Society for Risk Analysis

Society for Risk Analysis New England Chapter

CO-PRESIDENTS (2005-2006) Co-Presidents’ Message - May 2006 JOANNE SHATKIN The Cadmus Group P:617 673-7161 Dear SRA-New England Members: F: 617 673-7001 [email protected]

TOM ANGUS Its finally spring and the season we associate with change, new Massachusetts Department of growth, and rebirth. In that spirit, we welcome Dr. Ragnar Lofstedt of Environmental Protection, Office of Research and Standards Kings College, London, on May 23, 2006 to discuss the changes in P:617 292-5513 F:617-556-1006 European regulatory approaches. We are pleased Dr. Lofstedt can join [email protected] us while in Boston co-teaching a course on Risk Communication. Dr. PAST PRESIDENT Lofstedt is Director of King’s Centre for Risk Management, and IGOR LINKOV Cambridge Environmental, Inc Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis (and graduate of Clark P: 617-225-0812 linkov@cambridgeenvironme University). Please join us at CDM for the last invited speaker of this ntal.com season’s seminar series. The snack/social period will be from 4:30-

SECRETARY 5:00 PM and Ragnar’s talk will be from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. KAREN VETRANO TRC Environmental P. 860-298-6351 Our June 14th meeting is our Annual Poster Session, a time to catch up F. 860-298-6380 [email protected] and network with your colleagues, and discuss your current work in

TREASURER risk assessment in an informal setting. It’s not too late to present your ARLENE LEVIN work. Please send your poster title to [email protected] no Eastern Research Group, Inc. P. 781-674-7369 later than May 21. We are once again offering a generous award for F. 781-674-2851 [email protected] best student poster, so please encourage students to attend.

WEBMASTER PAUL LOCKE Our April meeting had a great turnout for Mike Hutchinson’s Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Environmental discussion of his and his colleagues work regarding mercury in Protection Massachusetts. There was a lively discussion of the work and the P. 617-556-1160 [email protected] issues it raises. Thanks Mike! NEWSLETTER SUSAN MATKOSKI AMEC We are currently accepting nominations for next year’s SRA-NE P. 978-692-9090 x311 president. The sharing of responsibilities with a co-president has F. 978-692-6633 [email protected] worked out well this year and we would encourage a co-presidency [email protected] for next year as well. If you would like to nominate yourself or SPONSORS CDM (Camp Dresser & McKee Inc.) someone else, please contact Tom or Jo Anne.

BENEFACTORS TRC Environmental We look forward to seeing you all on May 23rd. Corporation Sincerely,

Your co-chairs: Jo Anne Shatkin and Tom Angus

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SRA-NE May Seminar 23 May 2006 5:00 P.M.

RSVP Required to Korin Scheible at CDM, [email protected] By noon the day of the meeting to facilitate security sign in

4:30-5:00 PM Social gathering, light snacks 5:00–6:00 PM Program

Conference Room, CDM One Cambridge Place, 50 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA Dr. Ragnar E. Lofstedt The Better Regulation Agenda - 2 years into the Barroso Commission.

Director, King's Centre for Risk Management School of Social Science and Public Policy King's College London Strand Building London WC2R 2LS UK

Summary: This talk examines the European Commission's better regulation agenda from the time that Barroso came to power in November 2004 until the summer recess in 2006. In particular it focuses on whether the Commission's regulatory thinking has moved away from the precautionary principle to regulatory impact analysis, something that predicted in 2004 (Lofstedt 2004). The article summarises the papers and communications in the better regulation area put forward by the Commission since November 2004 and makes a number of observations regarding how the better regulation agenda may develop in the future. It is based on a combination of desk research and interviews with policy makers, regulators, academics and stakeholders that have been involved in either shaping or fighting the better regulation agenda.

Biography: Ragnar E.Lofstedt is Professor of Risk Management and the Director of King’s Centre of Risk Management, King’s College London, UK where he teaches and conducts research on risk communication and management. Previously he was a Reader in Social Geography at the University of Surrey, UK. He is also an adjunct Professor at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Harvard School of Public Health where he co-directs the Risk Communication Challenge Course for continuing education professionals with Mr. David Ropeik. He is Adjunct Professor at the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, and he is a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Public Sector Research, Gothenburg University, Sweden.

Dr. Lofstedt earned his BA and MA degrees at University of California Los Angeles (1988) and Clark University (1991), respectively, before completing his PhD in geography at Clark University (1993). After a post-doctorate position at the Risk, Society and Policy Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) (Laxenburg, Austria), he joined the University of Surrey as a lecturer in social geography. He has conducted

of 4 - 2 - Society for Risk Analysis New England Chapter research in risk communication and management in such areas as renewable energy policy, transboundary environmental issues (acid rain and nuclear power), telecommunications, biosafety, and the siting of building of incinerators, nuclear waste installations and railways. He is a believer in the building of public trust in regulators and industry via proactive risk communication and argues that high regulatory/industry trust is equivalent to low public perceived risk.

