Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Risk-Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Atrazine In Drinking Water From Agricultural Activities And Policy Implications, Aklilu A. Tesfamichael, Arthur J. Caplan, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

This study provides an improved methodology for investigating the trade‐offs between the health risks and economic benefits of using atrazine in the agricultural sector by incorporating public attitude to pesticide management in the analysis. Regression models are developed to predict finished water atrazine concentration in high‐risk community water supplies in the United States. The predicted finished water atrazine concentrations are then used in a health risk assessment. The computed health risks are compared with the total economic surplus in the U.S. corn market for different atrazine application rates using estimated demand and supply functions developed in this work. Analysis of …