Risk management: uncertainty, public perception and the precautionary principle

摘要

There are some basic requirements for the system by which we assess and manage risks from pesticides, which are unlikely to be contentious: 1. Pesticides with specific hazards, or quantifiable hazards above a given threshold, or with risks associatedwith worst case usage above a given threshold should not be approved. (This 'worst case' must be appropriate - so that, for example, EU risk assessments should not be used to approve pesticides in developing countries) 2. Additional measures are needed to minimise public and environmental exposure -either at regulatory level or user level or both - to take account of uncertainties in quantifiable risk and unknowns.