Manufacturers have been increasingly relying on environmental management systems (such as ISO 14001 based ones) to comply with government regulations and reduce waste. In this paper, we investigated the impact of ISO 14001 certification on manufacturers’ toxic release by release level. We applied the censored quantile instrumental variable estimator (CQIV) to data on the U.S. transportation equipment manufacturing subsector facilities. Results show that ISO 14001 had a negative and statistically significant effect on the top 10% manufacturing sites in terms of on-site toxic release, but it did not reduce off-site toxic release. Therefore, one should not expect ISO 14001 to have a uniform impact on manufacturing sites’ environmental performance. For large firms, encouraging voluntary adoption of ISO 14001 might be an effective government strategy to reduce on-site pollution. However, for small firms and for the purpose of reducing off-site pollution, other economic incentives or regulations are warranted.
{"title":"ISO-14001 Standard and Firms' Environmental Performance: Evidence from the U.S. Transportation Equipment Manufacturers","authors":"M. Nemati, Yuqing Zheng, Wuyang Hu","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2932347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2932347","url":null,"abstract":"Manufacturers have been increasingly relying on environmental management systems (such as ISO 14001 based ones) to comply with government regulations and reduce waste. In this paper, we investigated the impact of ISO 14001 certification on manufacturers’ toxic release by release level. We applied the censored quantile instrumental variable estimator (CQIV) to data on the U.S. transportation equipment manufacturing subsector facilities. Results show that ISO 14001 had a negative and statistically significant effect on the top 10% manufacturing sites in terms of on-site toxic release, but it did not reduce off-site toxic release. Therefore, one should not expect ISO 14001 to have a uniform impact on manufacturing sites’ environmental performance. For large firms, encouraging voluntary adoption of ISO 14001 might be an effective government strategy to reduce on-site pollution. However, for small firms and for the purpose of reducing off-site pollution, other economic incentives or regulations are warranted.","PeriodicalId":307111,"journal":{"name":"SRPN: Toxins (Topic)","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122044298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trans-Nzoia county covers an area 2,469.90 Km2 with a total Population of 818,757 (Male 50%, Female 50%) and a poverty index of 5.2% (KNBS, 2011). The main economic activities in Tran-Nzoia county include horticulture, large and small scale maize farming , wheat farming, Tea, Coffee and fish farming. Effluents released from sewage treatment plant contain toxic metal pollutant whose uptake by vegetables is governed by their availability and concentration in the soil. Therefore such vegetables may accumulate pollutants in excessive amounts and this can ultimately, adversely harm humans and other species that depend on such crops for food. An evaluation of the variation of pollutant levels in vegetables and soil samples Bidii and Taito area in Kitale has been done. Two vegetable samples of were freshly harvested from two farms within the vicinity of Kitale municipality, Trans Nzoia county. The concentration of heavy metals which include, Pb, Cu, Zn and Cr, were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Levels of some anions (nitrate and phosphate) were determined using Uv-Vis Spectrophotometer. The heavy metal amounts detected in soils ranged between 0.544-0.396 mg/kg of Cu, 6.288-1.093 mg/kg of Zn, 4.588-0.988 mg/kg of Pb and 1.167-0.297 mg/kg of Cr. In the case of vegetables, they ranged from 1.110-0.224 mg/kg of Cu, 1.365-0.101 mg/kg of Zn, 1.842-0.859 mg/kg of Pb and 0.938-0.020 mg/kg of Cr. The concentrations of the anions ranged between 2.06-1.88 mg/kg nitrate and 4.99-4.66 mg/kg of phosphate in soils and 3.202-2.176 mg/kg of nitrate and 3.342-2.839 mg/kg of phosphate in vegetables. Overall, the present study showed that the heavy metal levels in soil were below the WHO permissible levels. However, the levels of Pb and Cr in vegetables were found to be above the WHO permissible levels. The high values might be attributed to the use of untreated effluents from the sewage treatment plant by farmers for the irrigation of these vegetables. Thus, the high values of these trace metals in the vegetable samples could put the consumers of these vegetables at health risk. Further works should be carried out in the soil samples were the vegetables are grown.
