Stefania Tonin

Paying for Permanence: Public Preferences for Contaminated Site Cleanup

We use conjoint choice questions to investigate the preferences of people in four cities in Italy for income and future/permanent mortality risk reductions delivered by contaminated site remediation policies. The VSL is €5.6 million for an immediate risk reduction. If the risk reduction takes place 20 years from now, the implied VSL is €1.26 million. Respondents’ implicit discount rate is 7%. The VSL depends on respondent characteristics, familiarity with contaminated sites, concern about the health effects of exposure to toxicants, having a family member with cancer, perceived usefulness of public programs and beliefs about the goals of government remediation programs.

The Benefits of Contaminated Site Cleanup Revisited: The Case of Naples and Caserta, Italy

Guerriero and Cairns (2009) recently estimate that contaminated sites and improper waste management result in 848 excess deaths per year in the provinces of Naples and Caserta in Southern Italy, 403 of which are fatal cancers. In the absence of estimates of the Value of a Prevented Fatality (VPF) in Italy or specific to the hazardous waste context, they use figures recommended by DG-Environment. Contrary to their claims, estimates of the VPF are available for Italy that are specific to the hazardous waste context, and for causes of death that have been linked to contaminated site exposures. We review them in this paper. We also produce new estimates of the cancer VPF using data from a recent survey conducted in Milan, Italy, in late November to mid-December 2008. The evidence points to much higher VPF figures than the ones used by Guerriero and Cairns, and hence to much larger estimates of the reduced mortality benefits of remediating the hazardous waste in the Naples and Caserta areas. We also examine the importance of the discount rates, since the mortality benefits of remediation begin in 20 years and are assumed to continue over 30 years.

A Joint Probability Density Function for Reducing the Uncertainty of Marginal Social Cost of Carbon Evaluation in Transport Planning

This chapter aims at defining a fair value for the Marginal Social Cost of Carbon (MSCC) to be used within transport planning, briefly discussing how it is influenced by economic and scientific uncertainty, with the scope of helping researchers, stakeholders and decision makers to choose among the current range of values of four orders of magnitude provided from the scientific literature. The method here proposed estimates a joint probability density function for MSCC using a database of almost 600 available estimates, and then defines a subsample of 80 to be used for the evaluation of transport planning policies and projects, so that the variability of MSCC decreases significantly to a single order of magnitude.

The value of reducing cancer risks at contaminated sites: are more knowledgeable people willing to pay more?

We use conjoint choice questions to investigate peoples tastes for cancer risk reductions and income in the context of public programs that would provide for remediation at abandoned industrial contaminated sites. Our survey was self-administered using the computer by persons living in the vicinity of an important contaminated site on the Italian National Priority List. The value of a prevented case of cancer is €2.6 million, but this figure does vary with income, perceived exposure to contaminants, and respondent opinions about priorities that should be pursued by cleanup programs.

Testing Newman and Kenworthy’s Theory of Density and Automobile Dependence:

This study tests four hypotheses related to the much-cited work on density and automobile dependence by Newman and Kenworthy, using multivariate analysis and data for 157 large US urbanized areas. We find that density alone explains only a small fraction of the variation in vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and many confounders account for the differences in automobile dependence. We also find that it is not the localized density of individual neighborhoods that causes VMT to be lower in compact urbanized areas but rather the relative accessibility of neighborhoods to the rest of the region.

A use-chain model to deal with uncertainties. A focus on GHG emission inventories

ABSTRACT The measurements necessary to estimate GHG emission inventories create uncertainty. Currently emission inventories are built on statistical data, parameters and some “other information.” Investigating the role of the latter has driven this analysis, since it has proven to be a key concept in understanding and reducing uncertainty. This article proposes a use-chain model to guide researchers in choosing the appropriate available method to deal with uncertainty. The model involves three main parts: data production, data analysis and data use. The findings suggest, first, that statistical techniques, although crucial, do not represent the only possible way to reduce uncertainty; and, second, that the appropriate way to deal with uncertainty depends on whether one is dealing with data production or data analysis or data use, each characterized by a different degree of specificity and by a different influence of the surrounding context.

Redeveloping industrial land: are contamination and remediation schemes affecting the price of industrial real estate properties?

Redeveloping industrial land may run across obstacles, even within the same land-use designation, because previous industrial activities jeopardised the quality of the site. Contamination of soil and water is an example. Using a hedonic price method, this paper explores the effect of contamination and alternative remediation schemes on the industrial real estate property market. We consider the case of Porto Marghera in the Lagoon of Venice, a large and complex contaminated site listed on the Italian National Priority List (NPL). Our results indicate that the industrial real estate market rewards properties with a complete and certified clean-up scheme, while proximity to properties remediated with the ‘permanent safety containment measures’ negatively affects the selling price of nearby industrial properties. Characteristics of the properties, such as size, location, accessibility and other relevant economic indicators, do matter in explaining price differentials.

Knowledge About, Importance of, and Attitudes Towards Industrial Brownfield Re-use

The aim of this paper is to investigate people’s attitudes towards and knowledge about the remediation and re-use of brownfield sites. In order to understand people’s opinions, we administered a questionnaire to 400 residents in the surroundings of Venice. We applied factor analysis to gain better understanding of the structure underlying the respondents’ answers to a set of Likert-scale questions on the possible effects of redeveloping abandoned and contaminated sites. We also conducted a multivariate stepwise regression analysis to define the social structure variables that can best explain people’s attitudes towards environmental issues. Results show that people are mostly motivated by environmental considerations when asked about brownfields reuse.

Brownfields Remediation and Reuse: An Opportunity for Urban Sustainable Development

This paper focuses on brownfields remediation and reuse strategies as opportunities to favour environmental protection, improvement of economic and social conditions and enhancement of human health and safety. The reuse of brownfield sites can also promote and encourage urban sustainable development practices. Land management and soil protection are common priorities for all the modern Governments and the experience achieved by Western countries in this field may be of some utility for a sustainable urban regeneration policy in China. Finally, an overview of the main costs and benefits of brownfield redevelopment and cleanup projects and a brief introduction to the issue related to the economic valuation methodology used to quantify them will be investigated and discussed.

A screening procedure to measure the effect of uncertainty in air emission estimates

Emission inventories are compiled at regional level. When these sources of information are used, uncertainty of emission estimates is never considered. In this paper, we propose an initial screening to identify whether and to what extent uncertainty related to emission inventories affects quantitative analysis used to set strategies and implement actions at regional and subregional levels. We consider the regional air emission inventory of the Piedmont region in Italy. For each pollutant and each sector, uncertainty is calculated by adapting the insurance-based method. A hybrid accounting matrix is built, three environmental themes are analyzed, and a shift-share analysis is undertaken considering jointly air emission estimates and the number of employees at regional and provincial levels. The same procedure is undertaken for data processed with and without uncertainty. Based on the obtained outcomes, few comments are drawn in order to reach some general conclusion to feed discussion on the importance of integrating and prioritizing uncertainty into decision-making at subnational level.