cor'."'rrrE !&II!'! BENEX'ITS OF ENVTRONMENTAL, HEALTH, AND ...

36
Three studies in Table 10 estimate the cost of faililg to preyent or
deal adequately with particular water pollution incidlentsl The ffrst
(Peterson, 1977) attempts to estimato ths costs of all of the conlequexres
or t|c durrp rg oi asbestos-contairring .rrriue ta.rlirrgs ilto
Lake Sul,elior. It i. ostirrnrpd rlrut sur"h drrrrrpiirs js r""por'"i"bl" for
between 91 and 195 cancer deaths per year among"local residents and
tlat the total social cost of allot'ing the dumpinl to occur was about
$6.i nrillion !,er .\'oal as of l9ij. 1'$o strrrlrr.. eslunarL. ljjo ,.osts oI thc
?omey Canyon o1,l spill ofr tte llritish coast in 1967 (Burrows, Rowley,
(hver ljr;+a. 1';i{b1. l\'lire the costs of a sinilirr accident todri.l:
would be much greater, these papers describe in deta,il the likely con:
sequences of a moderate-size offshore oil spill and provide a useful
slalljirg.lnrirrl f,)r rLal\"ses of p|ogTallr. dcsrgned to rroid or prevent
sucn rnct(lents
A number of studies have attempted to measure the ellects of rva,ter
pollution conlrol on public health. Several studies reporlefl in Hersha{t
et al. (19?8) have estimated the benelits from Iqater pollution
control, in tcrms of reduced outbreaks of disease, to be betiveen $120
million and $1 billion per ve&r. In addition. the last entrv in Table 10
sunrrnrlizes r useftrl a rid ,',inr prehensi r.e sturiv of this irnpbrtant policy
area (National Research Coirncit, 19?7). I}is primarily qunliiativi
r'liscussion deals n'ith both the llrhrctioti ir' ,li""r,-n [,rou{]Lf ltrout by
improved water quaiity (mostly due to impror-ed munilipal water
trertment) and the possible arh-clse ellects on hurrrtn hcaltl of the
presence of chcmical pollutants in tL inking rvatcr. One itnportanr pornt,
made irr the studv is that the presence of many potentiallv harhful
organic chemi.ald in drinkins iater mav be duL: in nart to'the interact-ion
of rqlter trcotnrents. r'ahich are intended to ieduce biological
poilution, with the chemical,s that ocrcur in municipal wnter suppli6s as
a result of environmental chemical Dollution.
fn summary, relatively fev sludies have been mnde of the benefits
of water pollrrtion control legulations, and most of thcse htve been
narrowly focused, Nevertheless, this fragmentary evidence suggests
that sucl benefits are in thc rrurge of bill"ions of dollars, includl'ng n
considcrable inprovernent in human health.
4.S BENiET'ITS OF OTIIER ENVIRONMEN'TAI,. IIE.{I]TII A}ID SAFETT
REGUI,ATfONA
Several other regulations are treated in this section. Of necessitv,
only a few are cons-idered. Some of thc studies included here do not fft,
into nn\ of the cateEorie5 of previolrs sections. ryhile others arc so
broadly conceived thit ihey transcend many o"[ t]ose catcgories.
Land rtse
Thn use of land is often regulateali zoaing regulations and controls
on relrl ostate rlevelopment are most familiar. Cropland rr.e regrrlalions
can prodrrcc substaritial belefits. as is shorrn in frtblc 11. Tlie yrroper
use of cropland can reduce sediment loads in streams bv over onefifth;
however. feasible leyels range {rom 5 to 10 percent is shown bv
lVado arrd T{ert'lv (1977. 1978).Ixrs-cof ]rnd ifself can l:o lrrevented and
the benefit is the tonsoil retained. Proprr tillage pra"tices mrntlated
for the l\{ississippi Delta could save one inch of topsoil every 16 to 28
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