AbdurRakib wrote:
In setting environmental standards for industry and others to meet, it is inadvisable to require the best results that state-of-the-art technology can achieve. Current technology is able to detect and eliminate even extremely minute amounts of contaminants, but at a cost that is exorbitant relative to the improvement achieved. So it would be reasonable instead to set standards by taking into account all of the current and future risks involved.
The argument given concerning the reasonable way to set standards presupposes that
A. industry currently meets the standards that have been set by environmental authorities
B. there are effective ways to take into account all of the relevant risks posed by allowing different levels of contaminants
C. the only contaminants worth measuring are generated by industry
D. it is not costly to prevent large amounts of contaminants from entering the environment
E. minute amounts of some contaminants can be poisonous
OG V 2017 New Question(Book Question: 153)
Dear
AbdurRakib,
I'm happy to respond.

This is a subtle and difficult question, a very good question.
First, let's consider the prompt. Suppose we are looking at some contaminant---call it X. We want to most of the X in, say, drinking water. A cleansing system that eliminates down to one part-per-thousand might leave some X at the order of parts-per-million (ppm). A more expensive system might detect and eliminate X down to 1 ppm might leave residue amounts at the order of a few parts-per-billion (ppb). You can imagine extending this process to parts-per-trillion, etc., all the time getting more and more expensive. The very best system might be so efficient that not one molecule of X is left, but it might cost $100 billion. The argument is saying: we don't necessarily need the most rigorous and most expensive system: we have to assess risk, because maybe one of the less rigorous systems would be perfectly fine.
To make the situation more clear, I will bring in a couple examples from my own knowledge. A chemical such as bleach or lye is toxic in high concentrations, but at the order of 1 part-per-thousand, it is 100% harmless. It would be complete overkill and total waste money to purifying drinking water of these chemicals beyond that level. By contrast, the neurotoxins, such as lead, are really bad: lead causes measurable neurological damage at 1 ppb, so the standards for lead are much much more stringent than they are for most other chemicals. This is outside knowledge, but it might help to give you a real world sense of the context of the problem.
OK, now let's look at the answers. What is assumed by the argument? This is essentially an assumption question. We can use the
Negation Test.
A. industry currently meets the standards that have been set by environmental authoritiesNot necessarily. The argument would still be valid even if industry were outdoing any standards that had been set. They may be overachieving, say, purifying down to less than 1 ppb when the official standard is 1 ppm, but it still would be unreasonable to require them to do the very best that current technology could do. We can negate this, and the argument is fine. This is not an assumption.
B. there are effective ways to take into account all of the relevant risks posed by allowing different levels of contaminantsInteresting. Suppose there were no ways to assess those risk. Suppose we had no idea whether 1 part-per-thousand or 1 ppm or 1 ppb would be safe: then would we have to use the highest possible standard, the most technologically advanced method of cleansing, regardless of the cost. This would shatter the argument. The argument depends on the fact that risk for different chemicals at different concentrations are already well known. This is a promising answer.
C. the only contaminants worth measuring are generated by industrySome contaminate might occur naturally, or some might come from household processes or from vehicle exhaust. This could be (and is) completely false, and it doesn't change the requirement on industry. This is not an assumption.
D. it is not costly to prevent large amounts of contaminants from entering the environmentNegate this. Suppose it were quite expensive to prevent large amounts of contaminants from entering the environment. What does this mean for the argument? It's unclear. Suppose it costs an industry $1 million to remove 90% of item X. What would it cost to use the best technology, to eliminate the X completely? Maybe just another million, or maybe $100 billion. It could still be unreasonable to require the most advanced technology, so the argument still works. This is not an assumption.
E. minute amounts of some contaminants can be poisonousNegate this. Suppose minute amounts of anything are completely safe. Then, there would be no absolutely no reason to use the most advanced technology, to eliminate even microscopic quantities, because these microscopic quantities are perfectly safe. Negating this strengthens the argument, so this choice wildly fails the negation test. This is not an assumption.
The best answer is the OA,
(B).
Does all this make sense?
Mike
_________________
Mike McGarry
Magoosh Test PrepEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)