ABSTRACT
At the end of the 20th century, hazards have become a part of everyday life to an extent that they have never been before. It is not that life, at least in advanced industrial societies, is more dangerous. Indeed, by any measure, the average person is safer and is likely to live longer and with greater leisure and well-being than at earlier times. Nevertheless, the external world seems replete with toxic wastes, building collapses, industrial accidents, groundwater contamination and airplane crashes and near collisions. The newspapers and television news daily depict specific hazard events, and a parade of newly discovered or newly assessed threats – the ‘hazard-of-the-week’ syndrome – occupies the attention of a host of congressional committees, federal regulatory agencies, and state and local governments. Seemingly any potential threat, however esoteric or remote, has its day in the sun.
