Societal Risk Assessment

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This volume presents the papers and discussions from a symposium on "Societal Risk: How Safe is Safe Enough?" held at General Motors Research Laboratories on October 8-9, 1979. As the twenty-fourth in an annual series initiated in 1957, these symposia aim to foster knowledge exchange among specialists from various disciplines in rapidly evolving areas of science and technology. Participants typically include representatives from academic, government, and industrial institutions engaged in relevant activities. The symposium sought to provide a balanced perspective on the current status of societal risk assessment within the public policy process and to identify potential future research directions. It was organized around two key dimensions: certainty versus uncertainty and subjective versus objective assessments. Attendees from diverse fields related to risk perception, quantification, and mitigation were brought together to encourage the sharing of ideas and experiences. The invited papers, structured into four sessions, serve as the foundation for this exchange and are presented in the order of their delivery, followed by the discussions that arose from them.