Selected Internet and World Wide Web Resources* Jacqueline Patterson *, P.J

ELSEVIER Toxicology 173(2002) 123-143 www.elsevier.comf1ocateftoxicol

Human health risk assessment:selected internet and world wide web resources* Jacqueline Patterson *, P.J. (Bert) Hakkinen 1, Andrea E. Wullenweber

t~xJologyExcelkni:e jorRisk Assessment,1757 Chase Avenue, Cincinnati, OR 45223, ~S'A ,. c,. c

Abstract

The world wide web (WWW) has become a valuable source of 24 hour-a-day accessto infonnation needed by human health risk assessors.Various web sites and other Internet resourcesprovide infonnation needed for human hazard identification, dose-response evaluation, exposure assessment,risk characterization, and risk management. Information on risk communication is also available. Substantial collections of information on multiple aspects of risk assessmentare found in sites sponsored by RiskWorld, the (US) EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment(NCEA), the (US) National Library of Medicine's TOXNET, the (US) Agency for Toxic Substancesand Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). Also valuable are various web sites providing information on the physical and chemical properties of chemicals, the environmental fate and transport of chemicals, government regulations, and guidance and training for performing risk assessments.Several professional societies and other organizations have web sites addressing risk assessmentissues and information, and there are Internet mailing lists for online help and for sharing infonnation and perspectives.We classify selectedweb sites according to user needsand provide the reader with a collection of selectedsites that can serve as entry points to risk assessment-relatedweb resources.@ 2002 Published by Elsevier ScienceIreland Ltd.

Keywords: Risk. assessment;Exposure assessment;Risk. analysis; Internet resources;Web sites

I. Introduction

'" The authorsdo not n~sarily endorseany productsor Human health risk assessment involves the services mentioned in this paper, or provided via the Web evaluation and quantification of potential health resources described. The have no editorial control over the hazards to humans from exposure to substances ongoing changes in Web site contents other than for the and agents in their environment. This paper iden- Toxicology Excellence for Risk Asscssment (TERA) site. Readers should use caution and apply expert judgment when tifies selectedworld wide web (WWW) and other considering use of the information from Web sites. Internet resourcesthat can assistthose conducting * Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-513-521-7426. or interpreting these assessments.It focuses on E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Patterson), human health hazards primarily from exposure to [email protected] (P.J.B. Hakkinen), [email protected] substancesin the environment. Government and (A.E. Wullenweber). I Tel.: + l-513-542-7475x24. private web sites from the US and elsewhereare 2 Tel.: + 1-815-577.2626. highlighted. Web resourcesfor evaluating ecologi-

0300-483X/O2/S- ~ front matter C>2002 Published by Elsevier ScienceIreland Ltd. PII: SO300-483X(O2)OOO27-6 124 J. Patterson et aI. / Toxicology 173 (2002) 123-143

