ABSTRACT

Any scientific enterprise that aims to influence policy will inevitably have its political dimension. Decisions about risks-to health and safety, to the environment, or to the social fabric-are no different. They transcend, and therefore cannot be restricted to, such apparently neutral scientific questions as what are the uncertainties and consequences of hazards, and what methods and standards for assessment of risk should be adopted, but instead become a part of a much wider political discourse. This point is illustrated no more clearly than in the debate surrounding “narrow” or “broad” participation in institutional risk management.