ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the magnitude of the technological hazard burden, as measured by hazard consequences, the anatomy of hazards, as described by a generally applicable "causal model" and a taxonomy of technological hazard based on this causal model. The degree of control that society achieves over particular hazards depends strongly on the character of institutions and laws, as well as perceptions of individuals. Nature and technology are both implicated in most hazards. A great deal of feedback takes place in the way individuals strike a balance between hazard creation and reductioa. Thus it is possible for effective feedback to occur through a "free market" mechanism, or through explicit regulatory actions. Technological hazards are classified in a variety of apparently inconsistent ways, ranging from technological source, to function or purpose, to exposed population, to environmental pathway, to any or all varieties of consequences.
