Comparative Risk Assessment Concepts, Problems and Applications

by Schü; tz, Holger; Wiedemann, Peter M.; Hennings, Wilfried; Mertens, Johannes; Clauberg, Martin

• ISBN13: 9783527316670
• ISBN10: 3527316671
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-25
• Publisher: Wiley-VCH

Summary

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. This book offers sound scientific knowledge for everyone who makes decisions, whether government ministers, regulators, or company directors.

Author Biography

Holger Schütz 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	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Summary	1	(6)
Introduction	7	(6)
Concepts and Definitions	13	(14)
Risk	13	(3)
Danger/Potential for Damage--Hazard	16	(1)
Incertitude and Uncertainty	17	(1)
Risk Assessment	17	(1)
Risk Evaluation	18	(2)
Risk Comparison	20	(1)
Risk Management	21	(2)
Risk Regulation	23	(2)
Risk Communication	25	(2)
CRA in Practice	27	(50)
Political Environment of CRA	27	(7)
CRA in the USA	27	(2)
CRA in Europe	29	(3)
CRA in Germany	32	(2)
Project Case Studies	34	(43)
US EPA Unfinished Business Project	34	(6)
Comparative Risk Framework Methodology and Case Study (US EPA)	40	(6)
Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study	46	(9)
ExternE Project	55	(11)
Comprehensive Assessment of Energy Systems Project	66	(9)
Classification of Carcinogenic Airborne Pollutants for the German TA Air Novella	75	(1)
Summary	75	(2)
The Empirical Foundations of CRA	77	(28)
A Starting Point for Risk Comparisons	77	(1)
Risk Comparisons as a Means of Risk Communication	78	(5)
Procedural Challenges	83	(14)
Framework: What is to be Kept in Mind when Determining the Systems Limit Options for CRA?	83	(2)
Risk Categories: What Influence Do They Have on Comparisons?	85	(3)
Attributes: What Influence Do They Have on Comparisons?	88	(2)
Assessment of the Attributes: What Influence Does the Measure of a Risk Have on Comparisons?	90	(5)
Comparisons: What Influence Does the Nature of the Comparison Have on the Comparison?	95	(2)
CRA Negotiations Under Conflict	97	(8)
Pitfalls in the Evaluation of One's Own Position and Interests	98	(1)
Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Other Parties	99	(2)
Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Suggestions	101	(1)
Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Outcomes	102	(3)
Conceptual Framework for an Integrated Comparative Risk Evaluation	105	(30)
Methodological Problems of a CRA	105	(9)
Problem: Uncertainty and Incertitude	105	(4)
Problem: Evaluative Criteria	109	(3)
Consequences for the Conduct of a CRA	112	(2)
Methodology of Comparative Risk Evaluation	114	(21)
Multiattribute Risk Evaluation: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches	115	(2)
Conduct of a Multiattribute Evaluation	117	(18)
The Practical Implementation of CRA	135	(20)
Limits of Comparability	135	(3)
Goals of a Comparative Evaluation of Risks	138	(7)
Preliminary Analysis	138	(3)
Risk Assessment	141	(2)
Risk Evaluation	143	(1)
Risk Management	144	(1)
Participation Models	145	(1)
CRA Participants	146	(2)
The Sequence of Events in a CRA	148	(2)
The Organization of Communication	150	(5)
Appendix 1: Risk Metrics	155	(10)
Appendix 2: Multiattribute Comparative Risk Evaluation (MCRA)	165	(16)
Appendix 3: Comparative Evaluation of Unclear Risks	181	(8)
Appendix 4: Comparative Evaluation of the Risks of Hazardous Incidents	189	(6)
References	195	(18)
Abbreviations of Organizations	213	(2)
Index	215