ABSTRACT
As the world’s population grows, industrial activities continue to degrade land and water at a faster pace. But, reclaiming contaminated land and repairing polluted aquifers can be expensive, technically difficult, and time consuming.1,2 Deciding if and when to remediate, and to what degree, can be regarded in the context of alternative environmentally and socially beneficial actions. What else could be done with the money required to restore a site or aquifer? Could we purchase and preserve several acres of rain forest or other valuable natural habitat? Which would provide the greatest benefit to society? And then, what are the commercial realities facing those who are called on to pay for the restoration of contaminated sites?
