![]() ![]() But this is not the crucial area of application of the precautionary principle. The best strategy for dealing with these is prevention, and some prudence in, for example, setting protection standards, as when safe levels are divided by factors of 10 or more to allow for possible inaccuracy in risk estimates. Several established risk factors, such as air, water and soil contaminants, are known for their adverse effects on human health. The concept of precaution is deeply rooted in the history of public health, and environmental health is no exception. Indeed it is implied by the principles of clinical medicine, in particular by the principle of non‐maleficence, more familiar to the public health profession. 4 The prescription to err on the side of caution, the “better safe than sorry” approach, may seem little more than common sense. Quite simply, it is usually taken to state that lack of scientific certainty must not be used as a reason to ignore or postpone preventive or remedial action when there are other good reasons to do so, as has happened many times in the past. 3 Despite its resonance, there is no unanimously agreed definition of the principle. So what is this principle and why is it important for public health as well as the environment?īorn in the environmental domain in the 1970s, the precautionary principle gained political profile in the 1980s and 1990s, and has attracted the attention of many involved in matters of environmental protection. 2 These are only two of many acts or laws where the precautionary principle is referred to. 1 Ministers of health, together with ministers of environment of the Member States in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region (52 of them in 2004) declared: “We reaffirm the importance of the precautionary principle as a risk management tool, and we therefore recommend that it should be applied ”. In fact the importance and relevance of the precautionary principle in the health domain has been attracting growing interest. As promotion and protection of human health is one of the key motivations of environmental preservation, the provision of the Treaty is good news for public health too. European law, at its highest level, is explicit and uncompromising. ![]() Article 174 of the Amsterdam Treaty of the European Union says “Community policy on the environment shall be based on the precautionary principle”. ![]()
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