Tocsin

1. The key to biological systems health is recognising the risk posed by cumulative, persistent man-made industrial chemicals that result in complex and difficult to predict tipping points - 'side effects from side effects from side effects'. (Beck 2010)

2. The more complex a system becomes the less risk can be predicted.

3. The way societies approach pollution, risk and systems health is entirely dependent on political and cultural attitudes to risk. Societal approaches to precaution and protection of future generations is social and political, engendered by access rather than technical.

4. Political and cultural attitudes to risk shape the way scientific knowledge (and hence perception of risk) is acquired, shaped and disseminated.

4. Europe has adopted the precautionary principle in a variety of ways that protect human and ecological systems. New Zealand has inconsistently applied the precautionary principle, and rarely addresses chemical pollution in policy documents.