Society increasingly needs to balance the potential risks posed by exposure to chemicals against the benefits provided from the use of these chemicals. This can be highly contentious because different segments of society hold different and often irreconcilable views on the acceptability of risks and the value of apparent benefits.
Socioeconomic analysis (SEA) seeks to quantify as far as possible the social, economic and human health costs and benefits of different potential scenarios so that rational, transparent and consistent decisions can be made. SEA is an important process under REACH if substance Authorisation or Restriction is being considered. However, regulatory authorities in other areas of chemicals management have also recently realised that formal approaches to SEA are essential to avoid inconsistent decision-making, e.g. when authorising medicines.
We have helped government and commercial clients to develop methods for performing SEAs, with an emphasis on the use of quantitative and semi-quantitative evidence. We have also developed and used multi-criteria decision analysis techniques to allow the consistent combined use of both quantitative and qualitative evidence in SEA.
