Formulations of the Precautionary Principle as found in international treaties etc. are vague and could be interpreted to mean anything or nothing. To ensure consistency, regulators need to operationalise the Principle i.e. to spell out in some detail what application of such a principle should entail in practice. The paper sets out how the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has incorporated the Precautionary Principle in its decision-making framework so as to operationalise it, whilst at the same time widening its scope to provide an overall precautionary approach which produces a bias towards health and safety. The fundamental requirements of such a precautionary approach are considered, i.e. that it follows the principles of good regulation and it is not incompatible with the competitive and innovatory nature of the market economy; how these requirements are reflected in the risk assessment and risk management procedures actually adopted by HSE is described.
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