ABSTRACT
Environmental risks are merely another class of risk-the chance that harm will befall us as we go through life. Frequently, avoiding one harmful or unpalatable result merely increases the chance that other, potentially even more harmful, results will come about. We stuff the walls and ceilings of the houses with insulation to conserve heat, but that same insulation traps fumes inside and we breathe the fumes continually, increasing the risk of respiratory ailments. Administrative agencies devote most of their energies toward the rule making required to implement legislation and toward the enforcement of those plans. Just as the constitutional branches of government keep each other under control by a system of checks and balances, agencies are regulated by the other branches through legislative oversight and the judicial review of agency decisions.
