Risk Analysis and Society : An Interdisciplinary Characterization of the Field

This 2004 book provides an interdisciplinary and international characterization of the state of the art and science of risk analysis. Effective risk analysis is needed for better governance and management of choices involving environmental, health and technology-based hazards that increasingly affect the lives of people around the world.

This 2004 book views risk analysis as one important basis for informed debate, policy decisions and governance regarding risk issues within societies. Its twelve chapters provide interdisciplinary insights about the fundamental issues in risk analysis for the beginning of a new century. The chapter authors are some of the leading researchers in the broad fields that provide the basis for the risk analysis, including the social, natural, medical, engineering and physical sciences. They address a wide range of issues, including: new perspectives on uncertainty and variability analysis, exposure analysis and the role of precaution, environmental risk and justice, risk valuation and citizen involvement, extreme events, the role of efficiency in risk management, and the assessment and governance of transboundary and global risks. The book will be used as a starting point for discussions at the 2003 First World Congress on Risk, to be held in Brussels.