The precautionary principle is the initial condition though! (Ideally speaking, of course.) The idea is to assume new chemicals may be dangerous. Then undertak

The precautionary principle is the initial condition though! (Ideally speaking, of course.) The idea is to assume new chemicals may be dangerous. Then undertake careful testing programs to determine if they really are dangerous. I think that this is what the grandparent comment was suggesting. There is good precedent for the use of this principle, take for instance drug trials. Furthermore, I think it would be beneficial to assume all new technologies may have detrimental effects, and weigh those effects carefully.