cal risks and occupational exposures are covered range from simple screeningexercises to complex, elsewherein this series (Russom, Greenberg) and, multi-year projects that quantify risks for a range therefore, have not been addressed here. The of exposures. reader is also referred to Volume 157, Issue I of The four steps of the NAS paradigm are briefly Toxicology (2001) that also was devoted to Inter- described below. Government agenciesand internet resourcesfor toxicology. Some of the subjects national bodies have used the NAS paradigm to covered include toxicology information resources provide a framework for their risk efforts, along from the US EPA (Poore et al., 2001), other US with more specific guidance for evaluating and government agencies (Brinkhuis, 2001), profes- quantifying risk for agents causing specific types sional societies (Kehrer and Mirsalis, 2001), fee of effects. Sources for methodology and guidance and non-fee information resources(Wright, 2001), documents will be noted below. Internet search engines and library catalogs In the Hazard Identification step, one identifies (Wukovitz, 2001), digital education tools (Sharpe the contaminants that are suspected to pose et al., 2001), and online resourcesfor news about health hazards, quantifies the concentrations at toxicology and related topics (South, 2001). which they are present in the environment, and The National ResearchCouncil of the National describesthe specific forms of toxicity (e.g. neuro- Academy of Sciences(NAS) described the process toxicity, liver necrosis, and carcinogenicity) that of human health risk assessmentin 1983 (NAS, can be caused by the contaminants of concern. 1983)and subsequentlyupdated their paradigm in The risk assessorthen evaluates the conditions 1994 (NAS, 1994). NAS identified four steps for under which these forms of toxicity might be risk assessment.This paradigm has been adopted expressedin exposed humans. Much of the data by risk assessmentpractitioners and provides a needed for this step is primary scientific literature framework to evaluate the toxicity database for from the fields of toxicology and epidemiology. chemicals to which humans are or may be ex- Conclusions regarding hazard are frequently exposed, and to attempt to identify and quantify pressedas a weight-of-evidenceregarding the sub- potential risks to health from these exposures. stance's potential to elicit a particular type of The risk assessmentprocess is also used to esti- effect in exposed humans. This paper will not mate levels of intake that are expectedto be 'safe'. addressresources for seekingprimary literature to These values are then used in conjunction with conduct this step, but rather will highlight sources exposure information to determine acceptablelev- for existing evaluations conducted by government els for concentrations of hazardous chemicals in agenciesor other parties. The reader is referred to environmental media. Risk assessment,evaluation other papers in this serieson specific toxicological of the scientific data, is frequently distinguished endpoints (e.g. carcinogenesis,developmental and from risk management; decision making based in reproductive toxicology, and genetic toxicology), part on the risk assessmentinformation. In mak- as well as the publication by Wright (2001) on ing risk management decisions, the risk manager searching toxicology databases. may consider other factors such as economics, The second step in the NAS paradigm is the technical feasibility, public policy, and/or stake- Dose- ResponseAssessment, in which the quanti- holder considerations. tative relation between the dose and the response Examples of uses for risk assessmentinforma- is described; this may involve the use of mathe- tion include determining clean-up levels for haz- matical models. Variability in response,including ardous waste sites, estimating consumer exposure individual differences in susceptibility would be to a product ingredient, decisions regarding land considered. The result of the dose-response as- use, and setting drinking water standards for wa- sessmentis an estimate of risk, or sometimes an ter supplies. Risk assessmentis a multi-disciplined estimate of a 'safe' exposure or threshold for the effort involving toxicologists, epidemiologists, effect of interest. Much of the data for risk assess- biostatisticians, mathematical, and biological ment comes from laboratory animal research and modelers, and others. Risk assessmentefforts can in vitro and other alternatives to animal testing, J. Pattersonet at. jToxicofogy 173(2002)123-143 '21 necessitating the use of scientific judgements to those that broadly cover an area of risk assess- extrapolate to human exposure. A number of ment. Many of these sites include links to other government entities (and a few private organiza- sites and pages that the reader may find useful. tions) conduct evaluations of hazard and dose- Our selection of sources relies heavily on govern- response, writing substantial documents that ment sites, and primarily US federal sites. Sev- describe and interpret the available data and esti- eral US federal agencies are at the forefront in mate risks. Many of these documents are now human health risk assessmentand in making available through the web, as well as compila- their information available on the web, in partic- tions of risk estimates and summary information, ular the (US) Environmental Protection Agency which has been extracted from them. (EPA). We also focused primarily on sites with Exposure Assessment involves specifying the information freely available to the public and population that might be exposed to the agent or those that we expect would maintain a presence substance, identifying how exposures can occur, on the web in the future. and estimating the magnitude, duration, and tim- Web resources for risk assessmenthave been ing of the doses to which people might be ex- organized below roughly along the lines of the posed. Exposure assessmentsare primarily site NAS paradigm. We first highlight a handful of and/or situation specific evaluations. They re- sites that contain significant basic information quire data on the specific population of interest, and links to other resources. Sections follow on for example the exposures of the general public hazard and dose-response information, physical to consumer products and occupational expo- and chemical properties, environmental fate, ex- sures to industrial chemicals. The exposure fac- posure assessment,risk perception and communi- tors of interest include those related to humans cation, regulatory information, guidance for (e.g. human body weights, skin surface areas, conducting risk assessments, training, profes- food and drinking water consumption, and activ- sional societies, organizations, and discussion ity patterns), products (e.g. the frequency, dura- groups. A brief description of each site is pro- tion, and amount used per task, and the vided, outlining the types of information the concentration of the chemical of interest), and reader will find. residences or workplaces (e.g. air changeovers The reader is cautioned that there is no central per hour and house and room volumes). Exam- organization assuring quality of data made avail- ples of sources for these data are described. able on the web. Users should exercise caution Information from the preceding three steps is when relying on data and advice and carefully integrated into a Risk Characterization. The risk consider the source. The authors of this paper characterization includes a qualitative or quanti- are not responsible for the content of these sites. tative estimate of the probability that any of the We do not necessarily endorse any products or hazards will occur in those exposed. An evalua- servicesmentioned in this paper or provided via tion of the overall quality of the data, the spe- the web resources described. Also, we have no cific assumptions and uncertainties associated editorial control over the ongoing changes in with each step, and the level of confidence in the web site contents other than for the Toxicology resulting estimates is also included. Those mak- Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) site. ing risk-based decisions will consider the conclu- Readers should use caution and apply expert sions of the risk characterization along with judgment when considering use of the informa- additional considerations such as costs, techno- tion in web sites. logical feasibility, or political climate. This paper will not cover resourcesin these areas. There are thousands of web sites that include 2. Generalsites information that would be potentially useful for those conducting risk assessments.In this paper, A number of sites that contain substantial col- we highlight some of these resources,particularly lections of information on more than one aspect 126 J. Pattersonelal./~173 (2002)123-143 of risk assessment,or are gateways for accessto 2.3. Global Information Network on Chemicals other sites of interest have been highlighted in this (GINC) http://www.nihs.gojp/GINC/index.html section. They are presented here in alphabetic order and may be good starting points for The GINC is a world wide information net- general information or in searching for specific work for safe use of chemicals, providing links information. and accessto databasesand chemical information systems from organizations and institutions from around the world. It is being developed by the 2.1. (US) Agencyfor Toxic Substancesand World Health Organisation (WHO), International DiseaseRegistry (ATSDR) Labor Organisation (ILO), the United Nations http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov, Environmental Program (UNEP), and the Organ- http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cx.htmi Science Corner isation for Economic Co-operation and Develop- ment (OECD), with the support of the National A TSDR is an agency of the US Department of Institute of Health Sciences(NIHS Japan). The Health and Human Services.Its functions include purpose of the GINC project is to foster genera- public health assessmentsof waste sites, health tion and circulation of chemical-related informa- consultations concerning specific hazardous sub- tion among all countries and international stances, health surveillance and registries, re- organizations for the promotion of chemical sponse to emergency releases of hazardous safety. This site has been included here as an substances,applied research in support of public emerging web site that is expected to be very health assessments,information development and useful in the future. The long term goals of the dissemination, and education and training con- GINC are to help improve data consistency and cerning hazardous substances.A TSDR publishes coherence between different systems; to link Toxicological Profiles for chemicals found at haz- projects developed at international and national ardous waste sites and excerpts information from levels to facilitate dialogue and exchangebetween thesedocuments into brief fact sheets(more infor- them; to help promote a global information net- mation on these are found in Section 3 below). work for sound chemicals' management; and to The A TSDR Science Comer is a user-friendly help enhance the capacity of developing countries gateway to environmental health information and in establishing and operating their own chemical resources. information systems and networking among themselves. An extensive group of links is provided for government agenciesand organizations 2.2. (US) Environmental Information in the Asia Pacific region of the world. ManagementSystem (ElMS), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2.4. International Programme on Chemical Safety http://www.epa.gov/eims/eims.htmi (IPCS) http://www.whoJnt/pcs/index.htm

