The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century – Late Lessons from Early Warnings by Paul Harremoes, David Gee and Devra Davis




[T]hey (the contributors of the book) examine fourteen hazards, including asbestos, PCBs, the ozone layer, hormonal disruption, the collapse of fisheries, radiation, and “mad cow” disease. They examine when scientists first warned of potential harm, what was subsequently done or not done, the results, and how we might learn from each experience. The stories illustrate how “better safe than sorry” – the precautionary principle in a nutshell – has in fact been rarely applied. More often than not, calls for scientific certainty before protective action result in “paralysis by analysis.”

Here she (Devra Davis, one of the contributor) focuses mostly on the health hazards of air pollution and ozone depletion, along with lead toxicity, environmental causation of breast cancer and infertility, and more. Most valuable – and disturbing – are her insider’s descriptions of research practices and how standards have been corrupted and ignored as often as acted upon.

By the 1930s there was already evidence, some at a low level of proof, that PCBs could poison people. This information was largely retained within the industry, and does not appear to have been widely circulated amongst policy-makers or other stakeholders . . . . Thirty years later, by the end of the 1960s, there was a high level of proof . . . that in certain circumstances PCBs, or their breakdown products . . . . could cause serious harm to human health . . . . Had precautionary action at a level of proof less than “beyond reasonable doubt” been acceptable to, and applied by, policy-makers of that era, their action would still have resulted in a more manageable, less costly problem than we are faced with today.

By 1998, the World Health Organization confirmed what many activists had long suspected.breast cancer had become the most common cancer in women worldwide. Explanations for this global pattern remain elusive. It cannot be due to more screening tests, because only a few countries routinely conduct mammographic screening, and of those that do, most focus only on women in the highest-risk group.those past menopause. In the United States and some provinces of Canada, increased efforts to look for breast cancer in white women over age forty may account for some of the growth in incidence. From 1992 to 1998, new breast cancer cases rose 1.2 percent, topping an overall jump of 40 percent in the last quarter century. In 2000, breast cancer deaths fell dramatically for white and African American women under age sixty-five in the United States and England, apparently as a result of advances in early treatment, but the incidence keeps growing.

Each time something worrisome is learned about a hazard, financial interests involved – e.g., automobile, chemical, or other industries – create a “zone of incomprehension.” The result is delays of decades before protective policy and action take place, justified by the “more research is needed” mantra. Davis is prone to hyperbole at times, but her message is documented and powerful.

Read the full book review from Whole Earth Magazine

Keywords : ecosocial crisis, precautionary principle, appropriate science and technology
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Published::
4.26.07 / 11am
Category:
Appropriate Science and Technology, Ecosocionomics, Global Governance, Learning for Life, Means, Paths, Ends
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