Handbook for Environmental Risk Decision Making: Values, Perceptions, and Ethics

Discusses qualitative and quantitative aspects of environmental risk decision making
Divides text into five distinct sections - introduction, issues, values and value judgments, ethics and philosophy, and future needs
Offers a comprehensive treatment of the subject that will appeal to a wide, diverse audience
Provides insights from a variety of perspectives: decision making, theology, philosophy, risk assessment, citizen, government, industry, and academia

This handbook describes the broad aspects of risk management involving scientific policy judgment, uncertainty analysis, perception considerations, statistical insights, and strategic thinking. This book presents all the important concepts to enable the reader to "see the big picture." This ability is extremely important - it allows the decision maker or strategic environmental planner to understand and cope with a wide variety of complex and interlinked pieces of information and data.
The text presents environmental problems and, whenever applicable, the methodology required to reach a successful solution. Decisions and policies are examined. The book covers numerous objective and subjective components of environmental risk decision making. It details quantitative and comparative risk, and investigates the cost and feasibility of different decisions. Social pressures, safety, and political, religious, ethical, and psychological issues are addressed. How to evaluate the potential impact on the quality of life also is discussed.
Any company doing risk assessment, risk management, or risk communication, as well as those doing environmental decision making will find this reference to be invaluable. It is also suitable as a text for courses in environmental management, environmental science, and risk assessment in the areas of risk management and strategic environmental planning.

Introduction

Chapter 1 : Values and Value Judgments in Ecological Health Assessments
Chapter 2 : Strange Chemistry: Environmental Risk Conflicts in a World of Science, Values, and Blind Spots
Chapter 3 : Issues in Environmental Risk Decision Making
Chapter 4 : An Overview of Environmental Risk Decision Making: Values, Perceptions, and Ethics
Chapter 5 : Introduction to Issues in Environmental Risk Decision Making
Chapter 6 : Industry's Use of Risk, Values, Perceptions, and Ethics in Decision Making
Chapter 7 : Regulating and Managing Risk: Impact of Subjectivity on Objectivity
Chapter 8 : Back to the Future: Rediscovering the Role of Public Health in Environmental Decision Making
Chapter 9 : Telling the Public the Facts-or the Probable Facts-About Risks
Chapter 10 : The Urgent Need to Integrate Ethical Considerations into Risk Assessment Procedures
Chapter 11 : The Problem of Intergenerational Equity: Balancing Risks, Costs, and Benefits Fairly Across Generations
Chapter 12 : Values and Value Judgments
Chapter 13 : Introduction to Quantitative Issues
Chapter 14 : Ecological Risk Assessment: Toward a Broader Analytic Framework
Chapter 15 : Environmental Ethics and Human Values
Chapter 16 : Moral Values in Risk Decisions
Chapter 17 : Values and Comparative Risk Assessment
Chapter 18 : Risk and Rationality in Decision Making: Exposing the Underlying Values Used When Confronted by Analytical Uncertainties
Chapter 19 : Comparing Apples and Oranges: Combining Data on Value Judgments
Chapter 20 : The Ethical Basis of Environmental Risk Analysis
Chapter 21 : Ethical Theory and the Demands of Sustainability
Chapter 22 : The Cardinal Virtues of Risk Analysis: Science at the Intersection of Ethics, Rationality, and Culture
Chapter 23 : Value Judgments Involved In Verification and Validation of Risk Assessment Models
Chapter 24 : The Stewardship Ethic-Resolving the Environmental Dilemma
Chapter 25 : Commentary
Chapter 26 : Introduction to the Commentary Section
Chapter 27 : Awakenings to Risk in the Federal Research and Development Establishments
Chapter 28 : The Citizenship Responsibilities of Chemists
Chapter 29 : Global Bioethics: Origin and Development
Chapter 30 : Ethics and Values in Environmental Risk Assessment-A Synthesis

The Contributors
Index