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CUMULATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT: GETTING FROM TOXICOLOGY TO QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Citation:
Barton, H A. AND C. N. Pope. CUMULATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT: GETTING FROM TOXICOLOGY TO QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS. Presented at Society of Toxicology 42nd Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 9-13, 2003.
Description:
INTRODUCTION: GETTING FROM TOXICOLOGY TO QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR CUMULATIVE RISK
Hugh A. Barton1 and Carey N. Pope2
1US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
2Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Assessment of the cumulative risk posed by exposure to multiple chemicals is a problem the US EPA's Program and Regional Offices confront regularly. This session will focus on the interplay of toxicology studies and quantitative analysis to assess cumulative risk using a variety of case studies. The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 directs the Office of Pesticide Programs to include in its assessments the risk associated with the cumulative effects of pesticides that have a common mode of action. Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) have been the first class addressed, based on the common mechanism of acetylcholinesterase inhibition. The toxicology and mode of action of these compounds will be described, noting factors that may confound the assessment of cumulative effects. The quantitative cumulative risk analysis of OPs based on anticholinesterase relative potency will then be presented. The Air Office is concerned with mixtures of criteria air pollutants and volatile organic compounds. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of multiple volatile chemicals provides an example of a biologically-based approach to cumulative analysis. The Office of Water is concerned with risk from mixtures of disinfectant byproducts and balancing that risk, either as single chemicals or mixtures, against the risk associated with microbial agents in water. Development of toxicity study designs to address interactions of chemicals in mixtures of increasing complexity is a critical part of developing improved evaluations of cumulative risk, so recent developments will be described. This workshop provides an opportunity for toxicologists and others involved in experimental studies and the development and application of quantitative analytical methods to discuss recent and ongoing efforts in this important and challenging area. (This abstract does not reflect EPA policy