Handbook for Environmental Risk Decision Making: Values, Perceptions, and Ethics

This handbook describes the broad aspects of risk management involving scientific policy judgment, uncertainty analysis, perception considerations, statistical insights, and strategic thinking. This book presents all the important concepts to enable the reader to "see the big picture." This ability is extremely important - it allows the decision maker or strategic environmental planner to understand and cope with a wide variety of complex and interlinked pieces of information and data. The text presents environmental problems and, whenever applicable, the methodology required to reach a successful solution. Decisions and policies are examined. The book covers numerous objective and subjective components of environmental risk decision making. It details quantitative and comparative risk, and investigates the cost and feasibility of different decisions. Social pressures, safety, and political, religious, ethical, and psychological issues are addressed. How to evaluate the potential impact on the quality of life also is discussed. Any company doing risk assessment, risk management, or risk communication, as well as those doing environmental decision making will find this reference to be invaluable. It is also suitable as a text for courses in environmental management, environmental science, and risk assessment in the areas of risk management and strategic environmental planning.

C. Richard Cothern, Ph.D., is presently with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Environmental Statistics Development Staff. He has served as the Executive Secretary of the Science Advisory Board at the U.S. EPA and as their National Expert on Radioactivity and Risk Assessment in the Office of Drinking Water. In addition, he is a Professor of Management and Technology at the University of Maryland’s University College and an Associate Professorial Lecturer in the Chemistry Department of the George Washington University. Dr. Cothem has authored over 80 scientific articles including many related to public health, the environment, and risk assessment. He has written and edited 14 books, including such diverse topics as science and society, energy and the environment, trace substances in environmental health, lead bioavailability, environmental arsenic, environmental statistics and forecasting, risk assessment, and radon and radionuclides in drinking water. He received his B.A. from Miami University (Ohio), his M.S. from Yale University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba.