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Well the votes are in and your views have been tabulated. A total of 24
responses were received to our survey about the stringency of
environmental and safety laws and enforcement. One point of note was
in the consistency of responses among regulators, consultants, and those
working in industry. It was only in the question on plant safety where
people working in industry were much more likely to describe working
conditions as safe and problems with industrial accidents as overrated.
Both consultants and regulators were more likely to seek new restrictions
and describe industrial accidents as a significant problem.
Without further ado, here are the survey
results.
1. Characterize your views about existing Environmental Laws.
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Existing laws are not strict enough: pollution is still a serious problem and even when businesses are in compliance we still must do more. |
42% |
| Existing laws are ok and we need to only incrementally refine the requirements through further rulemaking. |
17% |
| Existing laws and regulations are fine the way they are. Don't make any more changes. |
13% |
| Existing laws are strict enough but regulators are creating rules that Congress never intended and should be rolled back. |
25% |
| It is time to look at all environmental laws and repeal them or drastically reform them in favor of government/business voluntary cooperative agreements. |
0% |
| Don't Know/No Answer |
4% |
2. How would you describe the enforcement of Environmental Laws?
| Enforcement is a joke. Government action is only taken in response to an emergency and even when companies are penalized, the amount of the fine is a slap on the wrist. |
38% |
| There are always criticisms of enforcement, but on balance the amount of money spent on it is about right. |
42% |
| Enforcement is too tough and it is costing us jobs and passing along unacceptably high costs to consumers. |
4% |
| Don't Know/No Answer |
17% |
3. Characterize your views about existing Plant Safety/Industrial Hygiene Laws.
| Industrial safety laws are too weak; accidents are still a problem and we should create new restrictions. |
17% |
| Industrial safety is still a major problem, but the solution is for companies to adhere to existing requirements, not create new ones. |
75% |
| We have very safe work conditions and problems with industrial accidents is overrated; we should leave existing rules and requirements alone. |
8% |
| Safety rules are too prescriptive and strict. We should roll them back and let employers decide what is best or at least substantially reform existing rules. |
0% |
| Don't Know/No Answer |
0% |
4. How Would you describe outside enforcement of Plant Safety/Industrial Hygiene Laws?
| Enforcement is a joke. Government action is only taken in response to an emergency and even when companies are penalized, the amount of the fine is a slap on the wrist. |
29% |
| There are always criticisms of enforcement, but on balance the amount of money spent on it is about right. |
63% |
| Enforcement is too tough and it is costing us jobs and passing along unacceptably high costs to consumers. |
0% |
| Don't Know/No Answer |
8% |
5. How do you react when you hear about a facility closing down because of environmental restrictions?
| Inefficient, dirty plants should close down; that is
the price we pay for a cleaner environment. |
63% |
| Jobs are too scarce and plants are too important for
the country's welfare; We should give some companies a break if the
decision is between shutting down and operating in a way that does
not meet requirements. |
29% |
| Environmental laws place us in a competitive
disadvantage and plant closures are just the most visible sign. We
should roll back environmental rules, or all the industrial jobs
will go overseas. |
4% |
| Don't Know/No Answer |
4% |
AcuSafe is a presentation of
AcuTech Consulting,
©2002, All Rights Reserved
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