Healthcare Savings vs Beach Cleanup Costs

According to a study to be published in the August 15th Environmental Science and Technology, researchers at UCLA and Stanford show that beach cleanup would prevent 394,000 to 804,000 gastrointestinal cases and save $13 million to $28 million in annual health costs in Los Angeles County. The study focused on 28 beaches in Los Angeles and Orange counties during 2000. Researchers used bacteria measurements from surf, considered beach attendance estimates and extrapolated the health effects using two computer models.