Incorporating Science,Technology, Fairness,and Accountability in Environmental,Health, and Safety Decisions

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, the former being 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 contests 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.     

The Importance of Spatial Effects for Environmental Health Policy and Research

Issues of spatial scale and resolution are intrinsic to efforts aimed at protecting and improving environmental health. Deciding on an appropriate policy or selecting a suitable research design implies a decision, either implicit or explicit, about spatial scale and resolution. This article looks at issues in the context of environmental health, reviews crucial problems and questions, and examines examples of spatial effects on analytical results related to causal inference, disease clustering, and analysis and interpretation of census data. The discussion focuses on the need to consider spatial issues as a key component of informed, well- reasoned decisions about safeguarding environmental health.     

The Health Risk Assessment Approach,a Tool for Managing Risks on the Scale of a Territory: A French Experience

In France, regulatory analysis of the environment and human health potential consequences is implemented for an isolated industrial activity that requests an authorization to operate using the health risk assessment method. To date, the question is enlarged to the impact of the combination of multiple sources of pollution on the same territory. The main conclusions of the work launched by the French High Council of Public Health focus on four key points: (i) the utility of conducting such an analysis at a territory scale, (ii) the delimitation of the area, (iii) the conditions for the different stakeholders’ involvement, and (iv) the methodological specificities of the “zone health risk assessment.” The work encompassed literature reviews, seminars, and interviews of stakeholders. The utility of a Z-HRA is the central objective for the management of risk. It can no longer be conducted only for itself. The delimitation of the zone entails economic, political, environmental, and population aspects. Stakeholders become key actors in a steering and monitoring committee. Among methodological specificities, cumulative exposure comes first. Interpretation of the results should focus on risk management objectives. Finally, inclusion of Z-HRAs in flexible regulations that can be adapted to the local context is recommended.     

自然保护地环境解说资源研究: 以九寨沟芦苇海解说步道为例

环境解说是自然保护地实现自然保护与环境教育目标的重要手段。目前我国自然保护地对解说资源的时空分布研究不足, 且缺乏相应的实地调查方法, 限制了解说系统的发展, 难以满足公众对自然认知的需要, 达不到环境教育的目的。开展解说资源的调查与研究, 有助于更好地展示保护地的资源独特性和重要性。本文以九寨沟国家级自然保护区芦苇海解说步道为例, 总结了解说资源的6个选择标准, 并对区域的解说资源进行调查和监测, 以期为我国自然保护地体系的环境解说资源调查和解说系统构建提供方法借鉴。芦苇海解说步道共筛选得到195种解说资源, 包括植物与菌类100种、动物62种、生态系统类型5种、地质与水文7种、天象与气候2种、文化资源19种。空间上, 植物与菌类、动物和生态系统类解说资源主要分布于内侧步道, 而文化类解说资源在外侧栈道分布更多; 时间上, 夏秋季解说资源数量最多, 冬春季较少, 且动植物与菌类解说资源的数量具有明显的季节性。基于解说资源的属性、意义和分布特点, 采用主旨式解说(thematic interpretation)方法设计了8条解说主旨, 为解说内容的组织提供参考。     

The Need for Strategic Environmental Assessment of Fishery Products Regulations in the Taiwan Strait: Taking Health Perspectives of Organochlorine Pesticides in Seafood as an Example

This article proposes an integrated Health Impact Assessment/Strategic Environmental Assessment (HIA/SEA) framework that can be applied to fishery products regulations in Taiwan Strait. In recent years, many studies with regards to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), especially DDT and its derivatives, in Taiwan's environment and aquatic biota indicated that DDT, DDD, and DDE in seafood, especially oysters, in the Kinmen, Manchu area near China's Fu-Tzien Province, had relatively high concentrations. It was discussed that this may be caused by distribution of OCPs in China's vicinity. In this study, the concentration of DDT, DDD, and DDE reported by many researchers in the last two decades were compared and analyzed. The concentrations of these three chemicals were found to be as high as hundreds of ng/g-dw in seafood produced in Kimmen and Machu near China, whereas those for seafood caught in Taiwan's coastal areas were not significant. The need for trade agreements or regulations on fishery was then discussed. According to the viewpoints of health and environmental sustainability, HIA methodologies were incorporated in the SEA to help identify and analyze the potential impacts on human health caused by OCPs in seafood consumed in Taiwan, which may be caused by the lack of trade regulation mechanisms between Taiwan and China. The integrated HIA-SEA framework for fishery trade agreements or regulations in Taiwan was thus proposed and the procedures were discussed. It is anticipated that the health of Taiwan's residents can be protected through implementing this and the human health perspective can be emphasized in the HIA-SEA procedures.