Public Administration, Science and Risk Assessment: A Case Study of the U.K. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Crisis

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in the United Kingdom is regarded as one of the worst public policy crises the British government has experienced during the postwar era. In material terms, it has led to the slaughter of 3.3 million cattle and estimated economic losses of £3.7 billion. In administrative terms, the crisis brought about the dissolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This article examines the istitutional context in which decisions about the scientific evidence on BSE were made. The authors argue that a centralized system in which government agencies control science for government is inherently vulnerable to alliances of experts and interest groups that undermine the credible assessment of public health and safety risks. Specific societal conditions may encourage risk-opportunistic behavior among policy makers that is conducive to delays and inaction until such time as the evidence of a health risk becomes overwhelming.

Getting priorities straight: Risk assessment and decision-making in the improvement of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs

The issue of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs is not a recent phenomenon and reports of suspected genetic defects associated with breeding practices date back to Charles Darwin's time. In recent years, much information on the array of inherited defects has been assimilated and the true extent of the problem has come to light. Historically, the direction of research funding in the field of canine genetic disease has been largely influenced by the potential transferability of findings to human medicine, economic benefit and importance of dogs for working purposes. More recently, the argument for a more canine welfare-orientated approach has been made, targeting research efforts at the alleviation of the most suffering in the greatest number of animals.

A Risky Business: An Examination of Irish Probation Officers Attitudes and Work Practices Regarding Risk Assessment

This article examines recent research on risk assessment and probation practice in Ireland and relates the findings to the ongoing debate regarding risk management practices in probation. The piece discusses current theoretical arguments on the influence of risk in criminal justice and outlines the impact of risk discourse on probation practice in Ireland and England and Wales. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, Irish probation officers’ attitudes are examined in order to highlight key issues facing probation officers when making risk decisions. These findings are compared and contrasted to other research results from England and Wales. All the conclusions identify both positive and negative consequences of adopting risk tools and point to the continued salience of clinical judgment over actuarial methods of risk assessment. It is argued that the research highlights the role of ‘resistance’ by criminal justice professionals in mediating the effects of the ‘new penology’ at the level of implementation. The idea of resistance holds particular relevance for probation practice in Ireland where professional discretion is maintained within the National Standards framework. Despite this, to date there has been an uncritical approach taken to risk assessment which may ignore the dangers of risk inflation/deflation and the need to take into account local factors in assessing risk of reoffending

Risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in agricultural soils and maize tissues from selected districts in Tanzania

A field survey was conducted to investigate the contamination of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) in Tanzanian agricultural soils and to evaluate their uptake and translocation in maize as proxy to the safety of maize used for human and animal consumption. Soils and maize tissues were sampled from 40 farms in Tanzania and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in the United Kingdom. The results showed high levels of PTEs in both soils and maize tissues above the recommended limits. Nickel levels of up to 34.4 and 56.9mgkg(-1) respectively were found in some maize shoots and grains from several districts. Also, high Pb levels >0.2mgkg(-1) were found in some grains. The grains and shoots with high levels of Ni and Pb are unfit for human and animal consumption. Concentrations of individual elements in maize tissues and soils did not correlate and showed differences in uptake and translocation. However, Ni showed a more efficient transfer from soils to shoots than As, Pb and Cr. Transfer of Cr and Ni from shoots to grains was higher than other elements, implying that whatever amount is assimilated in maize shoots is efficiently mobilized and transferred to grains. Thus, the study recommended to the public to stop consuming and feeding their animals maize with high levels of PTEs for their safety.

