The evolution of environmental health risk management: a US perspective

The US environmental protection system is evolving toward more inclusive, democratic approaches to regulatory decision-making; away from command-and-control regulation towards more flexible, goal-oriented approaches; and towards recognition of the need for more of a top-down, public health and ecological context instead of relying solely on a bottom-up, chemical-by-chemical context. Those evolutionary tendencies are consistent with-and partly due to-the recommendations of the US Presidential/ Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, which was mandated to evaluate risk-related federal decision-making processes. As European Union (EU) member countries go about establishing strategies for environmental health risk management, the Risk Commission would like to suggest that the following three overarching recommendations be considered:(1) To make effective decisions and build on the tremendous environmental improvements that have been achieved over the last 25 years, think about risks collectively, comprehensively, and in their largerpublic health and environmental contexts. (2) Seek performance-based, market-based, and other flexible approaches to regulation instead of command-and-control. (3) Include those who are affected by risk-management decisions in the decision-making process.