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Opportunities and Impediments for Risk‐Based Standards: Some Views from a Workshop
Author(s) -
Hunter Regina L.,
Layton David W.,
Anspaugh Lynn R.
Publication year - 1994
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/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00299.x
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , variety (cybernetics) , risk assessment , active listening , risk analysis (engineering) , risk management , perception , public relations , risk perception , risk communication , business , engineering , knowledge management , environmental planning , computer science , psychology , political science , computer security , philosophy , linguistics , communication , finance , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , environmental science
Techniques for performing scientific risk assessments for a wide variety of chemical and radiological hazards present in the environment and workplace are available. Speakers at a workshop sponsored by the Environmental and Public/Occupational Health Standard's Steering Group addressed both the state‐of‐the‐art in risk assessment and areas of difficulty that require further research. The Steering Group concluded that within the limits of the available data, risk‐assessment techniques are a useful tool in decision‐making. In the past, many government agencies have not been effective either in listening to public concerns or in communicating technical or scientific information about risks. This has been true at all levels of government. Workshop speakers discussed some ways that government agencies can more effectively communicate with the public. The Steering Group concluded that major efforts must be made to ensure that two‐way communication takes place. Thus the results of the workshop show that effective management of risk requires both a scientific assessment of risk and a responsive consideration of the public's perception of risk. Intensive efforts must be made to ensure that effective two‐way communication takes place between members of the public and the appropriate government agencies.