ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part discusses the breadth of the presentation problem, giving clear announcement of the complexity and size of the challenge. It shows that risk assessment and risk management are considerably more than a scientific enterprise. The part suggests that to incorporate ethics it will be necessary not only to expose the value base implicit in assessments and decisions, but to expand them beyond those typically applied using traditional assessment and management tools like animal studies and benefit-cost analysis. It highlights some value considerations that are often bypassed or underemphasized in risk analysis. The part describes the mechanisms for incorporation of public values into assessments and decisions. It also describes the most common challenge — the selection, comparison, and combination of information on value judgments where data are numeric and must be combined or directly compared.
