineration is the best available waste disposal technology next to recycling, or next to reducing use of chemicals that require such technologies for disposal. The time has come to use alternative technology for disposal of hazardous waste. It is time to realize that the risks of proper waste management in no way compare with the insidious pollution problems resulting from the lack of proper management. CONCLUSION There are countless facets to the dilemmas posed by managing toxic chemicals in the environment. However, we now understand the problems and are on the verge of resolving them. For example, in just the first two years that we looked, we found 400 nonpetroleum-related sites suspected of groundwater contamination. But in the last six months, we have found only 16 new sites. In the future, efforts should be directed to the following areas, listed in order of increasing difficulty: • Be open with the public—we need to earn their trust and respect. • Set careful standards. • Enforce the law. • Make it possible for the cooperative, fiscally solvent private sector to correct past mistakes. • Eliminate red tape in cleanup operations. • Choose cost-effective cleanup methods once the level of cleanup has been set. • Examine insurance and liability questions. • Provide for safe, legal ways to dispose of toxic chemicals so that we do not inadvertantly encourage midnight dumpers. In Florida, we are making progress in all these areas. We have been operating in a state of "toxic shock"—at least over the past several years—as the true dimensions of the problem became known. Five years from now, however, we will look back on this time as a painful transition to competent, routine handling of an important environmental problem.