EPA's Office of Research and Development The IPCS is a joint program of the ILO, (ORD) is developing ElMS to organize and UNEP, and WHO. The purpose of IPCS is to provide access to EPA resources through a establish the scientific basis for safe use of chemi- searchabledatabase. Descriptive information will cals and to strengthen national capabilities and be provided on data sets, databases,documents, capacities for chemical safety. The organization models, projects, and spatial data. Users may evaluates chemical risks to human health and the query using a number of parameters and informa- environment and develops methodologies for tion on accessand downloading of data is pro- these evaluations. Risk assessmentdocuments for vided. This site is a promising new development specific substancesare produced by a number of to make environmental data and information IPCS and WHO programs and activities. These more easily accessibleto the Dublic. include. Environmental Health Criteria Docu- J. Paner- et aI. jToxJcalogy173 (21»2) 123-143 127

ments (EHC), Health and Safety Guides (HSG), Information Program. NLM's Specialized Infor- Concise International Chemical AssessmentDoc- mation Services Division manages this program. uments (CICAD), Joint FAO/WHO Expert Com- The data banks and bibliographic files are built, mittee on Food Additives (JECFA). Joint majntained. and funded by several federal agen- F AO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues cies. Included is a~ to NLM's Hazardous Sub- (JMPR), WHO Drinking Water Quality Guideli- stancesData Bank (HSDB), US EPA's IRIS, the nes (WHO/EOS). WHO Air Quality Guidelines Toxicology Literature Information Online (TOX- for Europe (WHO Regional Office for Europe). LINE) files. and several other databasescovering and WHO Recommended Classification of Pesti- genetic toxicology, developmental and reproduc- cides by Hazard and Guidelines to Classification tive toxicology, and other aspects of toxicology. 1998-1999. Some more recent documents may be Also provided is access to the T oxics Release available on-line and ordering instructions are Inventory (TRI), a seriesof databasesfocused on provided on this site. Seealso Section 3.3.1 below the estimated annual releasesof toxic chemicalsto in Section 3. Risk methods are being developed the US environment. and internationally harmonized under an IPCS program. see entry in Section 9 below. 2.7. Risk World- 'covering risk news and views http://www.riskworld.com/ 2.5. (US) National Centerfor Environmental Asses.vment(NCEA), (US) Environmental RiskWorld is a comprehensive site developed Protection Agency (EPA) and maintained by Tec-Com, Inc. It is an excel- http://www.epa.gov/ncea/ lent starting point to seek risk assessmentinformation on the web. It includes current news NCEA serves as the EPA national resource releaseson risk assessmentand related issues, a center for the overall processof human health and virtual library of reports and papers, announce- ecological risk assessments,including the integra- ments for events, calls for papers, listings for tion of hazard, dose-response, and exposure data grants and fellowships and job openings. The site and models to produce risk characterizations. The has hundreds of links to organizations and soci- office conducts assessmentsof contaminants and eties, databases, software, journals, newsletters, sites of national significance, provides guidance papers, and reports. Information and links are and support to risk assessors, and develops sub-categorizedfor ease of use. methodologies that reduce uncertainties in current risk assessmentapproaches. The NCEA web site links to important resources such as the Inte- 3. Hazard and dose-responseinformation grated Risk Information System (IRIS) database (described below in Section 3), copies of major Hazard and dose-response infonnation in- risk assessmentdocuments on major chemicals of cludes infonnation about chemicals that may pose interest (e.g. dioxin, mercury), risk assessment health hazards, descriptions of human health ef- guidelines and risk tools, models, and software for fects from exposure to such chemicals, quantifica- conducting dose-response and exposure tion of concentrations at which the chemicals are assessments. present in the environment, quantification of amounts of chemicals to which humans can be 2.6. (US) National Library of Medicine (NLM) exposed to without adverse effects, and descrip- TOXNET (Toxicology Data Network) tions of the toxicity that may be caused by the http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov and as a linkjrom chemicals. Government agenciestypically develop http://sis.nbn.nih.gov this type of information, and agency-specificin- fonnation is listed on the respective web sites. TOXNET is a group of databasesmanaged by Other web sites contain information or links to the NLM's Toxicologyand EnvironmentalHealth infonnation from multiple agencies.Listed below 128 J. Pattersonet oJ./T~y 173(2002) 123-143 is a selection of hazard and dose-response infor- vides information about pollutant releases in mation resourcesavailable on the web. They have Canada. It provides information about local air been orgamed into four groups, covering chemi- pollution, including interactive maps that can be cal and release information, government sources accessed by postal code; information on toxic of risk values, sites that compile data from multi- chemicals released by manufacturing facilities; ple sources, and example (US) state sources of and information about the health risks of pollu- information. tion. Pollution Watch integrates information from over 100 databasesto rank and compare pollution 3.1. Chemical and release information in communities across Canada. Pollution Watch is a joint project of the Canadian Environmental The following web sites contain infonnation Defense Fund, Canadian Environmental Law As- about the use, production, and/or release of sociation, the Canadian Institute for Environmen- chemicals into the environment, as well as the tal Law and Policy, and Environmental Defense. toxic effects of these chemicals. Many of these sites merge infonnation from a multitude of data 3.1.4.Scorecard, Environmental Defence resourcesinto user-friendly fonnats. http://www.scorecard.org/ Environmental Defense's Scorecard is an Inter- 3.1.1. EXTOXNET net service that provides information about chem- http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet ical releasesin the US. It provides infonnation The EXTension TOXicology NETwork (EX- about local air pollution, including interactive TOXNET) InfoBase provides information on pes- maps that can be accessedby zip code; informa- ticides, discussion of concepts in toxicology and tion on toxic chemicals releasedby manufacturing environmental chemistry, and factsheets.This in- facilities; and information about the health risks formation has been developed by toxicologists of air pollution. Scorecard ranks and compares and chemists within the Extension Service of sev- pollution in areas across the US and profiles 6800 eral land-grant universities with the goal of devel- chemicals, showing locations in which they are oping unbiased information in a format used as well as their hazards. Scorecard integrates understandable by the non-expert. over 400 scientific and governmental databasesto generate its profiles. 3.1.2. Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Pesticide Database, Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 3. J.5. Toxics ReleaseInventory (TRI), (US) http://www.pesticideinfo.org/index.htm/ Environmental Protection Agency The PAN Pesticide Database is a project of http:ffwww.epa.govftrif PANNA and has been supported by grants from The TRI is a publicly accessibletoxic chemical the US EPA and a number of foundations. The database containing information about the use, database is a diverse array of information on manufacture, treatment, transport, or release of pesticides from many different sources,providing toxic chemicals into the environment. The US human toxicity (chronic and acute), ecotoxicity EPA developed and currently manages this data- and regulatory information for about 5400 pesti- base, as mandated by Section 313. of the Emer- cide active ingredients and their transformation gency Planning and Community Right- To-Know products, as well as adjuvants and solvents used Act (EPCRA) and Section 6607 of the Pollution in pesticide products. Referencesto data sources Prevention Act (PPA). TRI contains information are provided. concerning waste management activities and the releaseof toxic chemicals by facilities that manu- 3.1.3. Pollution Watch facture, process,or otherwise use them. Using this http: / /ww~'.scorecard.org /pollution watch / information, citizens, businesses,and governments PollutionWatch is an internet service that pro- can work together to protect the quality of their J. Pattersonet at / Toxicology173 (2002)123,,-]43 129 land, air, and water. The TRI web site includes priority setting, and risk assessmentof existing TRI Explorer, which provides accessto the TRI chemicals following Council Regulation (EEC) data that is easy to understand and use. 793/93. Risk assessmentdocuments of Existing Chemicals are available in the Existing Chemicals 3.1.6. Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics section of the ECB web site. Through its New (OPPT), (US) Environmental Protection Agency Chemicals work area, the ECB is responsible for http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/ notification of new chemical substances to be EPA's OPPT promotes pollution prevention for placed on the European Market, and includes risk the control of industrial pollution; safer chemicals assessmentfor new chemicals. Seemore complete through a combination of both regulatory and description of ECB in section 11.2.3. voluntary efforts; risk reduction to minimize exposure to existing substances such as lead, as- bestos,dioxin, and polychlorinated biphenyls; and 3.2.3. International Agencyfor Researchon public understanding of risks by providing under- Cancer (IARC) http://www.iarc.fr standable, accessibleand complete information on IARC is part of WHO and has a mission to chemical risks to the broadest audience possible. coordinate aJ:ldconduct research on the causesof OPPT's web site provides links to databasesand human cancer, the mechanismsof carcinogenesis, software (produced by or for OPPT) containing and to develop scientific strategiesfor cancer con- chemical and regulatory information; concerned trol. The Agency is involved in both epidemiolog- citizen information; project and program-specific ical and laboratory research and disseminates information, such as Chemical Right-to-Know; scientific information through publications, meet- additional information resources (for example ings, courses, and fellowships. IARC's web site clearinghousesand hotlines); information for stu- contains cancer databases and other resources, dents and teachers;and publications, such as fact including the Monographs Database (which con- sheets,Federal Register notices, and reports. tains a complete list of agents, mixtures and exposures, all evaluated with their classifications), the 3.2. Governmentsources of risk values Cancer Epidemiology Database (which provides accessto information on the occurrence of cancer Government agenciesdevelop a wealth of use- worldwide), and IARC's TP53 Mutations Data- ful data and infonnation related to risk assess- base. It also contains subscription information. ment. This information or data may be the recommended or required values needed for a particular risk assessment.Listed below is a sam- 3.2.4. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), pling of government organizations. (US) Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/iri.v 3.2.1. Chemical toxicity database,Ministry Of IRIS is EPA's consensusdatabase of informa- Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan (MHLW) tion on human health effects that may result from http://"'wwdb.mhlw.goJp/ginc/html/dbl.html exposure to various chemicals found in the envi- The JapaneseChemical Toxicity Database in- ronment. IRIS is administered by EPA's NCEA. cludes data on studies conducted on High Produc- These chemical files contain descriptive and quan- tion Volume (HPV) chemicals. There is a titative information about oral reference doses summary in English describing each study and the (Rills) and inhalation reference concentrations full studies are in Japanese. (RfCs) for chronic noncarcinogenic health effects and hazard identification, as well as oral slope 3.2.2. European ChemicalsBureau (ECB) factors and oral and inhalation unit risks for http://ecb.eiJrc.it/ carcinogenic effects. IRIS is widely used in EPA Through its Existing Chemicals work area, the for risk-based decision-making. IRIS can also be European Bureau (ECB) conducts data collection, accessedthrough TOXNET. 130 J. Patterson et a/./ Toxicology 173 (2002) /23-"143

