The Cost of Protecting Occupational Health: The Asbestos Case

Abstract

This paper estimates the cost of reducing the mortality risks from asbestos exposure. We use a dose-response model to predict cancer-related fatalities caused by exposure to asbestos. We then estimate the cost of controlling these exposures in the workplace and calculate the cost per life saved at different exposure levels. We argue that current government regulation in the United States and Canada controlling the amount of asbestos to which a worker may be exposed yields a cost per life saved far in excess of the costs for occupational accidents