Chemical Risk Assessment:

Selected Federal Agencies' Procedures, Assumptions, and Policies

GAO-01-810: Published: Aug 6, 2001. Publicly Released: Sep 5, 2001.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

J. Christopher Mihm
(202) 512-3236
contact@gao.gov

 

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

As used in public health and environmental regulations, risk assessment is the systematic, scientific description of potential harmful effects of exposures to hazardous substances or situations. It is a complex but valuable set of tools for federal regulatory agencies to identify issues of potential concern, select regulatory options, and estimate the range of a forthcoming regulation's benefits. However, given the significant yet controversial nature of risk assessments, it is important that policymakers understand how they are conducted, the extent to which risk estimates produced by different agencies and programs are comparable, and the reasons for differences in agencies' risk assessment approaches and results. GAO studied the human health and safety risk assessment procedures of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration. This report describes (1) the agencies' chemical risk assessment activities, (2) the agencies primary procedures for conducting risk assessments, (3) major assumptions or methodological choices in their risk assessment procedures, and (4) the agencies' procedures or policies for characterizing the results of risk assessments.

Jan 21, 2021

Jan 19, 2021

Dec 16, 2020

Nov 23, 2020

Nov 12, 2020

Oct 29, 2020

Oct 20, 2020

Sep 30, 2020

Looking for more? Browse all our products here