ABSTRACT
Commencing in the 1950s, a gradual awareness arose in the U.S. public’s mind that environmental hazards might be harmful to human health, an awareness that helped in the enactment of various federal and state laws to control environmental hazards. The enactment of individual laws that now constitute the main body of federal environmental law has occurred over a half century of public concern, legislative enactment, executive branch implementation, and judicial interpretation. This body of law did not occur without heated debate and impassioned feelings. In particular, environmental groups and business organizations were often at odds as how to deal with specifi c environmental hazards, usually leading legislative bodies like the U.S. Congress to seek legislative language that negotiated the differences between business and environmental groups.