3.2.5. International Programme on Chemical 3.2.8. Priority SubstancesList Assessment Safety (IPCS) publications Reports, Environment Canada/Health Canada http://lv"'w.who.int jpcsjpcs _pubs.html http://www.ec.gc.ca/ccehJ/eng !Jinal /index_e.html, As described above in Section 2, IPCS develops http://)vww.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/e_\"sd/psap.htm a host of publications that are useful for risk The Canadian Environmental Protection Act assessors.This site provides a listing of its docu- (CEPA) requires the establishment of a Priority ments, ordering information and, in some cases, SubstancesList (PSL) to identify substancesthat summaries of the document and workplans for are of priority for assessingwhether environmen- documents in progress. See also Section 3.3.1. tal exposure to them posesa risk to the health of Canadians or to the environment. Over 60 Prior- ity Substanceshave been evaluated and some of 3.2.6. Maximum Permissible Risks (MPR) the assessmentdocuments containing tolerable in- Reports, National Institute of Public Health and takes, tolerable concentrations and tumorigenic the Environment, the Netherlands (RlVM) doses and concentrations for these substancesare http://ww>>'.rivm.nl/index_en.html available through this web site. RIVM develops human-toxicological risk 1imits (MPRs) for a variety of chemica1sbased on chem- 3.2.9. Risk Based Concentrations(RBC), (US) ica1 assessmentsthat are compiled in the frame- Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3 work of the Dutch governmental program on hllp: Ilwww.epa.govlreg3hwmdlrisklriskmenu.htm risks in relation to soil quality. These MPR va1ues US EPA, Region 3, provides a RBC Table that are pub1ished in RIYM reports, many of which contains Rffis and cancer slope factors for 400- can be down1oadedfrom the Publications section 500 chemicals. These toxicity factors have been of this site. (Otherwise, publications can be or- combined with 'standard' exposure scenarios to dered from RIVM). A recent example inc1udes, derive RBCs (i.e. chemical concentrations corre- Re-evaluation of human-toxicological maximum sponding to fixed levels of risk in water, air, fish, permissiblerisk levels,Report # 711701025,1June soil, and tissue). This information is useful for 2001, (http://www.rivm.nl/bib1iotheek/rapporten/ chemical screening in conducting baseline risk 711701025.htm1)(direct link to Report). The ref- assessments. erencelist of this report lists earlier RIVM reports with MPRs. 3.2.10. Toxicological profiles, Minimal Risk Values (MRL~) and To.x-FAQsTM,(US) Agency for Toxic Substancesand DiseaseRegistry 3.2.7. Preliminary Remediation Goals (P RGs), (A TSDR) http://www.atsdr.cdc.govjtoxpro2.html (US) Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 Toxicological Profiles http://www.epa.govjregionO9jwaste jsfundjprg j http://www.atsdr.cdc.govjmrls.htmi MRLs PRGs are risk-based concentrations (derived http://www.atsdr.cdc.govjtoxfaq.htmi ToxFAQsTM from standardized equations combining exposure ATSDR develops Toxicological Profiles for information assumptions with EPA toxicity data) hazardous substancesfound at National Priority used in the (US) Superfund and the Resource List sites and for the Department of Defense and Conservation and Recovery Act programs to help the Department of Energy on substancesrelated identify areas, contaminants, and conditions that to federal sites. Within these documents, A TSDR do not require further federal attention at a par- develops minimal risk levels (MRLs). Both the ticular site. This web site contains PRG tables for Toxicological Profiles and a list of MRLs are US EPA, Region 9, as well as InterCalc tables available online. Also available is ATSDR's Tox- with soil calculations, air-water calculations, toxi- FAQSTMwhich is a series of summaries about city values, and physical and chemical properties hazardous substancesand their health effects. In- data. It also provides additional links to other formation for this series is excerpted from the useful risk assessmentresources. A TSDR Toxicological Profiles and Public Health J. Patterson el oJ./ Toxicology J 73 (2002) 123~143 1131

