The Fault of Uncertainty
Geologic Information in Regulatory Decisionmaking
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5219805 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gretchen E Hund (Oceans and Environment Program, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, Washington, DC 20510), Gretchen Hund (Office of Science, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 45-54 |
| Publication date | 1986-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/016224398601100405 |
| OpenAlex | W2736318338 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 2 |
Uncertainty is a common factor in most public policy decisions (e.g., biotechnology, or estimating cancer occurrences from carcinogen exposure) that require the assessment of technical risk. This problem is especially acute for policy decisions dependent on geologic information because of the uncertainty inherent in geology. Whether the decision involves reviewing a site for a dam, a nuclear power plant, or an underground radioactive waste repository, uncertainty can be the source of four main problems. First, the information necessary to decide a case may be unobtainable. For example, a geologist cannot excavate beneath a facility to determine if it is situated on a fault. Second, the data base (in the case described, the geologic record) may be incomplete. Seismic events have only been recorded technically for some 50 years-a mere moment in geologic time. Third, the necessary research may be unrealistically expensive. Finally, research may take too long to conduct and the answer may be needed immediately. Site safety questions, in addition to policy decisions on other risk-related fields, that are unanswerable because of these four problems may be termed trans-scientific.' These problems complicate decisionmaking be
Business · Environmental resource management · Geologist · Nuclear power plant · Operations research · Radioactive waste · Seismology · Situated · Waste management · Computer Science · Engineering · Environmental Science · Risk and Safety Analysis · Risk Perception and Management · Geology
| Citations per year | 0.06 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1993 - 2018 (26) |
| Highly cited | No |