Harvey P D
Am J Law Med. 1990;16(3):399-427.
Environmental pollution threatens public health. The search for solutions has advanced the frontiers of science and law. Efforts to protect the environment and public health begin with describing potential adverse consequences of human activities and characterizing the predicted risk. The National Environmental Policy Act requires the preparation of environmental impact statements to describe the effects of proposed federal projects and provide information for agency decisionmakers and the public. Risks to public health are particularly difficult to quantify because of uncertainty about the relation between exposure to environmental contamination and disease. Risk assessment is the current scientific tool to present estimates of risk. The methodology has created controversy, however, when underlying assumptions and uncertainties are not clearly presented. Critics caution that the methodology is vulnerable to bias. This Note evaluates the use of risk assessment in the environmental impact statement process and offers recommendations to ensure informed decisions.
环境污染威胁着公众健康。对解决方案的探寻推动了科学和法律的前沿发展。保护环境和公众健康的努力始于描述人类活动可能产生的不利后果并确定预测风险。《国家环境政策法》要求编制环境影响声明，以描述拟议联邦项目的影响，并为机构决策者和公众提供信息。由于接触环境污染与疾病之间的关系存在不确定性，对公众健康的风险尤其难以量化。风险评估是目前用于呈现风险估计的科学工具。然而，当基本假设和不确定性没有清晰呈现时，该方法引发了争议。批评者警告说，该方法容易产生偏差。本笔记评估了风险评估在环境影响声明过程中的使用情况，并提出了确保做出明智决策的建议。