Statements. These fact sheets provide a quick (lARC) Summaries and Evaluations, Interna- and easy to understand guide with answers to tional Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC), IPCS/ the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) CEC Evaluation of Antidotes Series, Joint about exposure to hazardous substances found F AO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Addi- around hazardous waste sites and about the ef- tives (JECF A) monographs and evaluations, fects of exposure on human health. Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) monographs and evaluations, Pesticide Data 3.2.11. World Health Organization (WHO) Sheets (PDSs), Poisons Information Mono- http://www.who.int/dsa/cat.98/chemtox8.htm graphs (PIMs), and Screening Information Data Provides a list, description, costs, and order- Sets (SIDS) for High Production Volume (HPV) ing information for WHO documents on chemi- Chemicals. cal toxicity and carcinogenicity published between 1991 and 1999. See also Section 3.3.1 3.3.2. INTOX, International Programme on below. Chemical Safety (IPCS) http:((www.intox.org The IPCS INTOX Package is a computerized 3.3. Compiled toxicity information from multiple poisons information package designed to assist sources poison centers, health ministries and other related institutions to efficiently manage informa- Some government agencies, non-government tion related to poisoning, national product organizations, and private companies compile registration, and chemical incidents. The IPCS toxicity information on chemicals. In some cases INTOX Package consists of a database and col- these compilations are available for free, and in lection of documents on poisonous substances. other cases, they are available only through the Together they provide information on industrial purchase of a CD-ROM or subscription. Several chemicals, pharmaceuticals, household products, examples of these types of compilations are agricultural chemicals and plant, fungal and ani- listed below. Additional resources can be found mal toxins, as well as other agents commonly in Wexler, et al. (2000). responsible for poisoning. This is a global and multilingual package. INTOX is available by an 3.3.1. INCHEM, International Programme on annual subscription. Chemical Safety (IPCS) http:((www.inchem.org The IPCS INCH EM provides free access to 3.3.3. International Toxicity Estimatesfor Risk hundreds of publications about chemicals from (ITER), Toxicology Excellencefor Risk the international organizations that cooperate Assessment(TERA) http://www.tera.org/iter with the IPCS. These publications are produced ITER is a free Internet database that contains and peer reviewed by teams of experts from risk values for over 500 chemicals from Agency around the world, and are intended for a wide for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry range of professionals concerned about the safe (ATSDR), Health Canada, US EPA, and inde- use of chemicals. The INCHEM CD-ROM is pendent parties whose risk values have under- also available and requires an annual subscrip- gone peer review. ITER provides international tion. It is updated semi-annually and is dis- risk assessment information in a side-by-side tributed to subscribers in both developed and format and explains differences in risk values developing countries. The following information derived by different organizations. It is the only is included on INCH EM: CIS Chemical Infor- database that includes risk information from in- mation (ILO(CIS), Concise International Chemi- dependent parties whose risk values have under- cal Assessment Documents (CICADS), gone peer review through TERA's ITER Peer Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) mono- Review Program. ITER helps identify available graphs, Health and Safety Guides (HSG), Inter- risk values and compare them across organiza- national Agency for Research on Cancer tions. 132 J. Patterson et al.jToxic%gy /73 (2002)123"'./43

