Standards, Risk and the Scientist

Abstract

Central to risk regulation is the setting of standards. Standards generally: … define technical or quality requirements with which current or future products, production processes, services or methods may comply. (European Commission 2011: 1) From wall sockets, paper sizes, insulation to light bulbs, standards are playing important roles all around us. Scientists play significant roles in standard setting and increasingly in risk regulation and related policy. According to Demortain, scientists shape risk regulation and standards more than they would care to admit (p. 1). There is also increasing dependence on scientists to inform us if, for example, something is safe to eat, use or dispose of. Many times, public confidence and acceptance of various products rests on the belief that scientists have been consulted to evaluate the safety of those products. Scientists as holders of an expertise, provide international standard setting bodies with the required legitimacy to set rules even in the absence of power of enforcement or sanction (p. 10).