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i9b E Xav I mck (Tx»u a 0 • i New View Calls Environmental Policy Misguided By KEITH SCHNEIDER , Specfal to iTe New York Timei WASHINGTON, March 20 - A gen- eration after the United States re- sponded to poisoned streams and filthy air with the world's first comprehen- sive strategy to protect the environ- ment, many scientists, economists and Government officials have reached the dismaying conclusion that much of America's environmental program has gone seriously awry. These experts say that in the last 15 years environmental policy has too often evolved largely in reaction to popular panics, not in response to sound scientific analyses of which envi- ronmental hazards present the great- est risks. As a result, many scientists and pub- lic health specialists say, bjllions of dollars are wasted each year in bat- tling problems that are no longer con- sidered especially dangerous, leaving little money for others that cause far more harm. At First, Clear Benefits In the first wave of the modern envi- ronmental movement, starting about 30 years ago, the focus was on broad efforts to eliminate the most visible pollution pouring from smokestacks and sewer pipes - programs with clear goals that had obvious benefits. But a second wave began in the late i 1Q70's, with a new strategy intended limit visible pollution further-and begin attacking invisible threats from toxic substances. To that end, state and Federal gov- ernments began writing sweeping envi- ronmental laws, some of which includ- ed strict regulations to insure that cer- tain toxic compotmds were not present . in air, water or the ground at levels that did not exceed a few parts per billion, concentrations that could be measuted with only the most sophisti- cated equipment. The result was a tangle of reguW- What Price Cleanup? First article o(a series. ~ 2M ` NO AiESPASSING-t.CMTERING YpLATqqa aHL aE P/k74CCUlFtt nv snr.r~n Y#iac em si Times Beach, Mo. w Yurk TI tions that the Environmental Proter tion Agency estimates cost more than $140 biilion a year, roughly $100 billion spent by industry and $40 billion by Government. But what is now becoming apparent, some scientists and public health spe- cialists say, is that some of these laws - written in reaction to popular con- cerns about toxic waste dumps or as- beston:]p the schools, as examples - kr• were based on little if any sound re- search about the true nature of the threat. Since 1980, for instance, thou- sands of regulations were written to restrict compounds that had caused cancer in rats or mice, even though these animal studies often fail to pre- dict how the compounds might affect humans. ' And with rare exceptions, Congres approved new laws without subjecting' them to even rudimentary cost-benefit analyses. One reason was that during the 1980's, when the economy seemed healthier, there was far less pressure on Congress to consider the cost of environmental policy. lNerpriced andMfsgttidedT Now a new Administration intent on strengthining environmental policy Is settling into office when competition for scarce financial resources is keen. At the same time, a wealth of new research shows that some of the na- tion's environmental protection efforts are excessively costly - though no one knows how much of this money is mis- spent - and devoted to the wrong problems. This view is the vanguard of a new, third wave of environmentalism that is sweeping across America. It began In ContftutCtf on PagtAnC0lumn I

~ ~he Ve~u Vark ~;xnte~ ~ ~ i New Debate Over the Environment: 93 Is US. Policy Misguided? ~- 10"imliz ; W!~7 ~ . ~~ ,A _ A principal autibr of the Superfund law of 1980, Gnv. Jim Florio of New Jersey now says that resources are often devoted to making sites pristine.'9t doeen't make any sense to clean up a rail yard fn downtown Newark so it can be a drinking water reservoir," he said, speaking rhetorically, referring to a site like the one abnve. A worker wearing protective clothing as he removed soil contaminated with toxic warte in Columbia. Miss., part of a S20 million Superfund cleanup project. Once completed a child could eat half a teaspoon of dirt every month for 70 years and not get uncer.

