Approaches for describing and communicating overall uncertainty in toxicity characterizations: US Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) as a case study

被引:29
作者
Beck, Nancy B. [1 ]
Becker, Richard A. [1 ]
Erraguntla, Neeraja [1 ,2 ]
Farland, William H. [3 ]
Grant, Roberta L. [2 ]
Gray, George [4 ]
Kirman, Christopher [5 ]
LaKind, Judy S. [6 ,7 ,8 ]
Lewis, R. Jeffrey [9 ]
Nance, Patricia [10 ]
Pottenger, Lynn H. [11 ,14 ]
Santos, Susan L. [12 ]
Shirley, Stephanie [2 ]
Simon, Ted [13 ]
Dourson, Michael L. [10 ]
机构
[1] Amer Chem Council, 700 2nd St NE, Washington, DC 20002 USA
[2] Texas Commiss Environm Qual, POB 13087, Austin, TX 78711 USA
[3] Colorado State Univ, 135 Physiol 1680 Campus Delivery, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA
[4] George Washington Univ, Milken Inst Sch Publ Hlth, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20051 USA
[5] Summit Toxicol LLP, 29449 Pike Dr, Orange Village, OH 44022 USA
[6] LaKind Associates LLC, Baltimore, MD USA
[7] Univ Maryland, Sch Med, Dept Epidemiol & Publ Hlth, Milton S Hershey Med Ctr, 106 Oakdale Ave, Catonsville, MD 21228 USA
[8] Penn State Univ, Coll Med, Dept Pediat, Milton S Hershey Med Ctr, 106 Oakdale Ave, Catonsville, MD 21228 USA
[9] ExxonMobil Biomed Sci, 1545 US Highway 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801 USA
[10] Univ Cincinnati, Toxicol Excellence Risk Assessment TERA Ctr, Dept Environm Hlth, Coll Med,Kettering Lab, 160 Panzeca Way,Room G24, Cincinnati, OH 45267 USA
[11] Dow Chem Co USA, Toxicol & Environm Res & Consulting, Midland, MI 48674 USA
[12] FOCUS GRP Risk Commun & Environm Management Consu, 29 Welgate Rd, Medford, MA 02155 USA
[13] Ted Simon LLC, 4184 Johnston Rd, Winston, GA 30187 USA
[14] Olin Blue Cube Operat LLC, Larkin Ctr 100, Midland, MI 48674 USA
关键词
Uncertainty; Hazard; Risk assessment; Risk communication; Hazard communication; Toxicity characterization; HEALTH-RISK; BIOMONITORING EQUIVALENTS; IPCS FRAMEWORK; PERCEPTION; RELEVANCE; MODE;
D O I
10.1016/j.envint.2015.12.031
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
Single point estimates of human health hazard/toxicity values such as a reference dose (RfD) are generally used in chemical hazard and risk assessment programs for assessing potential risks associated with site-or use-specific exposures. The resulting point estimates are often used by risk managers for regulatory decision-making, including standard setting, determination of emission controls, and mitigation of exposures to chemical substances. Risk managers, as well as stakeholders (interested and affected parties), often have limited information regarding assumptions and uncertainty factors in numerical estimates of both hazards and risks. Further, the use of different approaches for addressing uncertainty, which vary in transparency, can lead to a lack of confidence in the scientific underpinning of regulatory decision-making. The overarching goal of this paper, which was developed from an invited participant workshop, is to offer five approaches for presenting toxicity values in a transparent manner in order to improve the understanding, consideration, and informed use of uncertainty by risk assessors, risk managers, and stakeholders. The five approaches for improving the presentation and communication of uncertainty are described using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) as a case study. These approaches will ensure transparency in the documentation, development, and use of toxicity values at EPA, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and other similar assessment programs in the public and private sector. Further empirical testing will help to inform the approaches that will work best for specific audiences and situations. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
引用
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页码:110 / 128
页数:19
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