Re: Precautionary Principle Applied to Lung Cancer Risk Caused by Residential...

[epirad@mchsi.com]

Ruth,



Many federal and State health officials do feel radon 

exposure presents a greater risk than many other 

environmental exposures.



For example, see: 



Rev Environ Health 2000 Jul-Sep;15(3):273-87   



A review of health-based comparative risk assessments in 

the United States.



Johnson BL.



Adjunct Faculty, Department of Environmental and 

Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health, 

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.



Comparing the risks posed by specific environmental 

hazards has become attractive to policy makers and 

legislative bodies as an aid to budgeting and other 

policy decisions. This paper reviews the human health-

based findings from the first federal comparative risk 

assessment project and subsequent reviews conducted by 

15 states and local government agencies in the United 

States. Methods are described on conducting comparative 

risk assessments that include substantive involvement of 

the public and special interest organizations. A 

consolidation of the comparative risk assessments of 15 

states revealed good agreement with federal health-based 

environmental hazard priorities and partial agreement 

with local-government health departments. In descending 

order of priority, indoor air pollutants (excluding 

radon), criteria air pollutants, hazardous air 

pollutants, indoor radon, lead contamination, inactive 

hazardous waste sites, and drinking water at the tap are 

the highest ranked environmental hazards to human health.





> The trouble with the "precautionary principle" is that it does not consider 

> relative risk, and looks at risks one at a time.  In particular with respect 

> to radon, how important is mitigating the radon risks compared to mitigating 

> other risks?  The "precautionary principle" appears to fasten on to whatever 

> is bothering people at the moment and say "we need to mitigate this because 

> of the precautionary principle").

> 

> Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

> ruthweiner@aol.com

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