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Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

Abstract

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management  More>>
Authors:
Fleming, Patricia [1] 
  1. Creighton Univ., Omaha (United States). College of Arts and Sciences/Philosophy
Publication Date:
Sep 15, 2006
Product Type:
Conference
Report Number:
NEI-SE-613
Reference Number:
RN07000202; TVI: 0618
Resource Relation:
Conference: VALDOR 2006. Values in Decisions on Risk, Stockholm (Sweden), 14-18 May 2006; Other Information: 10 refs.; www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/20789773-8VIl4U/; Related Information: In: VALDOR. Values in Decisions on Risk. Proceedings, by Andersson, Kjell (ed.) [Karita Research AB, Taeby (Sweden)], 616 pages.
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; RISK ASSESSMENT; DECISION MAKING; RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL; ETHICAL ASPECTS; RADIATION DOSES
OSTI ID:
20789773
Research Organizations:
Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, Stockholm (Sweden); Karita Research AB, Taeby (Sweden)
Country of Origin:
Sweden
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ISBN 91-6318876-7; TRN: SE0608449
Availability:
Also available from: http://www.congrex.com/valdor2006; Commercial reproduction prohibited; OSTI as DE20789773
Submitting Site:
SWD
Size:
page(s) 564-569
Announcement Date:
Dec 29, 2006

Citation Formats

Fleming, Patricia. Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk. Sweden: N. p., 2006. Web.
Fleming, Patricia. Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk. Sweden.
Fleming, Patricia. 2006. "Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk." Sweden.
@misc{etde_20789773,
title = {Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk}
author = {Fleming, Patricia}
abstractNote = {Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens.}
place = {Sweden}
year = {2006}
month = {Sep}
}