TOWARD A DEMINIMIS POLICY IN RISK REGULATION

There is increasing recognition that it is inefficient for regulatory agencies to expend resources on controlling risks that might be considered 'trivial. ' Although absolute language in various health and safety statutes appears to constrain agencies from considering the significance of certain risks, there appears to be ample precedent for the interpretation of statutory language in terms of a de minimis cutoff. The use of such a cutoff would permit agencies to focus their efforts on cost-effective risk reduction, without having to resort to elaborate justifications for ignoring trivial risks. Since complete elimination of a risk is frequently impractical, if not impossible, a de minimis policy would represent formal recognition of the pragmatic limitations of regulatory risk management. The concept of de minimis risk has its origins in the legal principle, de minimis non curat lex, (i. e. , the law does not concern itself with trifles). In the regulatory context, a risk is considered 'trifling' or 'negligible' if it is so trivial that the costs of regulatory consideration outweigh the importance of the risk.