Tens of thousands of sites across the country are contaminated with toxic chemicals. Environmentalists warn that this legacy of carelessness is seriously affecting both human health and the ecological balance. Their demand for regulatory control has received wide public support, leading to the passage of the Superfund legislation in 1980. Twenty years later, the value of the Superfund program is being challenged by corporate America, which argues that excessive cleanup costs have the potential to bankrupt the nation.

R. Allan Freeze outlines the difficulties faced in the management of hazardous waste and offers a balanced account of the controversy over the effect of environmental contamination on human health. Freeze clarifies what matters and what doesn't with respect to chemical contaminants in the environment, arguing that environmental policies should be based on an accurate appraisal of the risks associated with these toxins. He concludes the book with a brilliant summation of the good and bad news on environmental pollution, describing what can and can't be done to strike a healthy balance.