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The 'Precautionary Principle'
A
Working Legal Concept in the European Union

(also known as the 'precautionary
approach' at international level)
Where there is uncertainty as to the
existence or extent of risks of serious or irreversible damage
to the environment, or injury to human health, adequate protective
measures must be taken without having to wait until the reality
and seriousness of those risks become fully apparent.
Legal
Base
Article
130r(2) of 1997 Amsterdam Treaty (97/C 340/01)
OJ C 340 of 1997-11-10
European
Court Judgements of 1998-05-05 ~ Ground 63 of Case C-157/96
& Ground 99 of Case C-180/96
Refer
also to
and
Environmental
Impact
Any effect caused by a given activity on the environment, including human health, safety and welfare, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, climate, landscape and historical monuments or other physical structures or the interactions among these factors; it also includes effects on accessibility, cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors.
|
1994
Energy Charter Treaty (EU)
and 1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment (UN) |
September 2008
Health Council of the Netherlands
Prudent Precaution
A Memorandum dealing with what the Precautionary Principle implies
and what its meaningful application in policy entails.
Click Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 570kb)
In any endeavour,
therefore, the following Question must be asked ....
"
Is there a potential for serious or irreversible damage to the
environment
or human health ? "
For design
purposes, the Universal Safety Objective then becomes ....
The
Protection of Human Health and the Environment

Points
To Note
-
The process illustrated above must be transparent
-
Clear
statements on reliability must be made with regard to supporting
statistical databases and methods of risk
assessment
-
Statements
of uncertainty must accompany calculations
-
Informed Consent
Consent freely obtained - without threats or improper inducements
- after appropriate disclosure to a person of relevant, adequate
and easily assimilated information in a form (e.g. oral, written,
braille) and language understood by that person.

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