Private risk reduction will be socially efficient only when firms are liable for all the damage that they cause. We find that environmental insurance can achieve social efficiency even when two traditional policy instruments--ex post fines and risk management mandates with ex ante fines--do not. Inefficiency occurs with ex post fines, when small firms declare bankruptcy and escape their liabili...

Cumulative risk refers to the combined threats from exposure via all relevant routes to multiple stressors including biological, chemical, physical, and psychosocial entities. Cumulative risk assessment is a tool for organizing and analyzing information to examine, characterize, and possibly quantify the combined adverse effects on human health or ecologic resources from multiple environmental ...

One of the most commonly used ground-water remediation technologies is to pump contaminated waterto the surfacefor treatment, Evacuating the effectiveness of pump-and-treat rernediations at Superfund sites is an issue identified by the Regional Superfund Ground Water Forum as a concern of Superfunddecision-makers. The Forum is a group of groundwater scientists, representing EPA’s Regional Super...