Chemicals Versus Microbials in Drinking Water: A Decision Sciences Perspective

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Abstract
Public health interventions aimed at reducing one risk may actually increase another risk. For example, concern is growing about the chronic health risks associated with the chemical agents used by many water systems to protect against waterborne microbial disease. Some combination of microbial and chemical risks appears to be unavoidable. Science alone cannot resolve this dilemma, because a value judgment that is sensitive to citizens' attitudes toward risk must be made. To compare health risks, the ultimate health effects need to be expressed in the same unit of measurement. Using an analytical framework called decision analysis, policymakers can analyze risks and attitudes in terms of public health effects, economic cost to society, and consequences for overall quality of life. In the current disinfection regulatory deliberations, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is approaching the issue from an economic standpoint, whereas if it were to analyze the issue from a different angle, the relative attractiveness of the regulatory scenarios might be quite different. USEPA's current struggle to weigh the trade‐offs involved in setting regulations for disinfectants and their by‐products underscores the need for targeted social science research about attitudes toward risk.

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