Precautionary principle and endocrine active substances

2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2515-2519 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Trade Barrier ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Active Substances

The precautionary principle has been central to many of the debates concerning the appropriate approach to the threat posed by endocrine active substances (EASs). This newly emerging principle has been applied to issues as diverse as persistent organic pollutants and the European trade barrier on beef from hormone-treated cattle.

Making decisions in the 21st century: Scientific data, weight of evidence, and the precautionary principle

2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2505-2513 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Burger
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Public Policy Decisions ◽  
Active Substances

Traditionally, science has progressed by slow steps involving the accumulation of studies showing particular effects, leading eventually to a general consensus. However, with increasing development and industrialization, environmental problems have escalated faster than the ability to collect sufficient data to form clear consensus among scientists. Since managers require scientific information to make decisions about management, regulation, and public policy, the gap has been partially filled by two approaches: weight of evidence and the precautionary principle. I suggest that both are useful for making decisions about endocrine active substances, although few papers in the refereed literature link the precautionary principle with endocrine active substances. As with most public policy decisions, these involve an iterative process whereby scientific inquiry must continue to fill data gaps, and to determine if the decisions made by these processes are still appropriate and protective of human and ecological health. The precautionary principle is most useful when it continues to inform and help direct research to fill data gaps in our understanding of environmental problems, such as the effect of endocrine active substances on endocrine disruption.

Evaluating Risk After a Hazardous Waste Treatment Plant Released Persistent Organic Pollutants: Part 3, Aboriginal Health Risk and Impact

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tee L. Guidotti
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Treatment Center ◽  
Hazardous Waste Treatment ◽  
Waste Treatment Plant ◽  
Health Canada

On 16 October 1996, a malfunction at the Swan Hills Special Waste Treatment Center (SHSWTC) in Alberta, Canada, released an undetermined quantity of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the atmosphere, including polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and furans. The circumstances of exposure are detailed in Part 1, Background and Policy Issues. An ecologically based, staged health risk assessment was conducted in two parts with two levels of government as sponsors. The first, called the Swan Hills Study, is described in Part 2. A subsequent evaluation, described here in Part 3, was undertaken by Health Canada and focused exclusively on Aboriginal residents in three communities living near the lake, downwind, and downstream of the SHSWTC of the area. It was designed to isolate effects on members living a more traditional Aboriginal lifestyle. Aboriginal communities place great cultural emphasis on access to traditional lands and derive both cultural and health benefits from “country foods” such as venison (deer meat) and local fish. The suspicion of contamination of traditional lands and the food supply made risk management exceptionally difficult in this situation. The conclusion of both the Swan Hills and Lesser Slave Lake studies was that although POPs had entered the ecosystem, no effect could be demonstrated on human exposure or health outcome attributable to the incident. However, the value of this case study is in the detail of the process, not the ultimate dimensions of risk. The findings of the Lesser Slave Lake Study have not been published previously and are incomplete.

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