What happens when the economic benefits of a pesticide or the social and cultural values of a community conflict with the ecological and human health risk assessment?  New Zealand law requires regulators to consider the social, cultural and economic risks and benefits of a pesticide as well as the ecological and human health risks.  This has led to both greater and less restrictions being imposed on products than were justified by the scientific assessment alone.  This paper uses examples from recent pesticide approvals of public interest to illustrate how different types of risk are balanced. The paper also shares the lessons learnt about communicating the results of ecological and human health risk assessments to decision makers and the public.  These lessons could be applied to various jurisdictions, where it is important to balance social, cultural and economic concerns with the scientific risk assessment.

Balancing the social, cultural, and economic risks and benefits of a pesticide with ecological and human health risk assessment

248th National Meeting (2014)

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