Despite numerous small success stories, the big picture of America’s toxics programs is one of overall failure. Superfund has failed to Clean up America’s worst dump sites; policies to regulate generation of new hazardous waste have foundered; standards have been set for only eight of several hundred air toxics; transportation spills and industrial accidents continue unabated. In part, this “superfailure†reflects problems of bureaucratic implementation, but more importantly, it points to a failing of democratic discourse, technical risk assessment, and ultimately, the political...