Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis

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The overall goal of this cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is to determine if purchasing the manufacturing facility, cleaning up the spill, and the income generated from said building will be worth the expenditures. In other words, is the cost and effort going to payoff in the end?
To conduct an effective cost-benefit analysis a thorough study of the grounds and building where the spill occurred would need to be completed. Since we have a hypothetical of the spill and associated damage done I, as the Environmental & Safety Manager, would put together an outline or type of plan of action to ensure I cover all necessary steps necessary to conduct a thorough cost benefit analysis.
The first step in conducting the CBA is to define the problem and conduct a survey of the area. This we discussed earlier. Will the profit from the manufacturing processes eventually outweigh the cost of purchasing the building and cleaning up the spill? The survey needs to examine the characteristics of the contamination problem and associated solutions to determine what might be appropriate for a particular site, and if any further analysis requirements are necessary. There are many variables to consider in just this step of the CBA. For instance, we know the extent and degree of contamination, but we need to identify a number of possible remediation techniques to get rid of said contamination. Below are a few options of possible remedial action:
Remedial option A: Excavation of soil and disposal off-site (ex situ). Possible cut-off trench to prevent further migration.
Remedial option B: Natural bioremediation (in situ); soil vapour extraction and activated carbon treatment of emissions.
Remedial option C: Demolish the manufacturing facility, remove the main...

... middle of paper ...

...erform a cost-benefit analysis, this is used when an impact can be readily valued in an economic term. For each remediation option, the calculated money sum of benefits can then be compared to the money sum of costs to assist in the determination of whether the benefits outweigh the costs. When the benefits are greater than the costs, then an option is justified in economic terms. Therefore, the option providing the greatest level of benefits over costs, when compared to the alternative is going to be the most preferred option for site remediation.

Works Cited

DEQ. (2013). Environmental Cleanup. Retrieved from Oregon Department of Envriornmental Quality: natural bioremediation; soil vapour and water extraction; activated carbon treatment of emissions
Postle, M. F. (1999). Cost-Benefit Analysis for Remediation of Land Contamination. Bristol: Environment Agency.

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