Elements of the RARM Paradigm

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Elements of the RA-RM Paradigm
Risk Assessment
Risk Management
Risk Characterization
Risk Communication
Value/Policy Judgment, Risk Acceptability
Summarizing Technical Detail for Deciders and
Overseers
Technical Information-Gathering, Measurement
Taking Information to Interested Publics
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The Dose Makes the Poison

• We all have body burdens of lead, DDT, PCB, etc.
• The effects, if any, are difficult to determine
  (compare cholera, AIDS)
• Many innocuous substances can, if consumed in
  excessive amounts, cause injury or death (water,
  table salt)
• So, how much is too much?

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Dose-Response Curves (QRA)
Response (e.g., death)
Threshold
Higher Doses
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B
A
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Where Do Dose-Response Curves Come From?
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Some Nasty Problems of QRA

• Have we chosen the right end points?
• Should we test for multi-generational effects?
• Is the end point dose-dependent rather than,
  e.g., time-dependent?
• Are there especially sensitive species or
  populations?
• Are there synergistic/antagonistic effects with
  other substances, mixtures?
• How conservative should our assumptions be?
• How should we deal with impacts on species,
  natural communities, ecosystems?

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Uncertainty Provides an Opportunity for Advocacy
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Some Risk Management Frameworks

• Cost-benefit
• Feasibility analysis
• Risk-risk
• Precautionary Principle

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Tort Framework(Carroll Towing)

• Gravity of Harm Probability
• vs.
• Cost of avoidance
• avoidance may be probabilistic