The Science of Bureaucracy
Risk Decision-Making and the US Environmental Protection Agency
By David Demortain | Publisher: MIT Press
About the book
How the US Environmental Protection Agency designed the governance of risk and forged its legitimacy over the course of four decades.
The US Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970 to protect the public health and environment, administering and enforcing a range of statutes and programs. Over four decades, the EPA has been a risk bureaucracy, formalizing many of the methods of the scientific governance of risk, from quantitative risk assessment to risk ranking.
Demortain traces the creation of these methods for the governance of risk, the controversies to which they responded, and the controversies that they aroused in turn. He discusses the professional networks in which they were conceived; how they were used; and how they served to legitimize the EPA. Demortain argues that the EPA is structurally embedded in controversy, resulting in constant reevaluation of its credibility and fueling the evolution of the knowledge and technologies it uses to produce decisions and to create a legitimate image of how and why it acts on the environment. He describes the emergence and institutionalization of the risk assessment–risk management framework codified in the National Research Council's Red Book, and its subsequent unraveling as the agency's mission evolved toward environmental justice, ecological restoration, and sustainability, and as controversies over determining risk gained vigor in the 1990s.
Through its rise and fall at the EPA, risk decision-making enshrines the science of a bureaucracy that learns how to make credible decisions and to reform itself, amid constant conflicts about the environment, risk, and its own legitimacy.
Editions of The Science of Bureaucracy
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780262537940
- EBook
- ISBN 9780262356664
- EBook
- ISBN 9780262356671
- EBook
- ISBN 9780262356688
Read an Excerpt
How the US Environmental Protection Agency designed the governance of risk and forged its legitimacy over the course of four decades.
The US Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970 to protect the public health and environment, administering and enforcing a range of statutes and programs. Over four decades, the EPA has been a risk bureaucracy, formalizing many of the methods of the scientific governance of risk, from quantitative risk assessment to risk ranking.
Demortain traces the creation of these methods for the governance of risk, the controversies to which they responded, and the controversies that they aroused in turn. He discusses the professional networks in which they were conceived; how they were used; and how they served to legitimize the EPA. Demortain argues that the EPA is structurally embedded in controversy, resulting in constant reevaluation of its credibility and fueling the evolution of the knowledge and technologies it uses to produce decisions and to create a legitimate image of how and why it acts on the environment. He describes the emergence and institutionalization of the risk assessment–risk management framework codified in the National Research Council's Red Book, and its subsequent unraveling as the agency's mission evolved toward environmental justice, ecological restoration, and sustainability, and as controversies over determining risk gained vigor in the 1990s.
Through its rise and fall at the EPA, risk decision-making enshrines the science of a bureaucracy that learns how to make credible decisions and to reform itself, amid constant conflicts about the environment, risk, and its own legitimacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Science of Bureaucracy about?
How the US Environmental Protection Agency designed the governance of risk and forged its legitimacy over the course of four decades.
The US Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970 to protect the public health and environment, administering and enforcing a range of statutes and programs. Over four decades, the EPA has been a risk bureaucracy, formalizing many of the methods of the scientific governance of risk, from quantitative risk assessment to risk ranking.
Demortain traces the creation of these methods for the governance of risk, the controversies to which they responded, and the controversies that they aroused in turn. He discusses the professional networks in which they were conceived; how they were used; and how they served to legitimize the EPA. Demortain argues that the EPA is structurally embedded in controversy, resulting in constant reevaluation of its credibility and fueling the evolution of the knowledge and technologies it uses to produce decisions and to create a legitimate image of how and why it acts on the environment. He describes the emergence and institutionalization of the risk assessment–risk management framework codified in the National Research Council's Red Book, and its subsequent unraveling as the agency's mission evolved toward environmental justice, ecological restoration, and sustainability, and as controversies over determining risk gained vigor in the 1990s.
Through its rise and fall at the EPA, risk decision-making enshrines the science of a bureaucracy that learns how to make credible decisions and to reform itself, amid constant conflicts about the environment, risk, and its own legitimacy.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in The Science of Bureaucracy?
Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes > Environmental science, engineering and technology
Where can I read a sample of The Science of Bureaucracy?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780262537940
Is The Science of Bureaucracy part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Inside Technology
Who is/are the Author/s of the book The Science of Bureaucracy?
David Demortain
Who is the Publisher of the book The Science of Bureaucracy?
MIT Press
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
The Science of Bureaucracy is available as paperback(ISBN 9780262537940) and ebook(ISBN 9780262356664) and ebook(ISBN 9780262356671) and ebook(ISBN 9780262356688)
Where can I buy The Science of Bureaucracy online or support local independent bookshops?
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Where can I buy The Science of Bureaucracy?