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Abstract
The choice of decision framework used to set regulatory tolerance
levels for hazardous substances can be divided into rigid and
flexible tolerance levels. Rigid decision frameworks include zero
or deminimis that fix risk levels for some
subpopulation.
and/or highly
tolerances
The accelerating identification of highly sensitive
exposed individuals and the division of the
population into ever smaller subpopulations at higher risk could
prove to be tremendously burdensome on regulatory systems,
particularly for rigid decision frameworks. Rigid tolerance
levels, philosophically based on "rights" to zero or arbitrarily
low excess risks for individuals, do not contain sufficient
flexibility to account for small high-risk subpopulations.
Furthermore, the equal protection for all such groups is an
illusion, mainly because of the potentially large number of such
subgroups and the relatively fixed regulatory resources. Thus, deminimis regulation is seen as a minimal but inadequate improvement
over zero risk regulation. with improved measures of the
heterogeneous demand for risk reduction by various high-risk
subpopulations, augmented cost-benefit analyses leading to flexible
tolEr2.nces could provide a richer analytic framework for more
efficient regulatory decisions. Additionally, it may be useful to
attempt to c2.tegorize hazards and subpopulations on the basis of
the ability to self-protect.