scholarly journals The Implementation of the Precautionary Principle in Nuclear Safety Regulation: Challenges and Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14033
Author(s):  
Miaomiao Yin ◽  
Keyuan Zou
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Nuclear Safety ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Safety Regulation ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Precautionary Action

The precautionary principle has been implemented in many fields including environment protection, biological diversity, and climate change. In the field of international nuclear safety regulation, the implementation of this principle is in an ongoing process. Since Japan declared to discharge Fukushima nuclear waste water into the ocean, the precautionary principle was put on the stage, and some debates are invoked on it. As is observed by this article, the precautionary principle has not been effectively implemented in nuclear safety regulation, specifically in nuclear safety law making, law enforcement, and judicial application. The reasons can be found from two main challenges: indeterminacy of perceived risk level required to justify precautionary action and hard balance of national interest and community interest in nuclear safety. In a long-term perspective, the framework of international nuclear safety regulation has to respond to these challenges, both by clarifying the precautionary principle in legal binding nuclear safety documents and moving towards a more transparent, fair, and effective enforcement regime in order to promote safer, more sustainable, and efficient civilian nuclear utilization around the world.

scholarly journals Applying the Precautionary Principle to Private Persons : Should it Affect Civil and Criminal Liability?

2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Pardy
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Strict Liability ◽  
Criminal Punishment ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
The Past ◽  
Precautionary Action ◽  
Domestic Law

The precautionary principle, developed in international environmental law, is a prospective concept. It can be used to decide what should be allowed to occur in the future. The question addressed in this article is whether, in domestic law, the precautionary principle should be applied retrospectively. Should precautionary behaviour be used as a standard to apply to the past actions of private persons, so as to judge whether those persons have acted legally ? In the civil realm, the answer is « yes ». Applying the precautionary principle in civil cases removes foreseeability requirements, and transforms liability based on fault into strict liability. In the criminal sphere, retrospective application of the precautionary principle is not appropriate. To require precautionary action on the part of an accused in an environmental prosecution transforms strict liability into absolute liability, and creates the potential for criminal punishment in the absence of culpability.

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE—NEW OPPORTUNITIES OR NEW CONSTRAINTS FOR THE OIL EXPLORATION INDUSTRY?

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
H.R. Harding ◽  
E.C. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Community Values ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Present Trend ◽  
Potential Benefits

'Corporations if they are to remain in business for the long term must operate within a context of community values'. Burnup (1993)The precautionary principle has in recent years become embodied in Australian environmental policy and the present trend for its inclusion in legislation is likely to continue. Recent cases illustrate its application to the assessment of specific projects. Given these cases the precautionary principle needs to be placed on the oil E&P industry's environmental management agenda. The principle is not a simple rule of 'zero risk', but rather is a complex concept concerned with scientific uncertainty and information integrity and may require enhanced public participation for its application. More importantly application of the precautionary principle is a process in which industry has an important role to play. It is argued that participation in this process offers significant potential benefits for industry.

scholarly journals How Extreme Is the Precautionary Principle?

NanoEthics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-257
Author(s):  
Sven Ove Hansson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Practical Rationality ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Current State ◽  
Precautionary Action ◽  
Official Definitions

AbstractThe precautionary principle has often been described as an extreme principle that neglects science and stifles innovation. However, such an interpretation has no support in the official definitions of the principle that have been adopted by the European Union and by the signatories of international treaties on environmental protection. In these documents, the precautionary principle is a guideline specifying how to deal with certain types of scientific uncertainty. In this contribution, this approach to the precautionary principle is explicated with the help of concepts from the philosophy of science and comparisons with general notions of practical rationality. Three major problems in its application are discussed, and it is concluded that to serve its purpose, the precautionary principle has to (1) be combined with other decision principles in cases with competing top priorities, (2) be based on the current state of science, which requires procedures for scientific updates, and (3) exclude potential dangers whose plausibility is too low to trigger meaningful precautionary action.

scholarly journals Great Big Hairy Bees! Regulating the European Bumblebee, Bombus Terrestris L. What does it say about the Precautionary Principle?

