Informating risk

Abstract

This thesis examines a recent informational turn in chemical control in South Korea. After several high-profile chemical accidents such as a hydrofluoric acid leakage in Gumi, the Korean government and non-governmental organizations have focused on the collection of information on chemical substances and its disclosure as key strategies to achieve chemical safety. These strategies are part of a global turn toward informational regulation. Examining initiatives by multiple stakeholders in chemical management, this thesis analyses the premises and limitations of informating risk. Among the limitations are an insufficient attention to the utilization of accumulated information, the conceptual division between human toxicology and environmental toxicology, and the lack of effort to go beyond the informational realm and change various power relationships.