fields. Dosimetry measures absorbed energy in living organisms. On the basis of such measurements it will be necessary to establish exposure standards that will take into account immediate and long-term effects and to ascertain which of such effects may be benign or hazardous. Baranski and Czerski differentiate between two different consequences of biological exposure. One, entitled "maximal comfort," takes into account the fact that "certain signs are observable but no differences between the functional efficiency of the organism in optimal conditions and on exposure are demonstrable." The other, entitled "physiological compensation," gives special attention to the fact that "the exposure causes various disturbances and imposes a stress on the compensatory mechanisms . . . [but] no irreversible structural changes occur, i.e., exposure does not lead to deviations from the statistical norm." Under the circumstances, those who are obliged to formulate policies to cope with the uncertainty of the hazard will be obliged to be both imaginative and prudent. In writing about decision making in relation to the environment Hargrove has noted that: When it is prudent policy, in light of all the facts, to take action notwithstanding the inadequacy of the scientific knowledge available, then the tentative and stopgap nature of the action should be clearly recognized. When, on the other hand, prudent policy dictates forestalling action until more data is available, then this course should be regarded not as passivism but as the better-informed--and thus more effect!ve--activism. Biological Effects of Microwaves, p. 183. Ibid. John L. Hargrove, Law, Institutions & the Global Environment, p. 41, 1972. Compare Carl Q. Christol, The International Legal and Institutional Aspects of the Stratosphere Ozone Problem, pp. 3-12, 1975.
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