An Evaluation of the Desirability of Evidentiary Procedures for Identifying Carcinogens

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9310795 Cranor This study will examine scientific and ethical parameters in decision procedures for identifying carcinogens. It involves philosophic and scientific examination of the desirability of various carcinogen identification procedures. The focus of the project is on substances that have been introduced into commerce as products or into the environment as by-products of production without having been subjected to extensive toxicity testing, where a governmental burden of proof must be satisfied before they could be removed from commerce. The desirability of imperfect institutional procedures for identifying carcinogens is a complex function of their accuracy, their rate, their costs, and the social costs of evidentiary mistakes. The philosophical research in the project will assess the social costs of mistakes and their relative importance and develop a philosophic rationale and a model to assess the desirability of different procedures. The investigation will consider ways to vary relevant parameters so as to contextualize the ethical questions. For instance, costs of mistakes may be a function of size of exposed population, its age, or whether it can consent to the risk. Costs may include social as well as biological costs, factors such as perceptions of risk and social distrust. Scientific research, augmenting the philosophical, will evaluate the accuracy, rate, and costs of the identification procedures, and will be incorporated into the overall evaluation and model. It will use identified carcinogens as a reference class, comparing standard hazard identification procedures with alternatives that are being currently used, developed, or considered. Results from the research will be published in journals and reported at conferences and professional meetings. ***