Qlhe VPAU Mark Q1i=14 Continued F}m he lalc 190e's amonF farmers, ~ ~owners and mhers who were upset largely by the growing cosl of regulauons that didn't appear to bring any measurable benefns. Corporate execuhves had long Er'en making similar argumems but had gone unheedeQ even during 12 years of Republican rule, because often they were seen as interested only in saving money. Richard J, Mahoney, chairman and chief executive of Monsanto, the chem- ical company, sald the nation may stat listening m Industry now. "People want to know, even with the envi. ronment, what we are getting for our man- ey;" he sxid. "The most positive thing since the election ts that we are beginning to recog. mre Ihal we do have flmte resaurces,and one must make chmces." But leaders of the nation's conservation organnahons believe the new view is mis- Fmded. "We don't need a new paradtgm." said David D. Duniger, a senior lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council, "For 35 ycars, the policy of Ih< Government hes beeo that when there is uncertainty about a tisreet n is beuer to bc safe than sarry. When you are operating at the limus of what acsence knows, the big mistake would be to underesU- mate the real danger and leave people unpro- tected,'• Stlll, in Ihe laat few years the wave has moved into universities,city halla, state capb sab and eren W the highest ievels of the E.P.A., whose Science Advrsory Board in I990 concluded Hlat envlmemenml laws "are more reflective of public perceptions of risk than of scientific understanding of risk." Law Follows Panic Wtlliam K. Redk, the E.P.A. Admtmstrm mr at the time, aRreed. And In a recent mrv,ew in his office at the World Wildfire und, hc argued"People have a right to pect that Wblic officials are making the ight choices for the right reasons. We need to develop a new system for taking action on the environment thal isn't based an respond- ing to the nightly news, What we have had in the United States Is envlronmental agerda- setting by episodic panle." " Richard D, Morgenstern, the acting admin- utramr for policy planning and eveluatbn at Ihe E.P.A., explains the problem this wayl "Gur society ia very reactive, and wheri concerns are raised people want acbon. The problem in a democracy is you can't euily sit idly back and tell people it would be better to leam more" The result, he added, ra that "we're naw in the Posttton of saying In quite a few of nur programs,'tJops, we made a mistake."' President Clinton is clearly aware of this vrew, As Governor of Arkansas, he mntinual- ly complained as a Federal toxic waste cleanup prolect In Jacksonville devoured f25 mdhon In stale. Federal and private money, State offtetais saw nearly a decade of work has produced bttic more than ptles of mchnicai documents. exorbitant legal bills and public discord. To be sure, some of the g1/0 billion the nation Is spending this year pays farenVimn- mentai programs that are indisputably use- ful. As an example, few experts questtan the valueaf spending roughly $3 billion each year on new sewage treatment plants. Many ex. perts, however. question the wisdom of spendsng billions of dollars to protect people from traces of toxic cnmpounds. The new school of thought has blossomed as pollcy makers coniront planetary threats like global warming, ornne depletinn and deforestation in which the consequences of wrong action are much greater. Unless the nation rethmks its approach to envtronmen- tal protectton, some experts say, the Umted Slales could repext its mistakes. "The President is aware of this dilemma, ndlherelsleadershiplnthlsAdmtntstrauon r trying to change the way we do business millgrin every aspeat of governing, including envc ronmevtal promcuon," said Carol M. Browner, the Administrator of the Envrron- mental Protection Ag9nCy. "We have to al- low for change to uccur as new information becomes available This is nol an area where a soluuon wtll fit lorever" Policy Now Costly Solutions Seeking Problems Almost everyane involved, including com- mumty and local envnonmental groups, grees that the toxtc waste program stands as the most wasteful effort of all. Il began IS years ago when the nation rose In revulsion over the dlscovery, of seeptng chemicals at Lore Canal in New York. Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes. In response, Cungress passed two laws: the Superfund law of 1960 and amendments tn the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1984, A decade later, (hose laws have driven fhe Government to spend almost $2 billion a year for the Superfund, which cleans up toxic waste sues, arxi more than ig bHlion more a year on similar programs in mher agencres, even though many of the mtes pose I/tlk if any danger. "Ibes it make sense to spend miliions of dollars cleaning up a site that osrly has a tenlh of an ounce of contaminatmn?" asked Dr. Richard Goodwin, s pHVate environmen- tal engineer in Upper Saddle River, N.J., who has overseen more than 20 toxic waste cleam ups. "I say no. All we're doing in most cases is throwing moncy at a problem without improving public health or the envtron- mem." Hugh B, Kaufman, a hazardous waste spe. cmlist at the E.P A. who helped u er the problem at Love Canal,said that in the few cases in which a sne is near populated areas. "the best thing we can do is evacuate people if they want, then put up a fence and a/lag that says stay away." Mr. Kaufman aaid he knows that his idea repreaenss a marked dtarya In the tnditkn- al viaw tl haw the natbn slsould care for Its land. Bu he and other aaperts qys it does rat mae sense to ckse uplLese wastes at ruats that frequently exceed $10 mlllJan an acre. Even a prlncipal author ol the Superfund ' law, Gov. Jim Florio of New Jerxy, who was chairman of a House environmental subcom. mluee in the 1970 s. 'now argues that the mflextblr mies na.,n that Superfund re are mo often devoted to making sites prtstine. "It doesn't make any sense to clean up a rail yard in downtown Newark so it can be a drinking water reservmr," he said, speaking rhetorically, Toxic waste cleanups are one example of a program gone awry. Here are others: 9Early in the 19g0's, Govemment acien- tists argued that exposure m asbestos could cause thousands of cancer deatha Since as- besms was used as insulatson in schools and public buildings, parents reacted with alarm. So in 1905 Congress approved a sweeping law that led cities and stales to spend between $15 billion and $211 billion to remove asbestos Irnm public buddings. But three years ago, the E.P.A. completed research that promptcd officials to admit that ripping out the nsbcstus had been an expensrve mistake: lhe removal often sent tiny asbestos fibers imo IIIC air. NVN', except in CJSe> when the asbe5 los Is damaged ur crumbling, the Gavern menl's official advice is: Don't touch tt. U In 1982, hhigh concentrations of dtoxin re discovered In the din roads of Times Beach, Mo, near St. Louls Residents were alarmed; the Government had designated dioxln as ose of the mast rmdc subtastces known. The furar nme In the middle of a scandal at the E,P.A.; the a`ency'a chief, Anrx Gorsuch Burford, was eccused of not enforcing environmental law and being too close lo iMustry, And as that scandal domi- naled the news, the Reagan Administration dendcd io ovaruate all 2,24n residents of 1 imvs BcarR a prolect that rost the Govern- inent $37 mllhnn. but new research Indlcales ih,e dioxin mav mn be so dangerous after zll. None of the former resWents of Times Beach have been found to be harmed by dioxtn, and two years ago, Dr. Vernon N, Houk, the Federal official who urged the evacuation, declared that he had made a mistake, Yet even as enormous sums of money were being spent on these problems, Washmgton was doing little about others. Here are two: 9Mercury, a highly toxic metal, has eml- taminated thousands of lakes across the na. tlon, polsonmg wildlife and threatening hu- man health, state environmental officsals say. Twenty states, including New York, have posted warnings at lakes urging people not la eat ihe f¢h because they are tatnled by mercury, which can cause nervaus systum drsordera But dunng debate on the Cleun Alr Act. in 1990, Congress considered limiting mercury emtssrons from roahburntnF elec lnr planls. The lawmakers derided not to an because they beilmyed utilmes had already bcen asked to spend enough to control and ratn. Senate and House leaders said, qln the last two years, several Federal agencles have called exposure to lead the largest environmental threat to the nation's children. Although some scientists dispute that, sevenl studies have shown that lead poisasing N children leads to reduced intevi- gence, karning disabllities and hyperactivi- ty. The mvhlem Is that most houses built before the I9"/0's could have some lead-based pains. and the fear is that children are eaung paint chtps or inhaling lead-laden dust. Some experts have satd removmR the IeaJ paml will cosl at least $YOU bilhon Thts year, the Government wdi spend 5234 million on the problem, far less than it spends on cleaning up towc wastes,

(the 1~rew H,ark Qlintts • National Research Counml of the tvattona! Acartemy of SoMtces. 0 t The Path to Po/icy W hen Politics Mixes With Fear I:vc•n tne adeot:nos nt cbangc acknoui, edge rhat ar xnence e'mlves, experts may change m^.tr vtews agaln on the dangers pnsed by Ihese anu other subtlances. 