I think you’re overestimating the degree to which these decisions are made logically based in a desire to avoid problems, and overly quick to dismiss different opinions on acceptable levels of risk as arbitrary or outrage-driven. There’s a long history of companies claiming to be doing the smart thing but cutting corners ruthlessly - for example, here’s a story I read last week contrasting how they told regulators they worked versus the actual plant conditions:

https://www.propublica.org/article/asbestos-poisoning-chemic...