ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the conceptual and methodological challenges faced in developing the method and report results from four studies designed to assess its validity and usefulness. To facilitate consideration of all risk attributes, we also provided participants with an 11 17-inch chart with all 22 risks ranked separately, according to each attribute. In addition to the materials development work described above, we have completed four studies involving the Centerville Middle School test bed. Government agencies charged with regulating or otherwise managing health, safety, and environmental risks must somehow set priorities for addressing the many risks in their domain of responsibility. In contrast to most of the state and local comparative risk exercises conducted to date, we have decided to focus on lay participants drawn from the general public rather than on “stakeholders” representing particular groups. The problem of categorizing risks for ranking has received little formal attention in US Environmental Protection Agency's comparative risk exercises.
