When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. This idea, known as the "Precautionary Principle," is seen by environmentalists and public health experts as the key to protecting ecological and human health. In January 1998, the Science and Environmmental Health Network convened an international group of scientists, researchers, environmentalists, academics, and labor representatives to discuss ways of incorporating the precautionary approach into environmental and public health decision-making. Known as the Wingspread Conference on Implementing the Precautionary Principle, the workshop focused on understanding the contexts under which the principle developed, its basis, and how it could be implemented. Protecting Public Health and the Environment is an outgrowth of that conference. The book: describes the history, specific content, and scientific and philosophical foundations of the principle of precautionary action - explains the functions of the principle in activities as diverse as agriculture and manufacturing - explains how to know when precautionary action is needed and who decides what action will (or will not) be taken - attempts to show how the burden of proof of environmental harm can be shifted to proponents of a potentially hazardous activity - provides specific structures and mechanisms for implementing the precautionary principl. Throughout, contributors focus on the difficult questions of implementation and fundamental change required to support a more precautionary approach to environmental and public health hazards. Among the contributors are David Ozonoff, Nicholas Ashford, Ted Schettler, Robert Costanza, Ken Geiser, and Anderw Jordan. Public health professionals and academics, policymakers, environmental lawyers, sustainable agriculture proponents, economists, and environmental activists will find the book an enlightening and thought-provoking guide to a new way of thinking about ecosystem and public health protection. When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. This idea, known as the "Precautionary Principle", is seen by environmentalists and public health experts as the key to protecting ecological and human health. In 1998, the Wingspread Conference on Implementing the Precautionary Principle was convened to discuss ways of incorporating the precautionary approach into environmental and public health decision-making. The workshop focused on understanding the contexts under which the principle developed, its basis, and how it could be implemented. Protecting Public Health and the Environment is an outgrowth of that conference. Public health professionals and academics, policymakers, environmental lawyers, sustainable agriculture proponents, economists, and environmental activists will find the book an enlightening and thought-provoking guide to a new way of thinking about ecosystem and public health protection. Protecting Public Health & the Environment Implementing the Precautionary Principle By Carolyn Raffensperger, Joel A. Tickner ISLAND PRESS Copyright © 1999 Island Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-55963-688-9 Contents ABOUT ISLAND PRESS, Dedication, Title Page, Copyright Page, Acknowledgments, Foreword, Preface - ESTABLISHING A GENERAL DUTY OF PRECAUTION IN ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION POLICIES IN THE UNITED STATES, Introduction - TO FORESEE AND TO FORESTALL, Part I - AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE, Chapter 1 - THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND POLITICS, Chapter 2 - THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN PRACTICE: A MANDATE FOR ANTICIPATORY PREVENTATIVE ACTION, Chapter 3 - THE PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH TO CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT: A SWEDISH PERSPECTIVE, Part II - LAW AND THEORY, Chapter 4 - ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION, THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE, AND BURDENS OF PROOF, Chapter 5 - THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AS A SCREENING DEVICE, Chapter 6 - PRECAUTIONARY SCIENCE, Chapter 7 - THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PRECAUTION, Chapter 8 - PRECAUTION AND RESPECT, Part III - INTEGRATING PRECAUTION INTO POLICY, Chapter 9 - A MAP TOWARD PRECAUTIONARY DECISION MAKING, Chapter 10 - APPLYING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN PRACTICE: NATURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN SCOTLAND, Chapter 11 - A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE USE OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN LAW, Chapter 12 - ALTERNATIVES ASSESSMENT: PART OF OPERATIONALIZING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE, Chapter 13 - ENVIRONMENTAL BONDS: IMPLEMENTING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, Chapter 14 - THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AND CORPORATE DISCLOSURE, Chapter 15 - PRACTICING THE PRINCIPLE, Chapter 16 - HOW MUCH INFORMATION DO WE NEED BEF