Unheeded Science
Taking Precaution out of Toxic Water Pollutants Policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5337249 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karen Hoffman (0000-0002-3531-3467, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA), Karen S Hoffman (University of Puerto Rico System, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 829-850 |
| Publication date | 2013-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| 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 | 10.1177/0162243913495924 |
| OpenAlex | W2079378215 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 16 |
In the early 1970s, the idea of precaution-of heeding rather than ignoring scientific evidence of harm when there is uncertainty, and taking action that errs on the side of safety-was so appealing that the US Congress used it as the basis of the toxics provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based its proposals for implementing those provisions on it, and the courts frequently tended toward it when resolving conflicts over the implementation of pollution control law. In other words, precaution was written into toxic water pollutant control law and was beginning to be written into policy and regulations. By 1976, the tables were completely turned. The EPA abandoned the safety-providing approach in the implementation of the law, even though the law required it, and adopted a risk-taking approach in the creation of standards for the vast majority of toxic water pollutants. The article examines how this change was brought about. It builds on recent work on undone science as an obstacle to regulation and contributes to the development of an account of the creation of the regulatory system, with both its achievements and its limitations
Business · Economics · Environmental law · Environmental planning · Harm · Law and economics · Management · Obstacle · Political science · Precautionary principle · Sociology · Climate Change and Geoengineering · Engineering · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Environmental Science · Law · Risk Perception and Management
Technocracy, Democracy, and U.S. Climate Politics
The Precautionary Principle Puts Values First
Water Quality Criteria
Environmental Reform Organizations and Undone Science in the United States
Judicial Review of Scientific Rulemaking
Science and the Politics of Toxic Chemical Regulation
Cancer Wars
Interpreting the precautionary principle
Undone Science
Regulation and Science
The Myth of Scientific Incompetence of Regulatory Agencies
The Misuse of Science in Governmental Decisionmaking
Science, Politics, and the Renegotiation of Expertise at EPA
Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry
Science at the Bar
Conjuring Science
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2023 (8) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |