Beyond superfailure

Daniel A. Mazmanian

Despite numerous small success stories, the big picture of America's toxics programs is one of overall failure. Superfund has failed to clean up America's worst dump sites; policies to regulate generation of new hazardous waste have foundered; standards have been set for only eight of several hundred air toxics; transportation spills and industrial toxics accidents continue unabated. In part, this "superfailure" reflects problems of bureaucratic implementation, but more importantly, it points to a failing of democratic discourse, technical risk assessment, and ultimately the political process. Mazmanian and Morell address these issues and others in proposing a new approach to toxics policymaking for the 1990s and beyond. Skillfully employing case studies and examples from all over America and abroad, the authors chronicle the history of toxics disasters and success stories and then...

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