2.4

Among the myths taken as fact by the

environmental managers of most corporations is

the belief that environmental regulations affect all

competitors in a given industry uniformly. In reality,

regulatory costs—and therefore compliance—fall

unevenly, economically disadvantaging some

companies and benefiting others. For example,

a plant situated near a number of larger

noncompliant competitors is less likely to attract

the attention of local regulators than is an isolated

plant, and less attention means lower costs.

Additionally, large plants can spread compliance

costs such as waste treatment across a larger

revenue base; on the other hand, some smaller

plants may not even be subject to certain

provisions such as permit or reporting

requirements by virtue of their size. Finally, older

production technologies often continue to generate

toxic wastes that were not regulated when the

technology was first adopted. New regulations

have imposed extensive compliance costs on

companies still using older industrial coal-fired

burners that generate high sulfur dioxide and

nitrogen oxide outputs, for example, whereas new

facilities generally avoid processes that would

create such waste products. By realizing that they

have discretion and that not all industries are

affected equally by environmental regulation,

environmental managers can help their companies

to achieve a competitive edge by anticipating

regulatory pressure and exploring all possibilities

for addressing how changing regulations will affect

their companies specifically.

52. It can be inferred from the passage that a large plant

might have to spend more than a similar but smaller

plant on environmental compliance because the larger

plant is

(A) more likely to attract attention from local

regulators

(B) less likely to be exempt from permit and

reporting requirements

(C) less likely to have regulatory costs passed on to

it by companies that supply its raw materials

(D) more likely to employ older production

technologies

(E) more likely to generate wastes that are more

environmentally damaging than those generated

by smaller plants

53. According to the passage, which of the following

statements about sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide

outputs is true?

(A) Older production technologies cannot be

adapted so as to reduce production of these

outputs as waste products.

(B) Under the most recent environmental

regulations, industrial plants are no longer

permitted to produce these outputs.

(C) Although these outputs are environmentally

hazardous, some plants still generate them as

waste products despite the high compliance

costs they impose.

(D) Many older plants have developed innovative

technological processes that reduce the

amounts of these outputs generated as waste

products.

(E) Since the production processes that generate

these outputs are less costly than alternative

processes, these less expensive processes are

sometimes adopted despite their acknowledged

environmental hazards

54. Which of the following best describes the relationship

of the statement about large plants (lines 12–17) to

the passage as a whole?

(A) It presents a hypothesis that is disproved later

in the passage.

(B) It highlights an opposition between two ideas

mentioned in the passage.

(C) It provides examples to support a claim made

earlier in the passage.

(D) It exemplifies a misconception mentioned earlier

in the passage.

(E) It draws an analogy between two situations

described in the passage.

55. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) address a widespread environmental

management problem and suggest possible

solutions

(B) illustrate varying levels of compliance with

environmental regulation among different

corporations

(C) describe the various alternatives to traditional

methods of environmental management

(D) advocate increased corporate compliance with

environmental regulation

(E) correct a common misconception about the

impact of environmental regulations