The Magnitude And Costs Of Groundwater Contamination From Agricultural Chemicals

Excerpt from The Magnitude and Costs of Groundwater Contamination From Agricultural Chemicals: A National Perspective This report assesses the scope and costs of groundwater contamination caused by agricultural fertilizers and pesticides in the United States. While other agricultural activities such as livestock operations may contaminate groundwater in some localities, we focus on crop chemicals because of their broad-scale use across diverse regions of the country. We combine data from a variety of sources to develop an overview of regions potentially affected by agriculturally induced chemical contamination of groundwater. The report also summarizes the types of damages incurred by agriculturally polluted groundwater along with an appraisal of the costs of preventing potential damages to health and property. The costs of these damages represent the benefits of groundwater protection. The policies and programs now being put into place by several States, including Arizona, California, and Wisconsin, and under discussion by other States and the u.s. Environmental Protection Agency (epa), require a better understanding of the benefits of groundwater protection. Only when the benefits are well understood can they be compared with the social and agricultural costs of alternative prevention and control measures, leading to the identification of efficient policy options. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.