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The True Cost of Precautionary Chemicals Regulation
Author(s) -
Durodié Bill
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/1539-6924.00318
Subject(s) - precautionary principle , limiting , law and economics , commission , resource (disambiguation) , european commission , representation (politics) , white paper , inclusion (mineral) , political science , risk analysis (engineering) , public economics , business , public relations , economics , law , social psychology , psychology , computer science , european union , engineering , politics , economic policy , mechanical engineering , ecology , computer network , biology
This article explores the possible social costs of introducing an overly precautionary regulatory regime for chemicals. It begins by examining research by the UK Medical Research Council Institute for Environment and Health (MRC‐IEH), which suggests that the resource implications of the proposals contained in the European Commission White Paper “Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy” ( 1 ) are unrealistic and even unrealizable. The article then focuses on contemporary debates pertaining to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and goes on to question whether a “right to know” is always necessarily a good thing, or whether in certain instances it can lead to a society that feels more sorry than safe. ( 2 ) Finally, problems relating to the representation and inclusion of public values in decision‐making processes are raised prior to concluding with a call for an ambitious orientation toward social change rather than a self‐limiting obsession with safety.