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INTEGRATION OF HUMAN HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT
Citation:
Munns Jr., W R., G. W. Suter, T. Vermeire, AND J. Sekizawa. INTEGRATION OF HUMAN HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT. Presented at The Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, November 12-16, 2000.
Description:
The WHO International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) have developed a collaborative partnership to foster integration of assessment approaches to evaluate human health and ecological risks. Recognizing the need to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of risk assessments globally, the objectives of this effort include: ensuring better understanding of the benefits of integration, understanding the obstacles that might be encountered in the integration process, and influencing key agencies, organizations, and scientific societies to promote discussion of integration. Although several types of integration may be desirable (e.g., across human health risk assessments, across ecological risk assessments, among stressors, etc.), we have focused om attention specifically on the integration of human health and ecological risk assessment approaches and methods from a scientific perspective. A framework document proposing an approach for integration has been developed for international peer review. This document provides details about how integration can occur within each component of risk assessment, and communicates the benefits of integration at each point. The concepts and approaches communicated in the framework will be evaluated in an international workshop. Workshop participants will be asked to identify improvements, to explore opportunities and mechanisms for integration, and to identify specific research needs for integration. The ultimate goal of this effort is to promote development of internationally-accepted guidance that will form the basis for harmonization of risk assessment.