Science And Judgement In Risk Assessment: Student Edition

by Isselbacher; Kurt J

• ISBN13: 9781560325895
• ISBN10: 1560325895
• Edition: Student
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1996-09-04
• Publisher: CRC Press

Summary

This text explores how the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA can improve its risk assessment practices under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and other regulatory statutes. It examines the assumptions made in risk analysis, how to deal with uncertainty, and other basic concepts, such as "inference assumptions", "default options", and the historical, social and regulatory contexts of risk assessment and risk management.

Table of Contents

PREFACE TO THE STUDENT EDITION	xiii	(2)
PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION	xv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	1	(15)
1 INTRODUCTION	16	(7)
Charge to the Committee	17	(4)
Conceptual Framework of the Report	21	(2)
PART I CURRENT APPROACHES TO RISK ASSESSMENT	23	(56)
2 RISK ASSESSMENT AND ITS SOCIAL AND REGULATORY CONTEXTS	25	(18)
General Concepts	25	(4)
Historical Roots	29	(4)
NRC Study of Risk Assessment in the Federal Government	33	(1)
Events After Release of the 1983 NRC Report	34	(2)
Uses of Risk Assessment in the Regulation of Hazardous Air Pollutants	36	(3)
Noncancer Risk Associated with Hazardous Air Pollutants	39	(1)
Public Criticism of Conduct and Uses of Risk Assessment	40	(3)
3 EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT	43	(13)
Introduction	43	(4)
Emission Characterization	47	(3)
Modeling Used in Exposure Assessment	50	(6)
4 ASSESSMENT OF TOXICITY	56	(12)
Introduction	56	(1)
Principles of Toxicity Assessment	56	(10)
New Trends in Toxicity Assessment	66	(2)
5 RISK CHARACTERIZATION	68	(11)
Introduction	68	(1)
Elements of Risk Characterization	69	(10)
PART II STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING RISK ASSESSMENT	79	(164)
The Need for Risk-Assessment Principles	80	(3)
Reporting Risk Assessments	83	(1)
The Iterative Approach	84	(1)
6 DEFAULT OPTIONS	85	(21)
Adoption of Guidelines	85	(5)
Departures from Default Options	90	(2)
Current EPA Practice in Departing from Default Options	92	(12)
Findings and Recommendations	104	(1)
Process for Departures	105	(1)
7 MODELS, METHODS, AND DATA	106	(38)
Introduction	106	(1)
Emission Characterization	107	(5)
Exposure Assessment	112	(7)
Assessment of Toxicity	119	(18)
Findings and Recommendations	137	(7)
8 DATA NEEDS	144	(16)
Context of Data Needs	144	(1)
Implications for Priority-Setting	145	(1)
Data Needed for Risk Assessment	146	(10)
Data Management	156	(1)
Findings and Recommendations	157	(3)
9 UNCERTAINTY	160	(28)
Context of Uncertainty Analysis	160	(1)
Nature of Uncertainty	161	(5)
Problems with EPA's Current Approach to Uncertainty	166	(1)
Some Alternatives to EPA's Approach	167	(8)
Specific Guidance on Uncertainty Analysis	175	(4)
Risk Management and Uncertainty Analysis	179	(4)
Comparison, Ranking, and Harmonization of Risk Assessments	183	(1)
Findings and Recommendations	184	(4)
10 VARIABILITY	188	(36)
Introduction and Background	188	(8)
Exposure Variability	196	(4)
Variability in Human Susceptibility	200	(3)
Conclusions	203	(14)
Findings and Recommendations	217	(7)
11 AGGREGATION	224	(19)
Introduction	224	(1)
Exposure Routes	225	(1)
Risk-Inducing Agents	226	(3)
Types of Nonthreshold Risk	229	(5)
Measures and Characteristics of Risk	234	(6)
Findings and Recommendations	240	(3)
PART III IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS	243	(26)
12 IMPLEMENTATION	245	(24)
Priority-Setting and Section 112	245	(1)
Iterative Risk Assessment	246	(6)
EPA Practices: Points to Consider	252	(4)
Institutional Issues in Risk Assessment and Management	256	(7)
Summary	263	(1)
Findings and Recommendations	264	(5)
REFERENCES	269	(20)
APPENDIXES	289	(42)
M Charge to the Committee	289	(2)
N-1 The Case for "Plausible Conservatism" in Choosing and Altering Defaults	291	(28)
N-2 Making Full Use of Scientific Information in Risk Assessment	319	(12)
INDEX	331