Saving a Single Life

Saving a single Life costs:

$200, in third world countries (usually due to malnutrition)
$75,000, in advanced nations (cancer screening)
$120,000, in USA (highway safety agencies, better highway dividers, easier on-ramps, etc.)
$1,000,000, in USA (to avoid one case of deadly lung disease by having better air pollution controls)
$5,000,000, in USA (to eliminate natural radioactivity in drinking water, which is why we don't do it)
$2,500,000,000, in USA (for nuclear plant safety)


For about 600 times the cancer screening rate, or $50,000,000 per year, killer asteroids could be identified and eliminated from threatening the earth.

Gregory Benford, F&SF, March, 1995


Does anyone have updated figures for the mid-2000’s???