3.3.4.Risk AssessmentInformation System here. The web site for Human & Ecological Risk (RAIS), (US) Department of Energy (DOE) Division of the Department of Toxic Substance http://risk.lsd.oml.gov/rap_hp.shtml Control (http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/ScienceTech- The RAIS is a free system that was developed nologyjorg.html) contains supplemental guidance to provide a service-oriented environmental risk to the Risk AssessmentGuidance for Superfund assessmentexpert system. RAIS was initia\\y de- (RAGS), multi-media models for fate and trans- signed to support the site-specific needs of the port, and a model for lead hazard. The web site DOE Oak Ridge Operations Environmental Man- for the Office of Environmental Health Hazard agement Program, but it has become beneficial to Assessment (http://www.oehha.ca.gov/) has a a larger risk assessmentaudience. The RAIS pro- database of toxicity criteria for various uses in vides tools for performing basic risk assessment California, guidance for certain types of risk as- activities, such as PRGs, toxicity values and profi- sessments,guidance for probabilistic risk assess- les (including US EPA's IRIS and HEAST), Fed- ment, Public Health Goals for drinking water, eral and State guidelines, human health risk and many other topics. Additional sites from models, and ecological benchmarks. In addition, California include: the California State Water Re- this system provides the risk guidance and directs sources Control Board (http://www .swrcb.ca.govj the user to specific (US) EPA and (US) State ), the San Francisco Regional Water Quality guidance necessaryfor performing risk assessment Control Board (http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb2/ activities within the Superfund process. ), the South Coast Air Quality Management Dis- trict (http://www.aqmd.gov/), and the California 3.3.5. TOMES PLUS@, MICROMEDEX Air Resources Board (http://www.arb.ca.gov/ http://www.micromedex.com/ homepage.htm). TOMES PLUS@ is an extensive collection of Hazardous substancesfact sheets, New Jersey proprietary and licensed databasesfrom a variety http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/ of sourcesthat is available from MICROMEDIX. The New JerseyDepartment of Health provides This collection provides quick and easy accessto fact sheets for individual hazardous chemicals medical, hazard, and environmental information that includes information relating to acute and for the safe management and handling of chemi- chronic health hazards, identification, workplace cals. It consists of the following files: MEDI- exposure limits, medical tests, handling and stor- TEX~, HAZARDTEX~, INFOTEX~, age, definitions, emergency response information HSDB, Chemical Hazards ResponseInformation for fires, spills and first aid, and other informa- System, OHMjTADS, IRIS, RTECS, NIOSH tion. This information is employee-orientedexpo- Pocket Guide, New Jersey Fact Sheets,and 2000 sure risk information that is useful for worker Emergency Response Guidebook. TOMES right-to-know issues,as well as training programs. PLUS@ is available online or CD-ROM, is updated quarterly, and requires an annual 4. Physical and chemical properties subscription. Understanding a chemical's physical and chem- 3.4. Example resourcesfrom us state agencies ical properties is a key part of performing an exposure and risk assessment.These properties In the US, some stateshave developed a variety include the molecular weight, physical state, va- of web resourcesthat may be useful to risk asses- por pressure, boiling point, flash point, etc. Key sors both within and outside that state. Selected resourcesinclude the supplier(s) of a chemical and web resources for two states have been high- trade associations associated with a particular lighted below as examplesof the types of informa- class of chemicals (e.g. the Soap & Detergent tion available. Association for surfactants). The web sites noted The State of California provides a multitude of below are examples of sites that provide physical useful web sites; a few of these are highlighted and chemical property information and tools. J. Patter.TOnet af./Toxicology /73 (2002) 123-143 "3

4. ChemFinderhttp:ffwww.chemfinder.com 4.5. Hazardous SubstancesData Bank (HSDB), (US) National Library of Medicine This web-basedsearch engine allows for searching http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/ a chemical's name or Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, and provides links to and infonna- HSDB is a databaseavailable through TOXNET tion from numerous web sites. Includes physical (select 'HSOB' and then search for chemical of interest). HSDB allows accessto a wide range of properties. physical and chemical property information, toxi- 4.2. Datalog http:ffwww.nisc.comfcisfcisfacts.htm cology information, etc. Physical and chemical property estimation pro- Datalog is produced by US EPA and Syracuse grams are also available from private vendors, for ResearchCorporation (SRC) and contajns biblio- example Syracuse Research Corporation (SRC) graphic references on the physical and chemical (http://esc.syrres.com/interkow/estsoft.htm). properties and environmental fate for over 23000 Much of this information is now available for free. chemicals. This database is one of 20 databases Wright (2001) provides additional information covering 530000 chemicals available from the Na- about databasesrelated to chemical and physical tionallnformatjon ServicesCorporation's (NISC) properties. Chemical Information System. 5. Environmental fate and transport 4.3. Environmental ChemicalsData and lnfiJrmation Network (ECDIN) Understanding how a chemical might be trans- http://ecdin.etomep.net fonned and the environmental compartments it might enter and be transported in (e.g. water and Searching a chemical's name or CAS number air) are important parts of a risk assessment.This provides a document that includes information on sectionnotes web sitesproviding environmental fate physical-chemical properties. ( and transport information useful for assessing 4.4. EPI SuiteTM(Estimation Program Interface) potential consumer, public ('general population'), worker, and environmental exposuresto chemicals. at the Exposure AssessmentTools and Models One of theseweb sites is the (US) National Library Web Site. (US) Environmental Protection Agency of Medicine's Hazardous Substance Data Bank http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/exposure noted above.Several other sitesare describedbelow.