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Alastair Moore ◽  
Caroline Gross
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Environmental Threat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Scientific Certainty

The previous Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Mr Garrett, recently rejected a request to allow the importation of live bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) to mainland Australia. New South Wales and Victoria had already listed the introduction of bumblebees as, respectively, a key threatening process and a potentially threatening process. The Commonwealth, however, had previously declined an application to list the introduction of bumblebees as a key threatening process, although its Threatened Species Scientific Committee urged ‘that extreme caution be shown in considering any proposal to introduce this species to the mainland.’ The potential threat from bumblebees would appear to beg the questions posed by the precautionary principle. Would the presence of bumblebees to mainland Australia pose a threat of serious or irreversible environmental damage? Should a lack of full scientific certainty be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation? This paper considers the role of the precautionary principle in regulatory approaches to the bumblebee. It seeks to establish the application of the precautionary principle to this particular potential environmental threat, including its relationship to the principle of conservation of biological diversity. It concludes that, despite widespread adoption of the precautionary principle in policy, legislation and case law in Australia, its impact on regulating bumblebees has not been consistent.

scholarly journals Isoproturon: A Controversial Herbicide Hard to Confine in a Global Market

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Raffaella Leoci ◽  
Marcello Ruberti
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Chemical Substance ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Global Markets ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Hazardous Chemical ◽  
The World

Until the first decade of 2000, isoproturon (IPU), a controversial and potentially hazardous chemical substance for animals, was one of the herbicides most commonly used in agriculture around the world. The current scarcity of scientific studies about its toxicity is evident, especially as regards the possible dangerous consequences on higher mammals and humans and the long-term effects on environment, other animals and plant organisms. Contrary to what happened for other categories of herbicides (in particular, clomazone and glyphosate), in some States the precautionary principle prevailed, prohibiting its use. However, this prohibition does not seem sufficient because IPU is still used in many countries and it also reaches other nations where it is banned in the form of contaminated agro-food products. This is one of the lesser-known consequences of the global markets.

Risk Governance and the Precautionary Principle: Recent Cases in the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Leinen
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The People

As parliamentarians it is our job to represent the people of Europe and to make laws that are in the people's best interest. This sounds simple at a first glance, but it is not as simple when you think about it twice. A law might be in the interest of the people now, because it has known positive effects in the short term. But sometimes the very same law might bear a risk in the long-term, especially for future generations, and sometimes we can't even tell yet how big that risk is. If we would follow a short-sighted approach which only aims at the expected positive effects without taking into account actual and potential adverse effects that might occur in the future, we would act irresponsibly towards the generations of our children and grandchildren. That is why risk governance and the precautionary principle rightfully play a major role in the daily work of the legislator.

scholarly journals THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE REVISITED: ITS INTERPRETATIONS AND THEIR CONSERVATION CONSEQUENCES

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (02) ◽  
pp. 335-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLEM TISDELL
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Resource Conservation ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Natural Resource Conservation

The precautionary principle was included in 1992 in the Rio Declaration and is part of important international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Yet, it is not a straight-forward guide for environmental policy because many interpretations are possible as shown in this paper. Its different economic versions can result in conflicting policy recommendations about resource conservation. The principle does not always favor (natural) resource conservation (e.g., biodiversity conservation) although it has been adopted politically on the assumption it does. The principle's consequences are explored for biodiversity conservation when the introduction of new genotypes is possible.

scholarly journals Application of the ‘Precautionary Principle’ in the 2000 Biosafety Protocol to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Brown ◽  
Daud Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
World Hunger ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
National Boundaries

IntroductionThe development of genetic manipulation in recent years has caused both angst and excitement. The technology has the potential to solve world hunger and create cures for many of humanities ailments. However many have also expressed concern that our understanding of the potential of the technology to cause significant environmental harm is limited. The possibility that this harm could extend beyond national boundaries has led to the technology being discussed in the international environmental law arena. The

The Administrative Ordering of Nature and Society – Precaution and Food Safety at the Molecular and Global Levels

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaap C. Hanekamp ◽  
Jan Kwakman ◽  
Roel Pieterman ◽  
Paolo F. Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Safety Regulation ◽  
Risk Regulation ◽  
Safety Testing ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Food Safety Regulation

Responding to public fears and the loss of confidence in the aftermath of several food safety crises in the 1990s and 2000s, more and more regulatory laws have increasingly been affected by the precautionary principle. To clarify how those developments can have adverse consequences, we discuss two very different cases. First, at the molecular level we discuss the problems the system encounters by strictly applying the linear no-threshold (LNT) at low doses model, which was adopted in response to fears about the effects of ionizing radiations. Second, at a global scale, we discuss the problems associated with the precautionary regulation on Illegal, Unreported and Unregistered Fisheries that came into effect January 1, 2010. The technical aspects of food safety testing and their impacts are perhaps unknown to policy makers but they do dominate safety decisions. Both examples show that strict application of the precautionary principle produce deleterious side effects, which go against the very policy values that the precautionary regulation should protect. We show, in particular, that overly precautionary food safety regulation may harm food security. We conclude in the EU and other Western nations, problems of food security are much more relevant to human health and life expectancy than food safety. We recommend that current food safety regulation based on the precautionary risk-regulation reflex should normatively be re-evaluated with a complete regard for the values of food security – both within and outside the EU.

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