THE NEED FOR POLICY AND RISK ANALYSIS - THE DEPARTMENT-OF-ENERGY EXPERIENCE

Reduction of major risks to the public and workers is a top priority o f all federal agencies. Given current and future budget realities, age ncies cannot attempt to address all risks simultaneously nor to addres s certain relatively lower risk activities as rapidly as some would li ke. The assumptions and judgments inherent in using risk analysis in t he absence of data, however, have to be clearly stated. What is needed is an integrated risk assessment and management process that meets th e current and future needs of the government, as well as of stakeholde rs. Yet there have been many questions raised regarding risk assessmen t: our ability to define the risks on a specific substance or site bas is and in a systematic way; methodology questions about identifying an d assessing diverse hazards and risks as well as uncertainties in the estimates, data gaps, and concern over the quality of information; and the fact that ''who'' performs the risk assessment matters. Knowing t hese controversies surrounding risk and the use of risk-based approach , the Department of Energy (DOE) requested the National Academy of Sci ences-National Research Council to determine whether and how risk and risk-based decisions could be incorporated into a major federal progra m, the DOE's Office of Environmental Management. The report identified the major obstacles, issues, and barriers to implementing a risk-base d management approach. The report concluded that the use of risk-based approach could help compare outcomes, build consensus, and gain early public involvement to include cultural, socioeconomic, historical, an d religious values, if its purposes and limitations are well defined. A status of the DOE's ability to implement the recommendations present ed in the report on the use of risk assessment in a major federal prog ram and the adoption of principles for using risk analysis will be giv en.