{"title":"Heavy Metals, Phosphates and Nitrates Levels in Vegetables: A Case Study of Kitale Municipality, Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya","authors":"K. Wamalwa","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2761575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2761575","url":null,"abstract":"Trans-Nzoia county covers an area 2,469.90 Km2 with a total Population of 818,757 (Male 50%, Female 50%) and a poverty index of 5.2% (KNBS, 2011). The main economic activities in Tran-Nzoia county include horticulture, large and small scale maize farming , wheat farming, Tea, Coffee and fish farming. Effluents released from sewage treatment plant contain toxic metal pollutant whose uptake by vegetables is governed by their availability and concentration in the soil. Therefore such vegetables may accumulate pollutants in excessive amounts and this can ultimately, adversely harm humans and other species that depend on such crops for food. An evaluation of the variation of pollutant levels in vegetables and soil samples Bidii and Taito area in Kitale has been done. Two vegetable samples of were freshly harvested from two farms within the vicinity of Kitale municipality, Trans Nzoia county. The concentration of heavy metals which include, Pb, Cu, Zn and Cr, were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Levels of some anions (nitrate and phosphate) were determined using Uv-Vis Spectrophotometer. The heavy metal amounts detected in soils ranged between 0.544-0.396 mg/kg of Cu, 6.288-1.093 mg/kg of Zn, 4.588-0.988 mg/kg of Pb and 1.167-0.297 mg/kg of Cr. In the case of vegetables, they ranged from 1.110-0.224 mg/kg of Cu, 1.365-0.101 mg/kg of Zn, 1.842-0.859 mg/kg of Pb and 0.938-0.020 mg/kg of Cr. The concentrations of the anions ranged between 2.06-1.88 mg/kg nitrate and 4.99-4.66 mg/kg of phosphate in soils and 3.202-2.176 mg/kg of nitrate and 3.342-2.839 mg/kg of phosphate in vegetables. Overall, the present study showed that the heavy metal levels in soil were below the WHO permissible levels. However, the levels of Pb and Cr in vegetables were found to be above the WHO permissible levels. The high values might be attributed to the use of untreated effluents from the sewage treatment plant by farmers for the irrigation of these vegetables. Thus, the high values of these trace metals in the vegetable samples could put the consumers of these vegetables at health risk. Further works should be carried out in the soil samples were the vegetables are grown.","PeriodicalId":307111,"journal":{"name":"SRPN: Toxins (Topic)","volume":"111 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115849614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Davodi-Far, S. Fleisher, M. Campbell, Gary Geiler
The economic future of Southeast San Diego is uncertain, as the Redevelopment Agency tries to solve a myriad of issues surrounding a residential area versus an industrial zone. The agency seeks to "...enhance the community's cultural and ethnic qualities." Adjacent to this ideal, is the need to market to outside investors, who would be interested in establishing a business in a diverse community, without infringing upon the rights of residents. They will address public safety (during construction projects), beautification of the neighborhood, affordable housing (low-income and senior), and the establishment of cultural education centers. Special attention will be given to the prevention of toxins entering the water supply and other health-related matters.
{"title":"Political Economy of Environmental Justice: A Case Study of the Environmental, Economic, and Political Implications Facing the Redevelopment Agency","authors":"M. Davodi-Far, S. Fleisher, M. Campbell, Gary Geiler","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2270264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2270264","url":null,"abstract":"The economic future of Southeast San Diego is uncertain, as the Redevelopment Agency tries to solve a myriad of issues surrounding a residential area versus an industrial zone. The agency seeks to \"...enhance the community's cultural and ethnic qualities.\" Adjacent to this ideal, is the need to market to outside investors, who would be interested in establishing a business in a diverse community, without infringing upon the rights of residents. They will address public safety (during construction projects), beautification of the neighborhood, affordable housing (low-income and senior), and the establishment of cultural education centers. Special attention will be given to the prevention of toxins entering the water supply and other health-related matters.","PeriodicalId":307111,"journal":{"name":"SRPN: Toxins (Topic)","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114630072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.