Dr.Lofstedt is the author/editor of ten books and over 90 peer reviewed articles/book chapters, is the editor-in-chief for Journal of Risk Research, editor of the Earthscan publications' Risk, Society and Policy book series, and is on the editorial boards of International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, Journal of Health Communication, Risk Analysis and Risk Management. He is on the Society for Risk Analysis-Europe's Executive Committee and is the previous chair of the Society for Risk Analysis' Risk Communication Specialty Group. He is on the Academic Advisory Board of the UK National Patient Safety Agency, the Scientific Advisory Board of the UK Environment Agency, member of the European Food Safety Authority’s Advisory Group on Risk Communications and the Swiss National Science Foundation’s expert group on non-ionizing radiation. He is a senior advisor to the City of Vienna on risk communication and nuclear power and to the City of Gothenburg on climate change.

His work has been funded by the European Science Foundation, European Union, the National Science Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, UK ESRC, UK EPSRC and an array of private institutions. He has given invited lectures on risk communication and management issues at Cambridge, Harvard Business School, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, Jet Propulsion Laboratories-Cal Tech, MIT, NASA Head Quarters, Oxford, Princeton, and Yale School of Management. He has consulted widely for industry and regulators including Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), NASA, National Grid plc, Shell Oil, the State of Baden Wurttemberg (Germany), Swedish Chemical Industry Association, the Swedish Chemical Inspectorate, and Vattenfall AB. He is presently advising BBC News on how the corporation should communicate risk to the general public. In December 2000 Ragnar Lofstedt was awarded (as the first non American) the Chauncey Starr Award for exceptional contributions to the field of risk analysis for someone under the age of 40 by the Society for Risk Analysis and in 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING SEMINARS

Date Speaker Topic June 14 Poster Session ***************************************************************************************** POSITIONS (one this month) Please note that the job-posting fee for this newsletter is $100 for recruiters/commercial and $50 for government and nonprofit organizations. Please make your payment to Arlene Levin, NE-SRA Treasurer at Eastern Research Group. Inc. 110 Hartwell Street, Lexington, MA 02421

Entry-Level Human Health Risk Assessor (Part-time) O'Reilly, Talbot & Okun Associates, Inc. Westborough, MA

Job Description: Small environmental consulting firm seeks part-time, entry-level human health risk assessor in our Westborough, MA office. Current needs are for 16-24 hours/week, with potential for growth. Specific hours and days are

of 4 - 3 - Society for Risk Analysis New England Chapter flexible. Primary duties include completing and assisting senior staff with human health risk characterizations under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP). Master’s degree in science or public health with 2-5 years of risk assessment experience preferred. The successful candidate will be mature, self-motivated, organized, and detail-oriented. Strong analytical, computer, and writing abilities required.

Competitive salary. Please email resume to [email protected]. Website: http://www.oto-env.com.

*********************************************************************************************** DIRECTIONS TO CDM: One Cambridge Place, 50 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617-452-6000.

From I-93 (north of Boston): Take Route 93 South into Boston. Take Exit 26A North 28 (Leverett Circle, Cambridge). Once on exit, keep left & follow signs for Storrow Drive. At bottom of ramp, take left at the lights. Go straight through next set of lights onto Storrow Drive West & get in the left lane. Exit at government Center/Kendall Sq. exit. Take right at the end of exit onto Longfellow Bridge to Kendall Square. Go straight over Longfellow Bridge through first sets of lights & pass the Marriott Hotel on the left. Continue straight on Broadway until you cross the railroad track. Take the next right on Hampshire Street & continue two blocks. The building is on your left, at 50 Hampshire Street.

From I-93 (south of Boston) : Take Route 93 North into Boston. Take Exit 26 (Storrow Drive/Cambridge - Somerville). Once on exit, stay in the left lane & follow through the tunnel & onto Storrow Drive. Follow signs for Kendall Square. At the blinking light, take a right onto the Longfellow Bridge to Kendall Square & pass the Marriott Hotel on the left. Continue straight on Broadway until you cross the railroad track. Take the next right on Hampshire Street & continue two blocks. The building is on your left, at 50 Hampshire Street.

From Mass Turnpike (I-90) : Take Exit 18 (Cambridge/Allston) & follow signs to Cambridge. At first intersection, turn right onto Storrow Drive. Continue straight for about four miles. Take Government Center/Kendall Square exit. At first light make a left turn. At second light make another left turn & cross over the Longfellow Bridge (over the Charles River) to Kendall Square. Continue straight on Broadway until you cross the railroad track. Take the next right on Hampshire & continue two blocks. The building is on your left, at 50 Hampshire Street.

From the T: Red Line The T stop that is closest to One Cambridge Place is the Kendall Square/MIT stop, on the Red Line. From in front of the MIT COOP, near the city bus stop on Main Street, you can take the CDM shuttle-bus (free transportation to the office). The shuttle has a sign in the window that says CDM. The shuttle leaves Kendall Square at 4:10 and 4:25 pm. Green Line: If you are coming from the Green line, change to the Red Line at Park Street, heading towards Alewife. Blue Line & Airport: From Logan International Airport, take the shuttle bus to the airport Subway stop, then take the Blue Line inbound to Government Center. Change to the Green line Inbound to Park, then take the Red line (towards Alewife) to Kendall. Orange Line: Change from the Orange Line to the Red Line (towards Alewife) at Downtown Crossing.

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