Protecting the environment by placing limits on the amount of pollution that can be tolerated without endangering the health and welfare of human beings and the ecological systems in which we live is an important issue in public policy decisionmaking. It involves regulatory and financial assistance programs to control and abate hazardous wastes, toxic chemicals, and other pollutants that seep into the nation's water, contaminate the land, and poison the air. Which pollutants and what levels of controls are needed, how to balance environmental protection with other equally desirable national goals, and how to maximize the billions of dollars spent on environmental controls--all represent important national concerns. The bibliography includes information on U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) documents directly or indirectly related to environmental protection released between January 1981 and December 1984. Although the Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division (RCED) is GAO's lead division for reviews of environmental protection, a broad interrelationship exists between the environmental area and other areas of interest addressed by GAO such as health, energy, transportation, agriculture, and natural resources. The bibliography, therefore, includes information on documents issued by other GAO divisions and offices that have linkages to environmental protection issues.

Shipping list no.: 85-928-P. "August 1985." Includes indexes. "GAO/RCED-85-154." Item 545