Comparative Risk Assessment

All those who make risk-related decisions require sound knowledge on which to base their decisions, wherever possible including the best scientific knowledge available. Often, they are confronted by the need to make decisions in which they must allocate resources to one or more of several different problems, and are required to do so in the absence of any objective means of comparing the risks or the impact of their decisions. CRA offers a possible way of providing a scientific basis for such decisions. This valuable contribution to the debate about CRA and its place in the total risk governance process provides a catalog of suggested solutions for different categories of issues, offering a balanced overview backed by methodological examples. It considers CRA in the USA, Europe and Germany, using case studies to analyze and exemplify the decision-making processes and challenges involved. Following an introductory section, the authors go on to look at the concepts and definitions of risk, as well as the practical implementation of CRA. Along the way, they consider the empirical foundations of CRA and a conceptual framework for an integrated comparative risk evaluation. They also study the practical lessons learned from the case studies, together with an in-depth discussion of the underlying scientific hypotheses. The whole is rounded off with appendices covering risk metrics, MCRA, a comparative evaluation of unclear risks and the risks of hazardous incidents. This book offers sound scientific knowledge for everyone who makes decisions, whether government ministers, regulators, or company directors.