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risk assessment

For over three decades the American Chemistry Council and its member companies have played an active role in screening and testing chemical substances, developing risk assessments and implementing science-based risk management policies. The Council’s long-standing perspective is to advocate and support governmental and private sector development of scientific data to improve the accuracy and relevance of risk assessments.

Contact: Tiffany Harrington
Phone: 703-741-5583

Risk assessment provides a structured and scientifically sound way to gather and analyze data and information related to toxicity, exposure assessment and dose-response to characterize potential risks.  In the early days of risk assessment, in the late 60s and the 70’s, scientists lacked an understanding of many of the biological processes related to development of adverse effects from chemical exposures, so risk assessment methods developed and used at that time relied on conservative, health-protective default assumptions.  In many cases, these risk assessments were “worst-case” scenarios, where exposure concentration estimates were maximal, the individual was presumed to spend his/her life at a single place and the toxicological hazards were presumed to be the greatest.  These types of approaches became ingrained in many regulatory programs.

Over the years, with continued scientific investigations and research, toxicological science, exposure analysis and related disciplines advanced.  Researchers and health professionals gained greater and greater scientific understanding and certainty of the biological bases of health risks year after year.  These scientific advances spurred great interest in improving risk assessment methods, so that risk assessments would truly reflect application of the best available science.  Unfortunately, many organizations had become comfortable with the status quo, such that improvements in risk assessment methods still lag significantly far behind the advances made by research scientists. 

To advance our focus on improving the accuracy and relevance of risk assessments, the Council supports scientific research through our Long Range Research Initiative specifically focused on developing new and better technical models and risk assessment techniques.  In addition, we work in science policy venues to promote, within regulatory bodies, the use of best available risk science, improved public participation processes and independent, expert peer review of agency risk assessments. 

One focus of ACC’s efforts has been the U.S. EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).  IRIS contains EPA’s scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects of chemical substances found in the environment.  IRIS currently provides information on health effects associated with chronic (or lifetime) exposure to over 540 chemical substances, and the IRIS database has become the primary chemical health risk database used by federal, state and international regulatory bodies.  But EPA’s IRIS needs improvement. Currently, about 80% of the IRIS assessments have not been updated for more than 15 years.  If EPA continues at its current pace, approximately 90% of the IRIS assessments will be 10 years or older in 2008.  What this means is that when EPA applies IRIS assessments to gauge potential health risks, for the vast majority of cases, they are applying 10 year old (and in many cases much older) data and methods.  Clearly, stakeholders are not benefiting from scientists’ superior understanding of biological processes and health risks when such older data and methods are used. To learn more about ACC's efforts to improve the scientific basis of risk assessment, see ACC Comments on the IRIS Decision-Making Process and ACC Comments on EPA’s Impending Proposal of an Updated IRIS Process.

In addition to EPA, ACC has also submitted comments and recommendations to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) focused on improving both the processes and the scientific quality of NTP’s biennial Report on Carcinogens. The NTP’s Reports on Carcinogens (RoCs) are both nationally and globally significant documents in the area of chemical assessment, The Council’s engagement in this area has focused on assuring that the foundation of NTP’s RoC is a comprehensive and thorough review and interpretation of the best available science, conducted in a manner that fosters scientific dialogue, and includes transparent decision making, open meetings and stakeholder involvement. To learn more about ACC's efforts to improve the RoC processes and science, see ACC’s Comments on the Review Process and the Listing/Delisting Criteria Used for the Report on Carcinogens.  In 2007, NTP initiated steps to improve the RoC; these improvements reflect, in part, ACC’s earlier recommendations. 

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