An Evaluation of the Desirability of Evidentiary Procedures for Identifying Carcinogens

9310795 Cranor本研究将考察确定致癌物的决策过程中的科学和伦理参数。它涉及对各种致癌物鉴定程序的可取性的哲学和科学检查。该项目的重点是作为产品或作为生产副产品进入商业或进入环境的物质，这些物质没有经过广泛的毒性试验，必须满足政府的举证责任，才能将其从商业中移除。鉴定致癌物的不完善制度程序的可取性是其准确性、比率、成本和证据错误的社会成本的复杂函数。该项目的哲学研究将评估错误的社会成本及其相对重要性，并发展哲学基础和模型来评估不同程序的可取性。调查将考虑改变相关参数的方法，以便将伦理问题置于背景中。例如，错误的成本可能是受影响人群规模、年龄或是否愿意承担风险的函数。成本可能包括社会成本和生物成本，以及风险认知和社会不信任等因素。科学研究，增加哲学，将评估的准确性，速度和成本的识别程序，并将纳入整体评估和模型。它将使用已确定的致癌物作为参考类别，将标准危害识别程序与目前正在使用、开发或考虑的替代程序进行比较。研究结果将发表在期刊上，并在会议和专业会议上报告。＊＊＊

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. ***