ALLOCATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION FUNDS USING ECONOMIC RISK-COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS - A CASE-STUDY

Efficient allocation of remediation resources is a critical need throu ghout the nation. Economic risk-cost-benefit analysis is an important tool for meeting this need. This paper provides site engineers, geolog ists. and managers with a conceptual understanding of economic risk-co st-benefit analysis and shows how it can be applied, even in situation s where existing data are sparse or poor in quality. An example analys is is applied to the remediation of radioactive waste at Oak Ridge Nat ional Laboratory, in which the cost-effectiveness is compared for two remediation alternatives: containment of the waste or monitoring only. A data-worth analysis is also carried out to estimate the maximum jus tifiable exploration budget and the cost-effectiveness of two proposed data collection programs. Results indicate that the methodology has p otential in making robust remediation decisions regarding certain type s of questions.