The precautionary principle: protecting public …

1 The precautionary principle: protecting public health , the environment and the future of our children Edited by:Marco Martuzzi and Joel A. TicknerKeywordsRISK ASSESSMENT RISK MANAGEMENT UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS CHILD WELFARE ENVIRONMENTAL health public health SUSTAINABILITY ISBN 92 890 1098 3 Address requests about publications of the WHO Regional Office to: xby copies of publications) (for permission to reproduce them) (for permission to translate them) xby post Publications WHO Regional Office for Europe Scherfigsvej 8DK-2100 Copenhagen , Denmark World health Organization 2004 All rights reserved.

2 The Regional Office for Europe of the World health Organization welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Where the designation country or area appears in the headings of tables, it covers countries, territories, cities, or areas.

3 Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. The World health Organization does not warrant that the information contained in this publication is complete and correct and shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of its use.

4 The views expressed by authors or editors do not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the World health Organization. ContentsContributors .. iAcknowledgements .. ivForeword .. vExecutive 11. Introduction the precautionary principle: protecting public health , the environment and the futureof our children .. 7 Marco Martuzzi & Joel Tickner 2. Dealing with uncertainty how can the precautionary principle help protect the future of our children?.. 15 WHO3. The precautionary principle: a legal and policy history .. 31 Andrew Jordan & Timothy O Riordan4. public health and the precautionary principle.

5 49 Neil Pearce 5. Why is a precautionary approach needed?.. 63 Ted Schettler & Carolyn Raffensperger6. The precautionary principle in decision-making: the ethical values .. 85 Pietro Comba, Marco Martuzzi & Caterina Botti7. Late lessons from early warnings: improving science and governance under uncertainty and 93 David Gee & Andrew Stirling8. Applying the precautionary principle in environmental risk assessment to 121 Philip J. Landrigan & Leonardo Trasande9. The precautionary principle in environmental science .. 145 David Kriebel, Joel A. Tickner, Paul Epstein, John Lemons, Richard Levins, Edward L. Loechler, Margaret Quinn, Ruthann Rudel, Ted Schettler & Michael Stoto 10.

6 The precautionary principle: a central and eastern European perspective .. 167 Janos Zlinszky11. Implementing precaution: assessment and application tools for health and environmental decision-making .. 181 Andrew Stirling & Joel A. Tickner12. A compass for health : rethinking precaution and its role in science and public health .. 209 Joel A. Tickner, David Kriebel & Sara WrightiContributorsCaterina Botti, Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy Pietro Comba, National Institute of health , Rome, Italy Paul Epstein, Center for health and the Global environment , Harvard University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USAD avid Gee, European environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark Andrew Jordan, Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global environment (CSERGE)

7 , University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, United Kingdom David Kriebel, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, Department of Work environment , University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA Philip J. Landrigan, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA John Lemons, Department of Life Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, USA Richard Levins, Department of Population and International health , Harvard University School of public health , Boston, Massachusetts, USA Edward L.

8 Loechler, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Marco Martuzzi, WHO European Centre for environment and health , Rome Operational Division, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Rome, Italy iiTimothy O Riordan, Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global environment (CSERGE), University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, United Kingdom Neil Pearce, Centre for public health Research, Massey University Wellington Campus, Wellington, New Zealand Margaret Quinn, Department of Work environment , University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USAC arolyn Raffensperger, Science and Environmental health Network, Ames, Iowa, USA Ruthann Rudel, Silent Spring Institute, Newton, Massachusetts, USA Ted Schettler, Science and Environmental health Network, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA Andrew Stirling.

9 Science and Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, Sussex, England, United Kingdom Michael Stoto, Department of Biostatistics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA Joel Tickner, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, Department of Work environment , University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, USA Leonardo Trasande, Center for Children s health and the environment , Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA iiiSara Wright, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USAJ anos Zlinsky, Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Budapest, Hungary ivAcknowledgements This publication was conceived and assembled during the preparation of the Fourth Ministerial Conference on environment and health , Budapest, Hungary, 23 25 June 2004.

10 Discussion and negotiation on the theme of the precautionary principle was highly stimulating and provided invaluable intellectual contribution for the development of the monograph. We thank David Breuer for editing the text, Rachel Massey for initially revising the text, Maria Teresa Marchetti for organizing the publication process and design and Francesco Mitis for typesetting. We are grateful to Island Press, the National Institute of Environmental health Sciences and Oxford University Press for granting permission to reproduce Chapters 7, 9 and 12 respectively.