NRPB has published a report¹ of a seminar that examined important terms used to communicate risk to the public, in particular the precautionary approach and the precautionary principle. The report examines the role of scientists and experts in assessing risks and the role of authorities managing the risks. The public demands that organisations involved in assessing risks should be open, transparent and impartial. If this is not achieved, public trust in advice on risks can be undermined significantly.

Precaution in everyday life is usually determined by intuition, experience and observing the behaviour of others. A precautionary approach and the precautionary principle have more specific meanings but are sometimes confused with each other, and with everyday precaution. It would be better to reserve these terms for their more specific meanings in the worlds of science and politics.

Scientists use a precautionary approach when interpreting experimental evidence for risks of harm and when they convert these data into advice on acceptable levels of public or occupational exposure. If the necessary information is uncertain or has to be inferred from experimental data, significant additional caution is needed in setting guidelines or limits. This use of precaution by scientists in assessing risks from radiation and other agents, including chemicals, is not widely known or appreciated.

The precautionary principle is a political term for decisions on preventive action when the scientific evidence is not clear enough for a detailed risk assessment. If the level of harm and the likelihood of occurrence were well known, then a precautionary approach suffices because the government and public can base decisions on evidence. If the level and the likelihood of a risk is not certain, then scientists should advise on the hazards, assess the available evidence of harm, advise on whether and how to apply the precautionary principle and then do research to enable a more reliable assessment of the risks.

The report also examines the various definitions of the word “safe”, the role of scientists and experts in assessing risks, the role of public authorities and the need for organisations like NRPB to be open, transparent and impartial. Some practical advice is given on how to ensure that organisations are open.

¹ Radiation, Risk and Society Advisory Group. In Terms of Risk. Report of a seminar to help define important terms used in communicating about risk to the public. Doc. NRPB 15(4), 1-13 (2004). Available on the NRPB website (http://www.nrpb.org/publications/documents_of_nrpb/abstracts/absd15-4.htm).

Source: NRPB press release P10/04 27 July 2004 'Risk and Precaution' online at http://www.nrpb.org/press/press_releases/2004/press_release_10_04.htm accessed 4 August 2004

top of page