Risk Analysis in the Private Sector

The theme of this volume--risk analysis in the private sector--reflects a changing emphasis in risk analysis. Until re­ cently, attention has been focused on risk analyses conducted in support of federal regulatory decision making. Such analyses have been used to help set safety standards, to illuminate issues of regulatory concern, and to evaluate regulatory alternatives. As this volume indicates, however, risk analysis encompasses a broader set of activities. Analyses performed by private sector institutions aimed at preventing or reducing potential adverse health or environmental effects also play an important part in societal risk management. In virtually all societies, there have been strong incentives for the private sector to conduct such analyses. These incentives range from moral or altruistic norms and values to simple self-interest based on fear of monetary loss, possible civil or criminal litigation, or punitive or restrictive government action. The papers in this volume address the overall theme from a variety of perspectives. Specifically, the papers represent con­ tributions from such diverse fields as toxicology, epidemiology, chemistry, biology, engineering, statistics, decision analysis, economics, psychology, philosophy, and the law.

Inhalt

Section 1: Chemical Risk Management.- Chemical Risk Management: Introduction.- A Generic Environmental Health Risk Model for Ranking the Toxic By-Products of Energy Systems.- Private Sector Response Patterns to Risks from Chemicals.- The Control of the Use Pattern and the Life of Metals for Risk Management: The Case of Lead.- Acceptable Levels of Risk in Setting Chemical Standards.- Integrated Risk Index System.- Section 2: Occupational Risk Analysis.- Occupational Risk Analysis: Introduction.- Occupational Health and Safety Risk Analysis for Oil Shale.- Quantitative Risk Assessment for Inorganic Arsenic: Determining a Significant Risk.- Analysis of Agency Estimates of Risk for Carcinogenic Agents.- A Training Program on Hazardous Materials for Non-Scientists.- Inorganic Arsenic: Importance of Accurate Exposure Characterization for Risk Assessment.- Lower-Bound Benefits of Air Pollution Reductions in the Munich Metropolitan Area (MMA).- Environmental Risk Assessment in the Energy Field: Issues and Application to Policy.- Risk Management in Household Detergent Control.- Section 3: Ethics and Values in Risk Analysis.- Ethics and Values in Risk Analysis: Introduction.- Product Liability: When Does the Individual Assume the Risk?.- Three Types of Risk Assessment A Methodological Analysis.- Legitimating Private Sector Risk Analysis: A U.S.-European Comparison.- Are Regulations Needed to Hold Experts Accountable for Contributing "Biased" Briefs of Reports That Affect Public Policies.- Protecting Workers, Protecting Publics: The Ethics of Differential Protection.- The Chemical Industry's View of Risk Assessment.- Section 4: Risk Analysis and Risk Management: Issues, Methods, and Case Studies.- Risk Analysis and Risk Management.- Dietary Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens: Oxygen Radicals and Degenerative Diseases.- Institutional Initiatives for Risk Management.- Risk Assessment: The Reality of Uncertainty.- The Statistical Correlation Model for Common Cause Failures.- Turbine Rotor Reliability: A Probability Model for Brittle Fracture.- A Guide for Reliability and Maintainability Data Acquisition.- The Application of Risk-Based Cost-Benefit Analysis in the Assessment of Acceptable Public Safety for Nuclear Power Plants.- Insurance Market Assessment of Technological Risks.- The "Third Made": Technology Regulation by Insurance.- Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) Insurance Risk Assessment Surveys.- Risk Compensation, Behavior Choice, and the Enforcement of Drunk Driving Statutes.- Cognitive Maps of Risk and Benefit Perceptions.- Warning Systems and Risk Reduction.- On Determining Public Acceptability of Risk.