The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), which is a cooperative program of the World Health Organization (WHO). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and International Labour Organisation (ILO), directs a number of pesticide activities, including the WHO component of the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) and the preparation of Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) documents and Health and Safety Guides (HSGs) on pesticides. The intake of pesticide residues is being predicted at the international level, which is based upon the maximum residue limits (MRLs) that are estimated by JMPR. Acceptance of the MRLs is increased when the prediction does not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI). IPCS is active in developing new methodologies and in developing scientific consensus documents on the assessment of health risks from exposure to chemicals. Two new initiatives are a project to obtain agreement among important national institutions on the approaches to be taken for the interpretation of data relating to specific effects and the development of a "Joint Meeting on Pesticides," which will provide comprehensive reviews of pesticide safety and use. © 1993 Academic Press. All rights reserved.
