Uncertainty at the Highest Level of Exigence Imminent Danger

This chapter provides a brief overview of the most important sources of rhetorical uncertainty in technical documentation in the workplace the dynamic uncertainty of hazardous environments the variability and unreliability of human performance the uncertainty of what one agency calls premium data uncertainty in social structures and organizations and the rhetorical incompleteness of any single viewpoint. As the examples in this chapter demonstrate, the material and institutional uncertainty of hazardous environments affects documentation practices at all levels. But documentation practices can also contribute to uncertainty, particularly when writers depend too heavily on agency conventions to structure recommendations and conclusions. 

Risk specialists have developed. sophisticated mathematical models to describe the methodological and scientific uncertainty in regulatory risk assessments. In this chapter, I focus on those aspects of uncertainty that are most affected by documentation practices in hazardous environments. To set the stage for this discussion, I describe the problem of uncertainty at the highest level of exigence imminent danger. 

UNCERTAINTY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EXIGENCE IMMINENT DANGER 

Sections 103-104 of the Mine Act give miners the highest level of protection under the law. Under Sections 103—104, inspectors must tour every mine at least four times a year. If inspectors find evidence that mines have violated standards, they must issue a citation and estimate the time it will take for the mine to correct (abate) the problem (CFR 91-173, 103). If the danger is im- 

The Compilation of Judicial Decisions Which have an Impact on Coal Mine Inspections (Cleveland and Turner, 1977) documents the outcomes of these administrative appeals so that agencies can identify weaknesses in the interpretation and enforcement of standards. The following examples from the Compilation reveal the problems that inspectors face when they attempt to document evidence of imminent danger in writing. As the following examples suggest, many of the conditions that inspectors confront are either undefined or open to interpretation inspectors are nonetheless accountable for the quality t)f their evidence and the adequacy of their technical judgments. 

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