2005 Press Releases
Weighing the Risk - Last Lecture Series, 27 April
What's more dangerous - climbing a stairs, playing a game of soccer or
football, driving a car - or the effects on the environment of
incineration and the pharmaceutical industry?
There are inherent dangers in each of these things, says Professor
James Heffron of the Department of Biochemistry at University College
Cork, but perhaps the time has come to evaluate them sensibly and even
to formulate a policy of what might be regarded as acceptable human
risk. On Wednesday evening next, (April 27th) as part of UCC's
continuing Faculty of Science Public Lecture Series, organised by
Professor William Reville, Professor Heffron, an expert in the field of
the toxicity of synthetic and natural chemicals, will offer some
thought-provoking insights on the dangers we face in our daily lives
and how, realistically, we might begin to weigh the risks.
The European Union, Professor Heffron says, does not have an acceptable
risk policy, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended
that, over a lifetime of 70 years, acceptable risk should be measured
in the ratio of 1:10,000, 1:100,000 or 1:1,000, 000. "Personally, I
believe the risk should be set at somewhere between 1:100,000 and
1:1,000000," he adds.
While the presence of risk in our lives can't be denied, statistical
evidence shows that even though some risks are more threatening than
others, people don't necessarily pay more attention to them. In other
words, despite the fact that statistically, the ratio of deaths from
lung cancer due to smoking is 1:2.5, much more attention is paid to the
perceived risks from emissions caused by pharmaceutical manufacturers
and the incineration industries. How much attention is paid to the side
effects of the drug compounds we use on a regular basis, and how often
are such risks measured against, say, the risk of driving on our roads,
or for that matter, playing a game of football or climbing the stairs
at home, Professor Heffron asks, and suggests that driving, overeating
and climbing stairs, are far more dangerous. And what about the
risks from the wide variety of the natural pesticides present in all
vegetables and plants ? Should we be worried about the toxic
chemical acrylamide which is present in toasted bread and crisps ?
In his lecture titled "Living with Risk", Professor Heffron will
suggest that the time has come for an official acceptable risk policy
but he will also warn that the formulation of the policy should not be
left solely to the scientists and that the public, after informed
debate, should decide what the parameters will be. The lecture promises
to illuminate an often fraught debate which has a particular resonance
in Cork at present, as decisions are awaited on the future of
incineration in the region.
The lecture will take place on Wednesday (April 27th) at 8pm in Boole Lecture Theatre 4, University College Cork.
As always, members of the public are invited to attend and admission is free.
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