Risk and democracy

I was honored when asked to address the National Academy of Engineers on nuclear power issues. Bin I had to ask myself, “what do I know about these issues?” I take some encouragement from Judge Learned Hand's remark to me that, “There's no substitute for the untutored approach” in judicial decisions about even highly technical matters. But I must say that the health and safety risks generated by modem science and technology arc extraordinarily complex. This calls for concerted efforted to clarify the role of the courts in regulation of risks, such as administrative licensing of nuclear power plants.