Technology Assessment in a Dialectic Key

The adversary process which pits goverment policy against scientfic expertise over health and environmental issues is forcing scientists to admit they do not completely understand some of the potentially threatening processes they have developed. Most safety commission groups have persons from a variety of backgrounds, enabling them to evaluate many aspects of a project which may not be included in the expertise of the scientist who develops the project. Another aspect of technology assessment is effectiveness ad efficiency. A piece of equipment may be effective in controlled conditions but be inefficient under actual field conditions. Equipment should be objectively tested for both characterstics. The goal of technology assessment should not be to establish certainties, but to foster conflicts in opinions between experts on even the most basic technological questions.