Tradeoffs of chemicals regulation - The science and tacit knowledge of decisions

Jaap C Hanekamp; Edward J Calabrese

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148566

Tradeoffs of chemicals regulation - The science and tacit knowledge of decisions

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Nov 10:794:148566. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148566. Epub 2021 Jun 25.

Authors

Jaap C Hanekamp¹, Edward J Calabrese²

Affiliations

¹ Science Department, University College Roosevelt, Middelburg, the Netherlands; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. Electronic address: j.hanekamp@ucr.nl.
² Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Morrill I, N344, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.

PMID: 34214817
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148566

Abstract

In this paper, we want to shed light on the tradeoffs of chemicals regulation. We will discuss two types of tradeoffs: the social-economic impacts of regulation such as cost-induced fatalities and the tradeoffs between 'old' and 'new' chemicals, that is the established chemicals in industry and society deemed in need of replacement with 'new' chemicals. We will show that the progression from the science of chemicals risk assessment to regulation requires the science of regulatory (economic) analyses, with added insight from the philosophy of science. Indeed, risk assessment as such, which is significantly driven but is not limited to the broad toxicological context, does not unescapably dictate regulatory choices. The science of regulatory and economic analyses, we believe, could add considerably to the science of toxicology in a combined effort to improve upon the protection of public health and the environment.

Keywords: Glyphosate; Philosophy of science; Precaution; REACH; Regulatory trade-offs; Value of statistical life (VSL).

MeSH terms

Knowledge*
Risk Assessment