What is an example of precautionary principle?
For example: As a precautionary measure, the Food and Drug Administration requires all new drugs to be tested before they are put on the market. The Food Quality and Protection Act of 1996 requires pesticides to be proven safe for children or removed. Several are being phased out.
Where is the precautionary principle used?
The principle is often used by policy makers in situations where there is the possibility of harm from making a certain decision (e.g. taking a particular course of action) and conclusive evidence is not yet available.
What do you mean by precautionary principle?
The precautionary principle enables decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or human health hazard is uncertain and the stakes are high. To others, it is an approach that protects human health and the environment.
What is the precautionary principle in public health?
The precautionary principle asserts that the burden of proof for potentially harmful actions by industry or government rests on the assurance of safety and that when there are threats of serious damage, scientific uncertainty must be resolved in favor of prevention.
Is the precautionary principle good or bad?
There is nothing wrong with the precautionary principle—as long as it is not used for decision-making. The problem is by no means the precautionary principle itself; however, when used as a basis for decision-making, it comes into conflict with other, more fundamental principles of rational decision-making.
What is the EU precautionary principle?
The Wingspread definition of the precautionary principle states that “When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment… the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof” (Wingspread, 1998). The EU REACH Regulation (EC) No.
What are the strengths of precautionary principle?
On the international level, the precautionary principle must not be used to mask protectionism. Nevertheless, a clear advantage of the precautionary principle is that it requires decision-makers to explain the rationale behind their decisions, to quantify the risks, and to provide objective information.
What are the 4 components of the precautionary principle?
The precautionary principle, proposed as a new guideline in environmental decision making, has four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing …
What is the importance of precautionary principle?
The Precautionary Principle recognizes that delaying action until there is compelling evidence of harm will often mean that it is then too costly or impossible to avert the threat. Use of the principle promotes action to avert risks of serious or irreversible harm to the environment in such cases.
What is the problem with the precautionary principle?
The biggest problem with the precautionary principle is that it does not clearly enhance the protection of public health and the environment.
Why is the precautionary principle good?
The Precautionary Principle enhances the collection of risk information for, among other items, high production volume chemicals and risk-based analyses in general. It does not eliminate the need for good science or for science-based risk assessments.
Is the precautionary principle good?
When to not use the precautionary principle?
Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation. The components of the precautionary principle are still evolving.
How is community policy based on the precautionary principle?
The Community policy on the environment . . . shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventative action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.
When was the precautionary principle first used in environmental policy?
The precautionary principle has only been applied in environmental policy since the 1970s and is explicitly incorporated in the environmental policies of several countries, but not in U.S. policy ( Raffensperger & Barrett, 2002 ).
Is the precautionary principle based on sound science?
The precautionary principle is said to not be based on sound science. In this sense, critics claim that decision-makers are sometimes selective in their use of the precautionary principle, applying it for political reasons, rather than scientific reasons.
