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OCR for page 165
Part 3
Managing
Technological Hazarcls
During the past 15 years, there has been a shift in the nature of the
hazards that concern both citizens and public officials. Concentration
on the visible problems of air and water pollution has given way to
emphasis on less visible problems of toxic chemicals whose conse-
quences are not well understood. This change has placed a burden on
regulatory agencies that attempt to assess and manage new technolo-
gies. Changes are also taking place in hazard management outside of
government public interest groups as well as industrial managers
are searching for alternatives to government regulation.
The papers in this section reflect past and present attempts to man-
age technological hazards. Victoria I. Tschinkel illustrates the efforts
of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation to clean up
hazardous waste sites that, because of a particularly high water table,
threaten the state's groundwater. These efforts explicitly balance sci-
entific evidence of nsk, cost-effectiveness of alternative cleanup
methods, and complex legal and practical problems to achieve health
and environmental goals.
John A. Klacsmann describes the innovative approach of Clean
Sites Inc. to hazard management. This nonprofit company was
formed by business and environmental groups in 1984 to augment
federal efforts for hazardous waste cleanup. Support for Clean Sites
reflects the growing recognition that those responsible for technologi
165
OCR for page 166
166
INTRODUCTION TO PORTS
cat activities that are frequently associated with hazards can often be
the best hazard managers.
John F. Ahearne's paper draws upon his experience at the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission during and following the accident at the
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station. He suggests lessons that industry,
regulators, and the public should learn from this accident to manage
technological hazards more effectively. Finally, he cautions engi-
neers and scientists against becoming advocates, suggesting that
advocacy would lead to public mistrust of the neutrality of expert
witnesses and thereby create a bias against informed public debate
about hazards.
The final paper in Part 3 in effect summarizes the volume. Here,
Robert W. Kates discusses the barriers imposed by the limits of our
scientific knowledge, the shortcomings of the institutions responsible
for regulating hazards and compensating victims, and the difficulties
of providing equity when managing technologies that present varying
risks and benefits for different segments of society. He describes the
searches for technological and behavioral fixes that can help over-
come these barriers and warns that future changes in the use of tech-
nology will present new hazards as well as new opportunities for
hazard reduction.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
hazardous waste
