GLOBAL VARIATION IN RISK REGULATION: A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWING MAJOR INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS

摘要

Several major incidents in the chemical industry have resulted in changes in practice and regulation. Those at Flixborough, Seveso and Toulouse resulted in major changes to national and European legislation; however, it is not clear whether regulation in developing countries has the same response mechanism to major incidents. The disastrous toxic gas release at Bhopal received widespread global attention and resulted in changes in Indian legislation, but doubt remains over the effectiveness of this legislation. Several legal commentators have explored how regulation has evolved, and a number of models have been proposed for the various components of regulation. In an industrial context there have been technical reviews of the different approaches to the regulation of the risk of high hazard indus-tries5. There is also a need to explore, in an holistic way, how the interactions of the components of society, such as government, public interest groups, industry, and society’s perception of risk, influence regulatory change. This paper reports on research that aims to address this shortfall, by exploring the influence of major incidents as catalysts for change to the regulatory process. A conceptual model is developed to help regulators and industry understand, in a comparative context, the system of regulatory development. The research brings together the study of law, perception of risk, and industrial risk management using soft systems methodology to evaluate the complex, pluralist system of society. Firstly we consider the law itself as a sub-system of society and in particular the characteristics of the regulation of risk. A number of models that have been proposed to represent the regulatory process are outlined, such as risk regulation regimes – an analogy with cybernetics. Secondly we consider how risk perception in communities has developed. The nature of the risks that society faces has been evolving, with the threat of devastating consequences that have no regard for boundaries and which can manifest themselves generations later. Technology and innovation have brought overwhelming benefits to society. However, for every technological improvement there are critics who fiercely debate the perceived risks. Within this potentially conflicting environment governments will strive to ensure that the law adapts to the changing needs of society, albeit within the context of its political agenda. Major incidents have been catalysts for change in developed countries, but in developing countries the societal hierarchy may inhibit the development of risk regulation. Reductionist, scientific methods are not suitable for modelling the wide range of disciplines, stakeholders, and philosophies that make up the risk regulation process. For this reason a ‘systems thinking’ approach has been taken. A conceptual model is introduced and examples of the impact of major incidents on the risk regulation process presented.