Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 1992

Risk and Society: The Interaction of Science, Technology and Public Policy

Part of the book series: Risk, Governance and Society (RISKGOSO, volume 6)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
  2. Introduction

    1. The Social Genesis of Risks and Hazards

      • Marvin Waterstone
      Pages 1-12
  3. Risk, Science and Public Policy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-15
    2. Scientists and Agenda Setting: Advocacy and Global Warming

      • Helen Ingram, H. Brinton Milward, Wendy Laird
      Pages 33-53
  4. Allocating Scarce Medical Resources

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-61
    2. Modern Medicine as a Risk to Society

      • Albert R. Jonsen
      Pages 63-73
  5. Nuclear Power and Nuclear Waste Disposal

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 97-99
    2. The Future of the Nuclear Power Industry in the United States

      • James K. Asselstine, Susanna Eden, Marvin Waterstone
      Pages 101-120
    3. On the Public Perception of Nuclear Risk

      • Morris Farr
      Pages 121-124
    4. Nuclear Power: Is it Worth the Risk?

      • Ronald D. Milo
      Pages 125-134
  6. Setting Standards for Air Quality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 135-137
    2. Ozone Pollution: The Hard Choices

      • Milton Russell
      Pages 139-164
    3. The Abuses of Risk Assessment

      • David S. Baron
      Pages 173-178
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 179-179

About this book

Life in the last quarter of the twentieth century presents a baffling array of complex issues. The benefits of technology are arrayed against the risks and hazards of those same technological marvels (frequently, though not always, arising as side effects or by-products). This confrontation poses very difficult choices for individuals as well as for those charged with making public policy. Some of the most challenging of these issues result because of the ability of technological innovation and deployment to outpace the capacity of institutions to assess and evaluate implications. In many areas, the rate of technological advance has now far outstripped the capabilities of institutional monitoring and control. While there are many instances in which technological advance occurs without adverse consequences (and in fact, yields tremendous benefits), frequently the advent of a major innovation brings a wide array of unforeseen and (to some) undesirable effects. This problem is exacerbated as the interval between the initial development of a technology and its deployment is shortened, since the opportunity for cautious appraisal is decreased.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Risk and Society: The Interaction of Science, Technology and Public Policy

  • Editors: Marvin Waterstone

  • Series Title: Risk, Governance and Society

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3634-1

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1992

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-1370-0Published: 31 December 1991

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-94-010-5613-7Published: 23 October 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-011-3634-1Published: 06 December 2012

  • Series ISSN: 2512-3076

  • Series E-ISSN: 2512-3084

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 179

  • Topics: Environmental Management, Philosophy of Technology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access