This web site will eventually allow all of the 5.1, DATALOG following EPI SuiteTMmodels to be downloaded. http://www.nisc.com/cis/cisfacts.htm The EPI SuiteTMis a WINDOWS(8)based suite of estimation modelsfor physical and chemical prop- This site was also noted above as a resource for erties, and environmental fate and transport. It physical and chemical properties. DA T ALOG con- includes estimation programs for LogKOW, KOC, tains bibliographic referenceson the environmental Atmospheric Oxidation Potential, Henry's Law fate for over 23 000 chemicals.It is produced by the Constant, Water Solubility, Melting Point, Boiling US EPA and Syracuse Research Corporation Point, Vapor Pressure,Biodegradation, Bioconcen- (SRC). tration Factor, Hydrolysis, SewageTreatment Plant Removal, Fugacity Modeling, and Multimedia 5.2. Environmental Fate Data Base (EFDB), Modeling. The models include KOWWINTM, AOP- SyracuseResearch Corporation WINTM, HENRYWINTM, MPBPWINTM, http://esc.sy"es.com/efdb.htm BIOWJNTM, PCKOCWINTM, WSKOWWINTM, BCFWINTM, HYDROWINTM, STPWJNTM, This site, partially supported by US EPA, Du- WVOLWINTM, and LEV3EPITM. Pont, and the Procter & Gamble Company, pro- H J. Pattersonet aI.! Toxkology173(2002) 123-143 vides accessto several data files, including DA T- (HPVScreen). HPVScreen is an exposure as- ALOG (listed above). BIOLOG, or the Microbial sessmentscreening tool that will initially have Degradation{foxicity File, provides sources of three major components and multiple subcom- microbial toxicity and biodegradation data. ponents. Exposure and risk assessorscan use CHEMF A TE is a data value file containing 25 the models in HPVScreen to generateconserva- categories of environmental fate and physical/ tive estimates of exposure. Assessorscan use chemical property information on commercially the multimedia models in HPVScreen to evalu- important chemical compounds. BIODEG con- ate the distribution of chemicalsin the environ- tains experimental values relating to biodegrada- ment. The three current major components are: tion subjectsand BIODEG SUMMAR Y provides physical-chemical properties and fate, models summary evaluation and reliability codes for dif- for screening-level exposure estimates, and ferent test methods, as well as summaries for multimedia modeling programs. A report gen- biodegradability under aerobic and anaerobic erator will be added by the end of 2002. Even- conditions. tually a component for estimating environmental releasesand occupational exposures will be added to HPVScreen. 5.3. Exposure AssessmentTools and Models, . Multi-Chamber Concentrationand Exposure (US) Environmental Protection Agency Model; also called Multi-Chamber Consumer http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/exposure ExposureModel (MCCEM). For consumerin- halation assessments. This site was also noted above as a resource for . ReachScan.For public drinking water and fish physical and chemical properties. It will eventu- ingestion, and environmental assessments. ally allow EPI SuiteTMmodels to be downloaded, . Source Ranking Database(SRD). For con- including estimation models for environmental sumer inhalation assessments. fate and transport. This web site also has several . Use Clusters Scoring System (UCSS). For other exposure assessmentmethods, databases, worker and environmental assessments. and predictive models to help evaluate consumer, . Wall Paint Exposure Assessment Model public ('general population'), worker, and envi- (WPEM). For consumer inhalation, and ronmental exposuresto chemicals, and has a gen- worker assessmentsof exposures to paint eral discussion about the role of exposure volatiles. assessmentand how to appropriately apply models. The other models available via this web site are: . Chemical ScreeningTool for Exposures & En- 6. Exposure ass(.'S-"ment vironmental Releases (ChemSTEER). For worker and environmental assessments. It is important to know how exposures to a . The Exposure and Fate AssessmentScreening particular chemical can occur, and to estimate the Tool (E-FAST). E-FAST provides screening- magnitude, duration, and timing of the doses level estimates of general population, con- related to the various exposures.Exposure assess- sumer, and environmental exposure. ments are primarily site and/or situation specific Consumer/population exposuresincluding co~- evaluations. Humans can be exposedto chemicals sumer dermal and inhalation, public drinking via various environmental media, for example air, water, fish ingestion, and inhalation. soil, water, and food. . Graphical Exposure Modeling Systems Examples of important exposure factors include (GEMS). For public drinking water, fish inges- those related to humans, including body weights, tion, inhalation, and environmental skin surface areas related with various types of assessments. exposures,and food and drinking water consump- . HPV ExposureAssessment Screening Tool tion values. Also important are activity patterns, J. Patterson ~t aI. / ToxIt'oIoJY 173 (2tNJ2)123-143 135

for example, the time spent in various types of technical component of this effort focuses on environments or performing various types of providing all the information HPV chemical tasks. Factors such as the frequency, duration, sponsors and others would need to conduct di- and amount used per task, and the concentration rect and indirect human exposure, occupational of the chemical of interest are important for con- exposure, and ecological exposure assessments. sumer product assessments,and factors including The web site provides frameworks for conducting air changeovers per hour and house and room the assessments,access to information about volumes are important for some types of residen- software and databases for conducting the as- tial assessments.Key examples of sources for sessments,and resource and training materials. these data are described below. A major opportunity exists for risk assessors 6.2. Guidelinesfor Exposure Assessment,(US) and others to broaden the level of exposure as- Environmental Protection Agency sessmentinformation available via web sites. The exposure information currently available on the http://www.epa.gov/nceawwwl/exposure.htm web primarily focuses on the US, largely due to EPA has issued guidelines for exposure assess- US EPA efforts to have this information available on the web. Broadening the exposure infor- ment that establish a broad framework that de- scribes the general concepts of exposure mation available on the web could include assessmentincluding definitions and associated information about human physical characteristics units, and provides guidance on the planning and (e.g. country- or region-specific ranges in body conducting of an exposure assessment.Guidance weights, drinking water consumption, etc.), the is also provided on presenting the results of the types of residencesand workplaces and the exposure factors associated with them (e.g. air exposure assessment and characterizing uncertainty. Additional sections cover reviewing expo- changeovers per hour in various types of resi- sure assessmentsand a glossary of terms. dences,and how various tasks are performed by consumers and workers), and country- and region-specific ranges of climatic conditions. Any 6.3. Exposure Factors Program Web Site, (US) non-US exposure-related information could then Environmental Protection Agency be incorporated into web sites providing more http://www.epa.gov/ncea/jmprog.htm globally representativeinformation than that currently offered on the web via US EPA efforts. This web page is intended to provide a focal Noteworthy is that efforts are underway by Eu- point where the most current information and ropean scientists to develop a European (multi- data on exposure factors can be found. with a country) version of the US EPA's Exposure focus on information important for US exposure Factors Handbook. assessments.It provides links to EPA's Exposure Factors Handbook (available as pdf files at this 6.1. (US) Alliance for Chemical Awareness web site) which (I) summarizes data on human (A CA.) http://www.chemicalawarene.\'s.org behaviors and characteristics which affect exposure to environmental contaminants, and (2) rec- ACA is an effort to support the voluntary US ommends values to use for these factors. The High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical pro- handbook includes discussions of the issues gram [a related effort for household cleaning which assessorsshould consider in deciding how product chemicals in Europe is the 'Human and to use these data. It is intended to serve as a Environmental Risk Assessment' project support document to EPA's Guidelines for Ex- (HERA); http://www.heraproject.com]. The posure Assessment.A glossary is included in the ACA's goal is to provide information to chemi- Exposure Factors Handbook. Other information cal sponsors on how to place the data in the on this site includes reports of ongoing research HPV !\\Jhmissionsinto a risk-based context. The in the field. J. Patterson et al. / Toxicology 173 (2002) 123-143

