Revisiting the "ignored" Precautionary Principle
What is the Precautionary Principle
Subject: Lessons in precaution..................................
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 14:28:30 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Policy News - February 25, 2002
Lessons in precaution
Officials in Europe and the United States need to reach an agreement on how much evidence of harmful effects is needed to justify preventive action, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The report Late Lessons from Early Warnings: The Precautionary Principle 1896–2000 analyzes how policy makers have and haven’t applied the principle over the last century, particularly when addressing hazards where there is scientific uncertainty.
Fourteen case studies show where warnings were ignored, and regulatory inaction led to costly and unforeseen consequences, such as fishery collapses and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Other case studies involve mad cow disease; the use of growth hormones and antibiotics in farm animals; the use of benzene, MTBE, and tributyltin; chemical contamination of the Great Lakes; and air pollution from sulfur dioxide.
The EEA draws a number of lessons from the case studies, including the value of preventing one or two materials from monopolizing the market, as was the case with asbestos, CFCs, and PCBs; ensuring that “lay” and local knowledge is used along with scientific expertise in risk evaluations; and being realistic about how materials will be used and disposed of.
The report can be downloaded from http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2001_22/en.
Copyright © 2002 American Chemical Society
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