Eldridge, Roger L.

English

University of New Mexico

Volume 24 
Issue 4 Fall 1984 
Fall 1984 
Speer's Digest of Toxic Substances State Law 1983-84, R. D. 
Speer and G. A. Bulanowski, Eds. 
Roger L. Eldridge 
Recommended Citation 
Roger L. Eldridge, Speer's Digest of Toxic Substances State Law 1983-84, R. D. Speer and G. A. 
Bulanowski, Eds., 24 Nat. Resources J. 1152 (1984). 
Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nrj/vol24/iss4/16 
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UNM Digital Repository. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in Natural Resources Journal by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For 
more information, please contact amywinter@unm.edu, lsloane@salud.unm.edu, sarahrk@unm.edu. 
SPEER'S DIGEST OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES
STATE LAW 1983-84:
TRENDS, SUMMARIES AND FORECASTS
R. D. SPEER and G. A. BULANOWSKI, Eds.
Boulder: Strategic Assessments, Inc. 1984. Pp. 372.
Case bound $100, Paperback $85.
This notebook size, softcover volume provides 38 pages of analysis
of trends of actions by state legislatures concerning toxic substances in
the period 1967 to 1983. It then provides 302 pages of summaries, in
fifty state chapters, of enacted laws, bills passed just in 1983, and mea-
sures that are pending or that failed or were vetoed in 1983. It concludes
with an annotated list 6f further readings and an index.
The volume excels at both its central objectives: trend analysis and the
summarization of legislation. The trend analysis shows the resurgence of
state legislatures in enacting policies on toxics in the last decade and a
half. Twenty-nine large, clear graphs are provided to illustrate the ag-
gregate picture of pollution, conservation, solid and hazardous wastes,
nuclear materials, energy and natural resources legislation. The graphs
for each category portray both the number of introductions and the number
of enactments. Another feature of the trend analysis is the grouping of
state toxics laws into tort-related, environmental and administrative sets,
with trends within each set. The methods of trend assessment are doc-
umented.
The summaries of state law consist of lists, by bill number, giving the
substance of each bill and its legislative history. At the upper right of
each entry, the key concepts of the bill are printed in large capital letters.
Either by turning to a particular state chapter, or by using the index, the
reader can quickly find desired information. Notes at the end of each
state chapter provide more detail about trends within the state, and provide
forecasts for the next legislative session.
The key concepts employed in the organization of the material are:
Tort-related Legislation
Community Right to Know Statute of Limitation
Confidential Business Information Victim Compensation
Information Gathering Worker Right-to-Know
Labeling Penalties
Environmental Legislation
Air Pollution Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
SPEER'S DIGEST
Chemical Specific Nuclear Materials
Disasters Water Contamination
Administrative Legislation
Ad Hoc Institutions Government Reorganization
Definitions Licensing
Fees Permitting
Taxes Research Authorization
Trusts or Funds
The busy reader will appreciate the precision and economy of language
of this reference book, the teamwork between the graphs and the prose,
and the cross indexing. The methodology of how the material is treated
by the authors is explicit, and they make every reasonable effort to define
their terms. They identify the legislative material that they purposefully
do not include. My only complaint about the exclusions is that some
important groundwater contamination issues are related to water well and
municipal sewage and waste water disposal practices, and legislation on
these matters was not included. A very minor editorial complaint is that
some of the definitions are "buried" in the text. An appreciated editorial
decision is the allowance of marginal space for the reader to enter notes.
The Digest is a welcome addition to the legal reference literature.
ROGER L. ELDRIDGE
Associate Executive Director for Academic Affairs
Colorado Commission on Higher Education
October 1984]


Speer\u27s Digest of Toxic Substances State Law 1983-84, R. D. Speer and G. A. Bulanowski, Eds.

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Speer\u27s Digest of Toxic Substances State Law 1983-84, R. D. Speer and G. A. Bulanowski, Eds.

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