Cost-effective risk reduction
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Date
1981-11-12
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Abstract
A clear distinction must be made between individual and community decisions involving some risk factor.
In developed industrial countries risks controlled by community decisions (for example, occupational risks) are, in general, two orders of magnitude smaller than risks associated with individual decisions (smoking, dietary habits and general life-style). Thus, any community decisions (in peacetime) have less bearing on expectation of life (this has increased by about 25 years to more than 70 years in Australia over the last 90 years).
Nowadays the central issue in community decisions is cost-effectiveness or how to achieve the greatest reduction in all risks to the community for a given total diversion of resources from other socially desirable objectives (at the discretion of the society).
To implement a cost-effective strategy, risks must be quantified and, dealing with existing activities, any additional resources channelled into activities with the lowest marginal or incremental cost per life-saved irrespective of absolute risk levels.
In principle, no industry can be considered in isolation but community intervention is required, in the form of rules and regulations, to achieve a rational distribution of risk reduction resources.
Although the basic principles are straightforward and a reasonable amount of risk data is already available cost-effectiveness is only slowly gaining ground as an aid to community decision making.
Description
Physical copy held by ANSTO Library at DDC: 612.46/78
Keywords
Public relations, Radiation protection, Risk assessment, Occupational exposure, Cost Effectiveness analysis, Dosimetry
Citation
Bicevskis, A. (1981). Cost-effective risk reduction. Presentation to the 3rd AINSE Engineering Conference, 12-13th November 1981, AINSE Theatre, Lucas Heights. In 3rd AINSE Engineering Conference, 12 - 13th November 1981, AINSE Theatre, Lucas Heights handbook: conference handbook(programme, abstracts and general information), (pp. 38). Lucas Heights, Sydney: Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering.