Toward a Working Solution to Global Pollution: Importing CERCLA to Regulate the Export of Hazardous Waste

Abstract

Industrialized countries are exporting significant amounts of hazardous waste for disposal in foreign nations. This practice leads to the export of environmental and public health problems associated with the disposal of hazardous substances, and it poisons diplomatic relations between importing and exporting nations. These problems are exacerbated, moreover, when the importing nation lacks the resources or technical infrastructure to ensure the safe disposal of waste exports. The failure of the international community to formulate an effective and comprehensive response to hazardous waste exports necessitates a search for alternative solutions to this kind of global pollution. One such alternative is the extraterritorial application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), a domestic environmental liability law, to United States waste export activity.