Value of Statistical Life Analysis and Environmental Policy: A White Paper

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a value of statistical life (VSL) estimate to express the benefits of mortality risk reductions in monetary terms for use in benefit cost analyses of its rules and regulations. EPA has used the same central default value (adjusted for inflation) in most of its primary analyses since 1999 when the Agency updated its Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses (USEPA, 2000). Prior to the release of the Guidelines, EPA sought advice from the Science Advisory Board=s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (SAB-EEAC) on the appropriateness of this estimate and its derivation. [via]

http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eermfile.nsf/v...