Science and Decisions Advancing Risk Assessment (2009) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-25
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 15... ...
, the National Research Council established the Committee on Improving Risk Analysis Approaches Used by the EPA. The committee was charged with developing recommendations that, if implemented, could assist the agency in developing risk assessments that are both consistent with current and evolving scientific understanding and relevant to the many risk-management missions of the agency.
|
From page 16... ...
, used the Red Book as the basis of a main theme of his tenure: strengthening risk assessment as a tool to inform decision-making. EPA initially focused on human health risk assessment with the Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment (EPA 1986)
|
From page 17... ...
In the absence of completed risk assessments, risk management decisions continue to be made by state and federal agencies; however it is not known whether the decisions being made are health protective. To the extent that this practice continues, the value of risk assessment will erode.
|
From page 18... ...
As will be seen later in this report, early emphasis on identifying risk-management options and on seeking, through risk assessment, analyses that are most useful for evaluating the options is somewhat at variance with the risk-assessment–risk-management model first proposed in the Red Book in that the management options are no longer driven by whatever risk-assessment findings happen to emerge. The new model does not alter the technical content of risk assessment from that set out in the Red Book, and, if appropriate precautions are taken, it does not lead to inappropriate intrusions by risk managers into the risk-assessment process (an issue of much concern to the Red Book authors; see Chapter 2)
|
From page 19... ...
Whatever the decision context, the goal of risk assessment is to describe the probability that adverse health or ecosystem effects of specific types will occur under specified conditions of exposure to an activity or an agent (chemical, biologic, radiologic, or physical) , to describe the uncertainty in the probability estimate, and to describe how risk varies among populations.
|
From page 20... ...
Risk-assessment design is the subject of Chapter 3. Decisions regarding risks and risk changes expected under various risk-management options are informed by the availability of risk assessments.
|
From page 21... ...
The toxic or carcinogenic properties of substances under assessment are now typically described in qualitative terms (a weight-of-evidence evaluation) , and without quantitative expressions of the probability that the adverse effect is relevant to the human population that is the subject of the risk assessment.
|
From page 22... ...
THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMITTEE In response to the study request from EPA, the NRC established the Committee on Improving Risk Analysis Approaches Used by EPA. Committee members were selected for their expertise in biostatistics, dose-response modeling, ecotoxicology, environmental transport and fate modeling, environmental health, environmental regulation, epidemiology, exposure assessment, risk assessment, toxicology, and uncertainty analysis.
|
From page 23... ...
. The committee focused primarily on human health risk assessment, but considered the implications of its findings and recommendations to ecological risk analysis.
|
From page 24... ...
1990. Risk Assessment: Setting Priori ties and Strategies for Environmental Protection.
|
From page 25... ...
2007a. Scientific Review of the Proposed Risk Assessment Bulletin from the Office of Management and Budget.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.