Decision Making on Risk and Regulatory Science

Abstract

A lot of resources have been expended in response to disasters and accidents in the name of recurrence prevention. There has been always too much focus on what have occurred, not what will occur next. The objective of this article is to show the ideas and tools necessary for addressing risks to the whole society by prioritizing them based on the level of each risk. Before everything, the word “safety” should be defined as “freedom from risk which is not tolerable”. From this practical definition, it is easily understood that safety cannot be attained only by conventional science. Regulatory science has to be developed to bridge the gap between conventional science and policy. In order to determine the policy, multiple options should be assessed using various types of Impact Assessment, including regulatory impact assessment and privacy impact assessment. These ideas and tools should be integrated into decision making process effectively.