Regulating Toxic Substances: A Philosophy of Science and the Law

Pirmais vāks
Oxford University Press, 1993 - 252 lappuses
The proliferation of chemical substances in commerce poses significant scientific and philosophical problems. The scientific challenge is to develop data, methodologies and techniques for identifying and assessing toxic substances before they cause harm to human beings or the environment. The philosophical problem is to determine how much scientific information we should demand for this task consistent with the pursuit of other social goals. In this book, Carl Cranor utilizes material from ethics, philosophy of law, epidemiology, tort law, regulatory law, and risk assessment to argue that the evidentiary standards for science used in the law to control toxics ought to be evaluated with the purposes of the law in mind. Demanding too much for this purpose will slow the evaluation and lead to an excess of toxic substances left unidentified and unassessed, thus leaving the public at risk. Demanding too little may impose other costs. Analyzing this tension philosophically, Cranor argues for an appropriate balance between these social concerns. Although the use of somewhat less stringent evidentiary standards for expert testimony in tort law cases and the use of expedited procedures in the regulatory field might in some cases lead to mistakes of overcompensation or overregulation, the overall social costs would be less than the alternatives. Justice requires that we tolerate the chance of such errors and that we resist the temptation to demand the most science intensive evaluation of each substance in order to protect individuals better from mistakes of undercompensation and underregulation. The role of science in the control of toxic substances is an important public philosophical issue, yetuntil now has received little discussion by philosophers. Regulating Toxic Substances addresses this subject in a way that speaks both to a well-informed public and to experts in several disciplines, including philosophy, risk assessment, environmental and tort law, environmental studies, and public health policy.

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Saturs

Assessing Toxic Substances Through a Glass Darkly
3
The Scientific Background
12
Scientific Evidence in the Tort Law
49
Joint Causation Torts and Administrative
83
Administrative Law
91
Conclusion
102
Approaches to Risk Assessment in Regulatory Agencies
109
Shortcomings of Present and Recommended Practices
129
Making Public Policy on Expedited Risk Assessments Through
147
Epistemic and Moral Justification
152
Notes
179
Appendix A Uncertainties in Carcinogen Risk Assessments
221
Statutes Authorizing Regulation of Carcinogens
229
Index
243
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Par autoru (1993)

Carl F. Cranor is at University of California, Riverside.

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