Implementing A Precautionary Approach in Decisions Affecting Health, Safety, and the Environment: Risk, Technology Alternatives, and Tradeoff Analysis
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Vienna.pdf
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151.02 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b68a7c85686b23efc5be614d0fc55f5c
Author(s)
Ashford, Nicholas A.
Date Issued
August 14, 2002
Abstract
Abstract
The precautionary principle is in sharp political focus today because (1) the nature of scientific uncertainty is
changing and (2) there is increasing pressure to base governmental action on more "rational" schemes, such as
cost-benefit analysis and quantitative risk assessment, an embodiment of "rational choice theory" promoted by the
Chicago school of law and economics. The precautionary principle has been criticized as being both too vague and
too arbitrary to form a basis for rational decision making. The assumption underlying this criticism is that any
scheme not based on cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment is both irrational and without secure foundation in
either science or economics. This paper contest that view and makes explicit the rational tenets of the precautionary
principle within an analytical framework as rigorous as uncertainties permit, and one that mirrors democratic values
embodied in regulatory, compensatory, and common law. Unlike other formulations that reject risk assessment, this
paper argues that risk assessment can be used within the formalism of tradeoff analysis--a more appropriate
alternative to traditional cost-benefit analysis and one that satisfies the need for well-grounded public policy decision
making. This paper will argue that the precautionary approach is the most appropriate basis for policy, even when
large uncertainties do not exist, especially where the fairness of the distributions of costs and benefits of hazardous
activities and products are a concern. Furthermore, it will offer an approach to making decisions within an analytic
framework, based on equity and justice, to replace the economic paradigm of utilitarian cost-benefit analysis
Subjects
law and regulation
health, safety, and the environment
technology alternatives
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