![]() ![]() The concept "precautionary principle" is generally considered to have arisen in English from a translation of the German term Vorsorgeprinzip in the 1970s in response to forest degradation and sea pollution, where German lawmakers adopted clean air act banning use of certain substances suspected in causing the environmental damage even though evidence of their impact was inconclusive at that time. In some legal systems, as in law of the European Union, the application of the precautionary principle has been made a statutory requirement in some areas of law. The principle has become an underlying rationale for a large and increasing number of international treaties and declarations in the fields of sustainable development, environmental protection, health, trade, and food safety, although at times it has attracted debate over how to accurately define it and apply it to complex scenarios with multiple risks. ![]() These protections should be relaxed only if further scientific findings emerge that provide sound evidence that no harm will result. It implies that there is a social responsibility to protect the public from exposure to such harm, when scientific investigation has found a plausible risk. The principle acknowledges that while the progress of science and technology has often brought great benefit to humanity, it has also contributed to the creation of new threats and risks. For example, a government may decide to limit or restrict the widespread release of a medicine or new technology until it has been thoroughly tested. taking a particular course of action) and conclusive evidence is not yet available. The principle is often used by policy makers in situations where there is the possibility of harm from making a certain decision (e.g. Interrelation between safety factor and reliability is extensively studied by engineers and philosophers. It was apparently suggested, in civil engineering, by Belindor in 1729. In an engineering context, the precautionary principle manifests itself as the factor of safety, discussed in detail in the monograph of Elishakoff. Critics argue that it is vague, self-cancelling, unscientific and an obstacle to progress. It emphasizes caution, pausing and review before leaping into new innovations that may prove disastrous. The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. ![]() For the Wikipedia guideline, see Wikipedia:Precautionary principle. ![]()
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