{"title":"Fetal Exposure to Toxic Releases and Infant Health","authors":"J. Currie, Johannes F. Schmieder","doi":"10.3386/w14352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/w14352","url":null,"abstract":"Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.","PeriodicalId":307111,"journal":{"name":"SRPN: Toxins (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129212433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This note discusses harm allocation in environmental regulation, focusing on the regulation of toxic substances and observes cost/benefit analysis shifts such regulation from a proxy liability rule, with the entitlement given to the bearer of the protected body, to a proxy property rule, with the entitlement held by toxics producers. In regulating toxics, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others must set "acceptable" levels of risk posed by toxic substances, i.e., determine how much cancer is worth the benefits of a given toxic substance. Most discussions of toxics regulation, however, focus on the "science" of risk assessment and the politics of risk management, thus missing the heart of EPA's harm allocation effort: the initial decision of how much harm is to be allowed -- how many people are to die. Part I proposes a new framework for understanding toxic risk allocation with a focus on "risk determination," the process of quantifying "significant" risk. Historically, EPA has usually determined that only de minimis levels of risk (generally defined as one death per million exposed individuals) are acceptable for most toxic substances. This determination, though not one of zero risk, still legitimizes the subterfuge of "good science" -- the myth that EPA is only measuring safety -- and suggests that, when the state controls harm allocation, no nonnegligible amount of death is acceptable. Safety supposedly determines the level of harm allocation. Cost-benefit based reforms of the regulatory process fundamentally alter this ethical and political orientation, as discussed in Part II. By requiring that regulations "justify their cost," they shift risk allocation from a process of determining a de minimis risk level and measuring how much of a toxin yields that amount, to one of defining acceptable risk itself as the amount that is profitable for industry to produce. Obviously, this shift creates enormous practical problems; most immediately, EPA would have to decide how to quantify the "benefit" of freedom from cancer. Yet with the analytical framework provided by this Note, it is clear that the problems with such reforms are ethical as well. Cost-benefit analysis used in this way affects risk determination as well as risk assessment and management, thus redirecting the entire risk allocation process. In effect, cost benefit risk determination shifts toxic regulation from a proxy liability rule, with the entitlement given to the bearer of the protected body, to a proxy property rule, with the entitlement held by toxics producers. This note concludes by suggesting that, as regulatory reform continues to be debated in Washington, such ethical agons may be avoided through less hasty reform of environmental regulation and a clearer understanding of the subtle structural and ethical distinctions within the regulatory process.
{"title":"Rethinking Regulatory Reform: Toxics, Politics, and Ethics","authors":"Jay Michaelson","doi":"10.2307/797236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/797236","url":null,"abstract":"This note discusses harm allocation in environmental regulation, focusing on the regulation of toxic substances and observes cost/benefit analysis shifts such regulation from a proxy liability rule, with the entitlement given to the bearer of the protected body, to a proxy property rule, with the entitlement held by toxics producers. In regulating toxics, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others must set \"acceptable\" levels of risk posed by toxic substances, i.e., determine how much cancer is worth the benefits of a given toxic substance. Most discussions of toxics regulation, however, focus on the \"science\" of risk assessment and the politics of risk management, thus missing the heart of EPA's harm allocation effort: the initial decision of how much harm is to be allowed -- how many people are to die. Part I proposes a new framework for understanding toxic risk allocation with a focus on \"risk determination,\" the process of quantifying \"significant\" risk. Historically, EPA has usually determined that only de minimis levels of risk (generally defined as one death per million exposed individuals) are acceptable for most toxic substances. This determination, though not one of zero risk, still legitimizes the subterfuge of \"good science\" -- the myth that EPA is only measuring safety -- and suggests that, when the state controls harm allocation, no nonnegligible amount of death is acceptable. Safety supposedly determines the level of harm allocation. Cost-benefit based reforms of the regulatory process fundamentally alter this ethical and political orientation, as discussed in Part II. By requiring that regulations \"justify their cost,\" they shift risk allocation from a process of determining a de minimis risk level and measuring how much of a toxin yields that amount, to one of defining acceptable risk itself as the amount that is profitable for industry to produce. Obviously, this shift creates enormous practical problems; most immediately, EPA would have to decide how to quantify the \"benefit\" of freedom from cancer. Yet with the analytical framework provided by this Note, it is clear that the problems with such reforms are ethical as well. Cost-benefit analysis used in this way affects risk determination as well as risk assessment and management, thus redirecting the entire risk allocation process. In effect, cost benefit risk determination shifts toxic regulation from a proxy liability rule, with the entitlement given to the bearer of the protected body, to a proxy property rule, with the entitlement held by toxics producers. This note concludes by suggesting that, as regulatory reform continues to be debated in Washington, such ethical agons may be avoided through less hasty reform of environmental regulation and a clearer understanding of the subtle structural and ethical distinctions within the regulatory process.","PeriodicalId":307111,"journal":{"name":"SRPN: Toxins (Topic)","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116504109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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