ABSTRACT

To derive conclusions about action, we need some statements about how the world works and

some statements about what we believe are good and right.

Randall (2006)

Risks are ne ver the sole basis for decision making (Chapter 36). Risks are more accepta ble

when there are countervailing benefits, and actions to reduce risks are more acceptable if there

is a clear legal mandate, legal precedent, or public support. Increasingly, formal analyses of

costs and benefits are required. Therefore, integration of the risk assessment with the eco-

nomic analysis should be planned during the problem formulation. However, it is also

important to be aware of the limitations of economic decision criteria and of the existence

of other decision criteria. Environmental law, environmental economics, and environmental

ethics are large and complex fields in their own rights, which are barely touched on here. This

chapter is intended to simply create an awareness among ecological risk assessors of these

other considerations so that they have an idea of how their risk estimates must be combined

with these considerations during the decision-making process.