Synopses & Reviews
All those who make risk-related decisions require sound knowledge on which to base their decisions, wherever possible including the best scientific knowledge available. Often, they are confronted by the need to make decisions in which they must allocate resources to one or more of several different problems, and are required to do so in the absence of any objective means of comparing the risks or the impact of their decisions. CRA offers a possible way of providing a scientific basis for such decisions.
This valuable contribution to the debate about CRA and its place in the total risk governance process provides a catalog of suggested solutions for different categories of issues, offering a balanced overview backed by methodological examples. It considers CRA in the USA, Europe and Germany, using case studies to analyze and exemplify the decision-making processes and challenges involved.
Following an introductory section, the authors go on to look at the concepts and definitions of risk, as well as the practical implementation of CRA. Along the way, they consider the empirical foundations of CRA and a conceptual framework for an integrated comparative risk evaluation. They also study the practical lessons learned from the case studies, together with an in-depth discussion of the underlying scientific hypotheses. The whole is rounded off with appendices covering risk metrics, MCRA, a comparative evaluation of unclear risks and the risks of hazardous incidents.
Sound scientific knowledge for everyone who makes decisions, whether government ministers, regulators, or company directors.
Review
"...offers a possible means of providing a scientific basis for decisions concerning environmental components and health related. There is still a need to further study and understand how best comparative risk assessment can fulfill its full potential, and the publication of this book is a most helpful addition."
Environmental Engineering and Management Journal
Synopsis
Providing a catalogue of suggested solutions for different categories of issues, this book offers a balanced overview and methodological examples for the practical implementation of the CRA. It considers CRA in the USA, Europe and Germany, using case studies to analyze and exemplify the decision-making processes and challenges involved. The authors then go on to look at the practical lessons learned from these case studies, together with an in-depth discussion of the underlying scientific hypotheses.
Sound scientific knowledge for everyone who makes decisions, whether government ministers, regulators, or company directors.
About the Author
Holger Schütz is a senior scientist in the MUT (Man, Environment and Technology) Program Group at the Jülich Research Center, focusing on risk perception and risk communication, comparative assessment of environmental health risks and evidence assessment.
Peter M. Wiedemann is the Director of the MUT Program Group and also teaches at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He was elected President of the Society for Risk Analysis - Europe and served on the WHO task force on risk communication, the Scientific Expert Group of the National Action Program "Environment and Health", and on the EMF Communication Group of the WHO EMF Project. He has extensive experience in societal conflicts over modern technologies with a focus on risk communication and conflict resolution.
Wilfried Hennings is a member of the MUT Program Group, whose current research centers on methods for assessing technological risks. He received his diploma in electrical engineering from the RWTH Aachen University.
Johannes Mertens is a member of the MUT Program Group, who received his PhD in physics from the RWTH Aachen University. His recent research is on the assessment and management of technological risks.
Martin Clauberg is a lecturer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and also Sr. Risk/Science Consultant & Founder of Dr. Clauberg-Consulting, Germany & US. He has been a visiting scientist at the Jülich Research Center and at the National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC, as well as Human Health Risk Assessor & Risk Assessment Team Leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Table of Contents
Foreword.Acknowledgements.
Summary.
1 Introduction.
2 Concepts and Definitions.
2.1 Risk.
2.2 Danger/Potential for Damage–Hazard.
2.3 Incertitude and Uncertainty.
2.4 Risk Assessment.
2.5 Risk Evaluation.
2.6 Risk Comparison.
2.7 Risk Management.
2.8 Risk Regulation.
2.9 Risk Communication.
3 CRA in Practice.
3.1 Political Environment of CRA.
3.1.1 CRA in the USA.
3.1.2 CRA in Europe.
3.1.3 CRA in Germany.
3.2 Project Case Studies.
3.2.1 US EPA Unfinished Business Project.
3.2.2 Comparative RiskFramework Methodology and Case Study(USEPA).
3.2.3 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study.
3.2.4 ExternE Project.
3.2.5 Comprehensive Assessment of Energy Systems Project.
3.2.6 Classification of Carcinogenic Airborne Pollutants for the German TA Air Novella.
3.2.7 Summary.
4 The Empirical Foundations of CRA.
4.1 A Starting Point for Risk Comparisons.
4.2 Risk Comparisons as a Means of Risk Communication.
4.3 Procedural Challenges.
4.3.1 Framework: What is to be Kept in Mind when Determining the Systems Limit Options for CRA?
4.3.2 Risk Categories: What Inf luence Do They Have on Comparisons?
4.3.3 Attributes: What Inf luence Do They Have on Comparisons?
4.3.4 Assessment of the Attributes: What Inf luence Does the Measure of a Risk Have on Comparisons?
4.3.5 Comparisons: What Inf luence Does the Nature of the Comparison Have on the Comparison?
4.4 CRA Negotiations Under Conf lict.
4.4.1 Pitfalls in the Evaluation of One’s Own Position and Interests.
4.4.2 Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Other Parties.
4.4.3 Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Suggestions.
4.4.4 Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Outcomes.
5 Conceptual Framework for an Integrated Comparative Risk Evaluation.
5.1 Methodological Problems of a CRA.
5.1.1 Problem: Uncertainty and Incertitude.
5.1.2 Problem: Evaluative Criteria.
5.1.3 Consequences for the Conduct of a CRA.
5.2 Methodology of Comparative Risk Evaluation.
5.2.1 Multiattribute Risk Evaluation: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches.
5.2.2 Conduct of a Multiattribute Evaluation.
6 The Practical Implementation of CRA.
6.1 Limits of Comparability.
6.2 Goals of a Comparative Evaluation of Risks.
6.2.1 Preliminary Analysis.
6.2.2 Risk Assessment.
6.2.3 Risk Evaluation.
6.2.4 Risk Management.
6.3 Participation Models.
6.4 CRA Participants.
6.5 The Sequence of Events in a CRA.
6.6 The Organization of Communication.
Appendix 1: Risk Metrics.
Appendix 2: Multiattribute Comparative Risk Evaluation (MCRA).
Appendix 3: Comparative Evaluation of Unclear Risks.
Appendix 4: Comparative Evaluation of the Risks of Hazardous Incidents.
References.
Abbreviations of Organizations.
Index.