SDG Detail

Toxics, Toxic Torts and Environmental Injustice

None

Project description

(CORE, WP) This course will expose students to common law and administrative approaches for addressing actual and potential public health and environmental harms from toxic substances. The course will begin by examining concepts of risk assessment and risk management. Next, the course will look at common law approaches, including theories of liability, causation, admissibility of evidence, proximate cause, damages, and defenses. The course will then review in-depth federal laws to address these issues, such as statutes that cover solid and hazardous waste (RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund)) and potentially toxic products (FIFRA, TSCA). Throughout the course, students will learn about how individuals and groups, including low-income and people-of-color communities, have sought redress for the toxic exposures they have faced. The course is a complement to Professor Kim�s Environmental Law: Air, Water, and Animals course; neither is a prerequisite for the other, and the two share little overlap. A series of research papers is required. Participation may be considered in final grading.