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A CASE STUDY IN RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES: PERCHLORATE IN POTABLE WATER
Citation:
Urbansky*, E T. A CASE STUDY IN RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES: PERCHLORATE IN POTABLE WATER. Presented at 220 Natl Amer Chem Society, Div of Env Chemistry, Washington, DC, 8/2000.
Description:
Risk management brings together many issues. While some of these are scientific in nature, many come down to policy and even emotion. As a result, striking a balance among competing objectives can be difficult. This is especially true when problems are localized or solutions are expensive. EPAs regulation-negotiation (reg-neg) process attempts to reach this balance. Even before a contaminant gets to the reg-neg phase, dealing with risk is complicated. Debates over exposure, assessment, and even what risk itself means often consume considerable time and effort. Perchlorate is one of the most recent contaminants to be added to the drinking water Contaminant Candidate List. Perchlorate poses interesting challenges to risk management because of its mode of physiological action, the interplay with other environmental factors, and difficulties in treating tainted water supplies.