RT Book, Section A1 Samet, Jonathan M. A1 Burke, Thomas A. A2 Boulton, Matthew L. A2 Wallace, Robert B. SR Print(0) ID 1182673957 T1 Managing Environmental and Occupational Risks T2 Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e YR 2022 FD 2022 PB McGraw Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781259644511 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182673957 RD 2024/03/28 AB Risk refers to the likelihood that an untoward event will occur. Much environmental and occupational health research is directed at establishing whether an agent increases risk and by how much, laying the foundation for control. There are multiple evidence-based paths by which the risks posed by environmental and occupational agents are reduced and eliminated: regulatory actions directed at exposures, voluntary actions by those producing agents that pose a risk to the population and to workers, litigation directed at manufacturers and vendors of toxic agents, and protective measures taken by individuals and communities. Scientific evidence is central and often pivotal to motivating actions to reduce risk by providing: an indication as to the existence of a hazard; an understanding of the magnitude of the risk and how it varies with exposure or dose; and identifying points for interventions to reduce exposures and risks. Uncertainty, the complement to evidence, figures into decision-making as well. However, in actuality, numerous factors beyond scientific evidence and gaps in the evidence with attendant uncertainty drive actions related to policies on environmental and occupational agents (Fig. 78-1). These include stakeholder interests, the range extending from affected citizens and communities to the polluting parties. The power of political influence and of financial consequences of action need to be acknowledged, as does the impact of citizen’s voices and nongovernmental organizations. A single figure cannot capture the multiple sectors and their interactions across the broad array of regulations and stakeholders that drive environmental and occupational health. This chapter provides a general introduction to the management of risk in these sectors.