Democratizing Technology: Risk, Responsibility and the Regulation of Chemicals

Anne ChapmanEarthscanLondonSeptember 2007240 pp.ISBN 1844074218£49.95

This book is an original and critical examination of a key debate in science and technology: how society controls, governs and makes decisions about the development and use of technology. The book focuses on chemicals as the most pervasive technology on earth with wide ramifications for industry, government,society and the environment. It provides detailed coverage of the new EU 2006 Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) regulation that requires chemical companies to divulge information about all substances in their chemicals in order to protect humans and the environment.

Attention is also given to the immensely important new EU chemical regulations, REACH, the EU’s largest ever legal framework, discussing the problems that are likely to occur in REACH’s reliance on risk assessment methods and suggesting an alternative way forward for the regulation of chemicals. This volume is a breath of fresh air, providing much needed clarity and insight into the heart of the science and technology debates that are key to academic study, risk analysis and mitigation, as well as the domestic and international law, regulation and policy that govern all aspects of our relationship with the human and biological worlds.