Why is pollution prevention is undertaken as the first strategy in minimizing environmental risk.

Part of the attractiveness of pollution prevention rests on the perception that it allows all interested parties to achieve their separate goals. Environmentally friendly moves by industry, on One hand, and government's willingness to employ noncoercive pollution prevention methods, on the other, have created the perception of a new cooperative approach to environmental protection. Business's optimism in embracing pollution prevention is not unexpected, particularly in light of its continuing success with energy conservation and phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals (Anderson, 1981).