Science and decisions : advancing risk assessment /

Periodically, the National Research Council's Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology examines how risk assessment (RA) is and should be used in establishing public policy for monitoring and controlling environmental contamination. The present volume will become known as the "Silver Book" of risk assessment and will influence the process and applications of RA in much the same way, though probably not at the same magnitude, as its "Red Book" predecessor, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (1983), did a generation ago. The high-level committee endorsed the basic principles of the Red Book, but offered crucial extensions to meet the criticisms leveled against RA, to take into account new methodologies, and to provide guidelines for performing assessments for a variety of environmental needs. Chapters cover changes in RA use at the US EPA, design of RA, uncertainty, unified approaches, default values, and cumulative RA. The concluding chapters discuss the improvement of RA's utility and its role in risk-based decision making. Six appendixes explain the committee, its task and time line, and how the EPA has responded to prior reports. The work's abundant references and illustrations make it suitable as a course resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections. M. Gochfeld Robert Wood Johnson Medical School