6ut at the least, "sound s'ctence shou!d be our compass;' as Mr. Reilly put it two yem's ago. Alter all, it was pohUC> mrsmteprelea or waeeurate sctenlffr< luldmgs and A newly mfluenttal natwnal environmental muve ment that combined to eet America down tts present pam. Ourtng the 1970's, the United States had succCssfully dealt with many abvtous envl- ronmantat problems, When the Cuyahoga Rtver /n Cleve/and cauglit fire in 190, as an exampfe, Conpress passed the Ctean Water Act. About tRe same trme came the Clean Air Act,the En6zngeretl Species Act and olher latldmark envtronmental natules - laws that am now widely acclaimed, By the Iate 1976's, many Democrats to COngrMS beltevtd the pebli0 wanted even stnetcr envtronmental )aw. But wlten Roneld Reapan was etected tn 19&0, he promised m mdutt reRulattoa Whde tht White House and Cungre.v batffid m'er tbts. the naUOnal envvonmenla! movemcnL w^th heip trorn the ncws medm, uwk on nce 7ab of warnrng the ItUbt1C about new thre'6la 8nd CrYattng Cam- patgns to enlht popular support for new rogulanans.'fhey were spectacularly effec~ tive at thls, and Cangresx qsxed two dwea 6itts rhhat laid dowwn e welter of mandata, in the 1970's, environmehlfil statutes nM 11 ran mom than 50 yages, tntha 1980's, thde bills seldom numbered fewer than SW pagea The nsson was that Congress wanted tu mandate safety ltmlts so specific that the AEmmiffiratwn eould nnt tgnore ur <vade Shem. Mr. Redly, ttM former E.P,A- chief, csrd he was largety unable to change the c'an'ernmcnt's tmnkmp, deNpttC his strong uprmon thur envrrnnmeatul Fahey was on me wrung caursq beeause "thts represented a prnty srFmfwnat change of d!reetmn •' Legitlmiains Pollution? At the leadmg <nvtrnnmental groups. staff members dispute the davatopeng vrew that envvonmental policy rs off trark, "It's an effort io legdtmtu pollution:'saio Danicl F, 8ecker, dittctor of the Global Warmtng and Energy Program at the Sterta Ch+d "There ate powerful torccs who have an Kanomk stake in detmphaslaing ami- ronmentet damage:" But others who analyze envrmnntenial is. sues said these groups are in danger of becom/ng the green equivalent of the miti- tary lobby, more interested in suwmg tear and protecting wasteful programs than in devising a new course. "we are in danger of losing credibility and thus tozrng public suppart if we don't modify the whole way we go about protecttng pubtic heetllr and the envtronment!'said Dr, bevrs Lce Davte, a s<mor research feltew at the A Case Study Making Dirt Safe to Eat Parhaps no onvrratmenlal prngram has romc under more <rwuam mun thc Super- fand and nz progeny-The Federal programs to clear loutc m' ratltaaarve wastes w/!1 can- sume more than oneyaarter ot the roughly i98 bnipon that the Fedaral Government spends for envrronmental protecuon this year, Experts m and out of tno Gnvernment assnrt,thoug.h,thatmetustlf!ca0ontorthese expen&tures rs oRen quesuanabk. Ginsider the case of Columbia, Miss. The E.P.AA is oversecmg the last phasea ot a $20 mtlhon Superfund cleanup project tDere. LiRe rnany others around the country, this ane was gulded by the Guvernment's as.' sumptton ttwe children wtlleat dirt. LWS o! It. MN from that dirt, the Government fhea rtACd that they cW Id develop canCer, Some evidence suggested that thrs was an caeggerated tancem. In 1931, a study for the Congresstanal Office of Techno!ogy Assess• mant, which has been eadarsed by the Na= nonal Canccr tnstnutc, found that on!y I to a pcnantni all cancers m people arecaused by exposum to toxto chemtea!s tn the envirom ment. Thts findtng, however, has had ttufe mfinen" en Fedoral policy. 1LC qrnblem in Columbia was an 91,a6re atte that over tts long hfe had been home to a lumber nulf, a naval turpentine and plne tar Ptant and a chemical manufaeturen gmt tests taken rn 19gs showed cractx of campamde the Gnvernment defines as haa. ardwa. Ttn; concentrations rarely exacade.l 50 parts per mtiliaq or abmh two ounces of chemicats mixed in a ton of soit, But that level eaceeded the Federal timit, and tbe E,PA• placed the land an as tiat ofdangerous taxle waste siles. Some expertx told the H.P-A. that such ttny amounu of tamammauon were harmless. Thrv sard 1he .r,tfeat and most e,conomeal wav or sotve mc problem wouid be to spread a Iuycr nt elesnet se9 entl rall rt a day. The Cnsc atputal mbhon. But Iwo years ago, the E.P•A. settled on the moat eapensrve possible so/utlon. The Gov. ernMem ordered Reichhold Chemical, the plant's former owner, lo dig up more Nanm II,500 tons nf sod and haul most of /t to a: tGmmerCtal dump in (Anlslana- t$p dJmQr' truck loads, eaeb one cosung $7,=0D. E.P A, officials sId they wanted to make, the site safe enough to be used for any. purposa, including houses - thuugh uo uk" was pn>1losing to buitd anyth{ng there. With" that as the goel, the agency wanted to me$et sure children could play in the dirt, even eat it, wnhout nsk. And since a chemical m tha: dtrt had been shown to cause fancer In refs„ the agancy eet a hmit low enough that a ehildv could eat half a teaspoon of dirt every mnniA fm' 70 years and not get cancer, ' I,ast month, the E.P,A officials acklrow6i edged that at feast half of the $14 b111Hm 014 . nation nas spent on Superfund cleanups was used In comply wdh similar ^dv4eating rulas," as Lhty call them"1 don't thrnk any way yuu laok at this it emtttl bc seen as a pracncat saluuon;'saitl W. Seml Pbinrps, an engineer with Malcolm pvnm, an enwronmenta! planning company that manaFes thu cleanup "It's a.lot af mpmy to spend moving dm:" Ne%t: 7 he dabnlc nver nCmn dumptng.