Medical Monitoring: State and Federal Perspectives
Tulane Envtl. Law Journal, Vol. 2, p. 1 (1989)
14 Pages Posted: 29 May 2015
Date Written: April 1989
Abstract
The public health problems posed by our history of uncontrolled hazardous waste releases and unacceptable current practices will challenge our national will and our ingenuity for decades to come. Although much remains to be learned about the severity and scope of this "toxic timebomb," the apparent magnitude of the problem and its uncertain health risks have produced a popular consensus in favor of placing the costs of understanding and mitigating this problem on the wrongdoers.
The other point of consensus is that the administration of this task must not be left entirely to government. Government alone cannot do the job; it lacks the resources; and, arguably, the political design to so dramatically transform our society. In other words, the job is too big for our government. Even if government could respond effectively and expeditiously, it does so at the expense of the victims' choice and control.
Accordingly, common law courts and Congress have sanctioned the right of aggrieved individuals to pursue remedies for medical monitoring even in situations where no manifest personal injury exists. This remedy is used to compensate invasions of an individual's body, to deter the underlying wrongful conduct, and to obtain the information needed to prosecute such medical monitoring cases.
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