Environmental Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

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http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3793/50520.aspx

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want our input!

An ad hoc committee will conduct a study and prepare a report for the

Environmental Protection Agency on decision-making about

environmental threats to human health under various types of

uncertainty. The study will consider specific approaches from several

areas of public health for informing decisions with quantitative

analysis that reflects uncertainty in risks. In addition, it will

consider methods for communicating uncertainty in risk information

with a range of interested parties including environmental decision

makers (in the EPA and their state-based partners) and citizens.

Based upon available literature, theory, and experience, the

committee will provide its best judgment and rationale on how best to

use quantitative information on uncertainty in the estimates of risk

in order to manage environmental risks to human health and for

communicating this information.

Specifically, the committee will address the following questions:

1) How can (should?) uncertainty influence risk management

decisions under different public health policy considerations? How

can the use of this uncertainty information be helpful to

environmental risk managers in their decision making regarding risks

to human health?

2) Are there promising tools and techniques from other areas of

public health policy for decision making under uncertainty? What are

benefits and drawbacks to these approaches for decision-makers at EPA

and their partners?

3) Are there other ways in which the EPA could benefit from

quantitative characterization of uncertainty (e.g., value of

information techniques to inform research priorities)? What are the

benefits and drawbacks to these approaches?

4) What approaches for communicating uncertainty could be used

to enhance the appropriate use of this risk information? Are there

communication techniques to improve the understanding of uncertainty

among users of risk information like risk managers, journalists, and

citizens?

5) What implementation challenges would EPA face in adopting

these alternative approaches to decision making and communicating

uncertainty? What steps should EPA take to address these challenges?

Are there interim approaches that EPA could take?

Project Meetings

Meeting 3 Feb 15, 2008

Meeting 2 Jan 10, 2008

Meeting 1 Nov 1, 2007

Last Updated: 2/01/2008, 04:08 PM RSS

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