Welfare risk assessment:The benefits and common pitfalls

Risk is defined as a situation involving exposure to danger. Risk assessment by nature characterises the probability of a negative event occurring and quantifies the consequences of such an event. Risk assessment is increasingly being used in the field of animal welfare as a means of drawing comparisons between multiple welfare problems within and between species and identifying those that should be prioritised by policy-makers, either because they affect a large proportion of the population or because they have particularly severe consequences for those affected. The assessment of risk is typically based on three fundamental factors: intensity of consequences, duration affected by consequences and prevalence. However, it has been recognised that these factors alone do not give a complete picture of a hazard and its associated consequences. Rather, to get a complete picture, it is important to also consider information about the hazard itself: probability of exposure to the hazard and duration of exposure to the hazard. The method has been applied to a variety of farmed species (eg poultry, dairy cows, farmed fish), investigating housing, husbandry and slaughter procedures, as well as companion animals, where it has been used to compare inherited defects in pedigree dogs and horses. To what extent can we trust current risk assessment methods to get the priorities straight? How should we interpret the results produced by such assessments? Here, the potential difficulties and pitfalls of the welfare risk assessment method will be discussed: (i) the assumption that welfare hazards are independent; (ii) the problem of quantifying the model parameters; and (iii) assessing and incorporating variability and uncertainty into welfare risk assessments. © 2012 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.

Risk assessment of neonatal excipient exposure:Lessons from food safety and other areas

Newborn babies can require significant amounts of medication containing excipients intended to improve the drug formulation. Most medicines given to neonates have been developed for adults or older children and contain excipients thought to be safe in these age groups. Many excipients have been used widely in neonates without obvious adverse effects. Some excipients may be toxic in high amounts in which case they need careful risk assessment. Alternatively, it is conceivable that ill-founded fears about excipients mean that potentially useful medicines are not made available to newborn babies. Choices about excipient exposure can occur at several stages throughout the lifecycle of a medicine, from product development through to clinical use. Making these choices requires a scalable approach to analysing the overall risk. In this contribution we examine these issues.

Risk assessment of patient handling with ambulance stretcher systems (ramp/(winch), easi-loader, tail-lift) using biomechanical failure criteria

The research aims to carry out a detailed analysis of the loads applied by the ambulance workers when loading/unloading ambulance stretchers. The forces required of the ambulance workers for each system are measured using a load cell in a force handle arrangement. The process of loading and unloading is video recorded for all the systems to register the posture of the ambulance workers in different stages of the process. The postures and forces exerted by the ambulance workers are analyzed using biomechanical assessment software to examine if the work loads at any stage of the process are harmful. Kinetic analysis of each stretcher loading system is performed. Comparison of the kinetic analysis and measurements shows very close agreement for most of the cases. The force analysis results are evaluated against derived failure criteria. The evaluation is extended to a biomechanical failure analysis of the ambulance worker's lower back using 3DSSPP software developed at the Centre for Ergonomics at the University of Michigan. The critical tasks of each ambulance worker during the loading and unloading operations for each system are identified. Design recommendations are made to reduce the forces exerted based on loading requirements from the kinetic analysis. © 2006 IPEM.

Estrogenic endocrine disruptors present in sports supplements. A risk assessment for human health

Sports supplements are becoming a regular dietary addition for consumers who view such products as a means of improving their health and performance. Previously estrogenic endocrine disruptors (EDs) were detected in 80% of 116 sports supplements investigated by biological in vitro reporter gene assays (RGAs). The aim of this study was to quantify the hormonal activity in 50 of these sports supplement samples using a validated estrogen RGA and perform an exposure and risk assessment for human health. Results showed that 17β-estradiol equivalent levels were higher than those reported as being present in the typical human omnivore diet in 33 of the sports supplements and higher than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) in 13 of these products. The highest activity samples presented a potential to influence the human daily exposure to 17β-estradiol like activity in various risk groups with a predicted hormonal impact of greatest concern in young boys and postmenopausal women. In conclusion, consumers of sports supplements may be exposed to high levels of estrogenic EDs.

Minimal intervention dentistry and older patients Part 1: Risk assessment and caries prevention

Ten million people in the UK today are aged over 65. The latest projections estimate that there will be 5 1/2 million more people aged 65 and older in the next 20 years. This projected pattern of population ageing will have profound consequences for dentistry. Minimal intervention dentistry (MID) is a modern evidence-based approach to caries management in dentate patients that uses the 'medical model' whereby disease is controlled by the 'oral physician'. This approach offers considerable benefits over conventional dentistry for older patients. It encourages patients to be responsible for their oral health through the provision of both knowledge and motivation. MID encompasses risk assessment for dental disease, early detection and control of disease processes, and minimally invasive treatment. 

Clinical Relevance: Risk assessment tools can aid the general dental practitioner and the patient to develop a suitable caries prevention programme for that individual and reduce the need for future operative intervention.