Towards a Precautionary Approach for Waste Management Supported by Education and Information Technology

This chapter concludes the information provided in these proceedings. The state of the art of the knowledge on health hazards associated with waste deposit sites and incinerators is overviewed. In particular cancers, congenital malformations, genetic damage, neurological and behavioural changes, immunological impairment, reproductive failure and interference with hormones seem to be the main health end points of the pollutants involved. These data also point to the fragmentary and ad hoc character of this information. Both elements are crucial in the scientific uncertainty which is manifest.Waste policy in the EU widely accepts the prevention — re-use — recycling — thermal valorisation-controlled disposal hierarchy. Nevertheless, waste disposal and incineration are the prevailing management options in practice. To protect health a significant move towards more prevention and re-use seems most necessary. The conceptual basis for this is embedded in a revived application of the precautionary principle. Health impact assessment, environmental taxes and environmental education might prove to become major instrumental pillars of such a proactive waste policy. An environmental education strategy might be based on the ‘Declaration of Kos’ advocating training and education for a wide array of target groups including biomedical and environmental experts, an interdisciplinary approach and the installation of a chemical hygiene attitude.