ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the meaning and application of the precautionary principle (PP) in the case of nuclear power generation in the United States and the EU. As noted elsewhere in this volume, there are many formulations of the PP. In fact the PP’s “greatest problem, as a policy tool, is its extreme variability in interpretation. One legal analysis identified 14 different formulations of the principle in treaties and nontreaty declarations” (Foster et al. 2000). A French study included the comment that “the precautionary principle is neither understood nor interpreted in a single way” (Kourilsky and Viney 1999). A U.S. report noted that “[i]n the case of EMFs [electromagnetic fields], a variant of the PP called ‘prudent avoidance’ (defined as ‘undertaking only those avoidance activities which carry modest costs’) has been adopted by some states in the United States and several countries” (Graham 1999).
