Chapter 4

Environmental Sustainability

As a goal of environmental policy, environmental sustainability adheres to the philosophical viewpoint "that a strong, just, and wealthy society can be consistent with a clean environment, healthy ecosystems, and a beautiful planet."

The links between hazard, risk, impacts, and social cost.

Hazard:Chemical Properties Risk:Exposure Impacts:Species Vulnerability Social Cost:Preferences & Value

The Policy Cycle

Policy definition-Agenda setting-Policy establishment-Policy implemenation-Assessment Policy

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Process that reviews the potential impact of anthropogenic activities with respect to their general environmental consequences.

CERCLA

Provides a Federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment.

Environmental Policy

Provides a framework for action and for the setting of its environmental objectives and target.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

Refers to "a method for describing and estimating the effects that a proposed project or policy may have on the health of a population."

The Precautionary Principle

States that "preventive, anticipatory measures . . . [should] be taken when an activity raises threats of harm to the environment, wildlife, or human health, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established."

Polluter-Pays Principle

The Polluter-Pays Principle "means that the polluter should bear the expenses of carrying out the pollution prevention and control measures . . . to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state."

Environmental Justice

The concept of environmental justice denotes the equal treatment of all people in society irrespective of their racial background, country of origin, and socioeconomic status.

Principles of Environmental Policy Development

The precautionary principle Environmental justice Environmental sustainability The polluter-pays principle

Risk Management

The process of risk management involves the adoption of steps to eliminate identified risks or lower them to acceptable levels (often as determined by a government agency that has taken into account input from the public).

Environmental Health Agencies

WHO EPA NIOSH