The Regulation of Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes

This casebook provides a political, economic, and scientific context for toxic substance and hazardous waste law, along with key toxics statutes. Detailed consideration of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act are included, and different approaches to toxics regulation are described and analyzed. The text of CERCLA, the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act," is also included. This casebook focuses on the unique environmental effects of, and the consequent problems of regulating, toxic substances and hazardous wastes. It is suitable for use both in first courses in environmental law (in law schools where the introductory course covers two semesters, for example) and in advanced courses in toxic torts, chemical and pesticides regulation, hazardous waste law, or risk regulation. The casebook provides foundational material on risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and other regulatory tools. It then covers in detail the numerous judge-made, statutory, and administrative regimes that regulate the life cycle of toxic substances production, use, discharge, disposal, environmental remediation, and compensation. Throughout, the casebook emphasizes scientific, policy, scholarly, and topical materials, in addition to the traditional cases, statutes, and regulations. Problems in every chapter help to develop issues raised in the text.