The environmental impacts of acid rain: on human health, on buildings and materials, on forests, freshwaters, crops and biodiversity and on global warming have been well-documented. Less is known about the extent and economic costs of these impacts. This book describes the first major implementation of an integrated scientific and economic assessment of the consequences of acid rain. It provides an extensive data review and examines how this unique approach to assessment modelling can be can be used to calculate an acidification cost per unit of pollutant in monetary terms. Part One focuses on the methodological issues of scientific measurement of acidification, dose-response relationships and economic approaches to acidification control. Part Two looks at the environmental impacts and economic consequences of acidification. Affected environmental media and human health are investigated in separate chapters, each including both scientific and economic analyses. Part Three provides a summary of the findings and makes recommendations for further application of these types of results to policy actions.

Economic literature is often too theoretical for engineers and policymakers to put into practical use, while scientific literature on the remediation of contaminated aquifers rarely considers costs and benefits. Written by a hydrogeologist and an economist, The Economics of Groundwater Remediation and Protection integrates economics and cost-benefit analysis tools with optimal protection and remediation strategies for groundwater resources. The book provides a thorough introduction of the concepts of groundwater flow and contaminant transport, and the basics of economic decision making techniques. It illustrates the types of risks and impacts caused by groundwater contamination, and the economic benefits of its remediation. The volume reviews a wide range of issues such as cost, implementation, and expectations of success for the latest remediation trends and techniques. The book shows how economic analysis can be used to determine how much we should pay for groundwater clean-up, and when spending too much - or too little - actually makes us all worse-off. The authors' step-by-step methodology for decision-making focuses on determining optimal remedial objectives, from containment to extensive cleanup, and the selection of least-cost alternatives. They use examples from their personal experience to illustrate the methodologies in action and put the issues into perspective. Combining the theoretical and practical aspects of science, policy, and economics, this book places the importance of groundwater remediation in the context of environmental economics, protection, and preservation. The Economics of Groundwater Remediation and Protection is also an excellent introduction to innovativesolutions for funding remediation projects, education, and incentive programs, such as mitigation banking, land pollution credit schemes, and conservation credit alternatives.