6.4. Pesticidesand Human Health Risk instructional modules, and fact sheetsthat can Assessment.Policies, Processes,and Procedures, help in risk communication. Purdue Pesticide Programs, Purdue University CooperativeExtension Service 7.3. Reporting on Risk, FACSNET http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/PPP/ http://wwwfacsnet.org/toois/re!-tutor/risk/index. PPP-48.pdf php3

Among this publication's sections are ones F ACSNET is an independent, nonprofit orga- providing overviews of approaches used for Di- nization in California operating this web site as 'A etary Exposure Assessment,Occupational Expo- Free Site for Responsible Press@.'This web site sure Assessment, Residential Exposure Assess- link provides accessto the Institute for Environ- ment, and Aggregate Risk Assessmentunder the mental Toxicology's (MI State University's) 'Re- Food Quality Protection Act. porting on Risk. A Journalist's Handbook on Environmental Risk Assessment'. If this document is inaccessible via this direct link, go to 7. Risk perception and communication http://www.facsnet.org and first register as a user of this site. A large amount of infomlation on how people perceivevarious typesof risks and how infomla- 7.4. The risk communicationbibliography: tion about risks could be communicatedis avail- explaining risks to the public, (US) National able on the web. A few selectedweb sites are Cancer Institute http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/ describedbelow. DECC/riskcommbib/

7.1. An evaluation primer on health risk Development of this comprehensive source of communicationprograms and outcomes,(US) risk communication information was funded by Agencyfor Toxic Substancesand Disease the Division of Cancer Control and Population at Registry the (US) National Cancer Institute. This bibliog- http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ HEC /evalprmr.html raphy's nearly 400 listings provide an introduction to the risk communication literature, including This web site provides an overview of the prin- reports of experiments, theoretical discussions, ciples and techniques for health risk communica- case histories, how-to manuals, dissertations, and tion, including how to develop, pretest, and test a reviews. The bibliography also includes many risk risk communication plan. Also included is a list- perception-related articles, even those lacking any ing of selectedrisk communication publications. mention of communication.

7.2. Healthy indoor air for America's homes; indoor air quality 8. Government regulations http://www.montana.edu/wwwcxair/ The web provides a wealth of infonnation for This web site from US EPA, Montana State those seeking government regulations for chemi- University, and the US Department of Agricul- cals. However, when conducting a risk assess- ture (USDA) contains extensive information ment, location is critical; one needs to focus on about various types of indoor air health risks, for the regulations, guidelines, and guidance values example, carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke, ra- for the jurisdiction of interest. The reader is en- don, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). couraged to conduct searches for local, state, The information includes help in identifying and regional or national regulations that apply to the communicating various indoor air-related health situation they are assessing.Individual govern- risks. This web site has various presentations, ment entities frequently provide infonnation on J. Pattersonet a/.jToxkoilJgy 173(2002)123-143 la7 their own regulations and guidance. In addition, 8.2. BN A chemical regulation reporter a number of private companies collect and dis- http://www.bna.com/products/ens Ichem.htm seminate regulatory information for a fee. Many of the organizations described within For subscribers, BNA provides printed and this paper are US governmental organizations at webje-mail summaries of legislative develop- the federal level. However, there can be overlaps ments, regulatory changes, industry activities, in jurisdiction among agenciesthat have risk as- etc. related to chemicals. Includes information sessmentand toxicology in their respective mis- about international developments. sions and agendas. For instance, a given chemical may be subjected to different regulatory requirements depending upon its use or definition. Adding to the confusion are state, 9. {;uidance on conducting risk assessment county, and municipal agenciesand departments in the US providing additional levels of regula- The practice of risk assessmentrequires nu- tory compliance. Similar situations may exist in merous tools and methodologies to meet the other countries. It is well beyond the scope of particular needs of the project. Most of the risk this paper to provide a listing of environmental assessmentmethodologies are developed and/or and health agencies for each state, territory, adopted by government entities for use in their county, and municipality, or even for the US programs or by others submitting data to the federal government. However, information about government. The web provides access to m~y how these agenciescan be identified is available tools and methods available, as well as training (Hakkinen et al., 2000). In addition, several re- materials or on-line courses. Below are listed a cent comprehensive sources of information selectedgroup of international and US web sites that provide these types of resources. about chemical-related US and international regulations are available (Bandurraga, 2000a,b; Cowan-Ellsberry et al., 2000). 9. J. Centerfor Risk Excellence, (US) Department There are a number of companies that provide assistancein identifying regulations. Be- of Energy (DOE) http://riskcenter.doe.gov low we mention BNA and Ariel as examples of The Center develops and implements policy the types of servicesthat are available. practices, guidance, tools, support, and training that result in risk-based decisions that protect both human health and the environment. Its 8.1. Arkl https:jjalpha.arielresearch.comjwebj web site offers information and links to sources of information on toxicology and risk assess- Ariel Research Corporation of Bethesda, MD, ment tutorials, fact sheets for chemicals, and USA provides a fee-based source for chemical risk tools. Particularly useful is the 'Dose As- regulatory information and updates. Ariel cur- sessment' tools (http://risk.lsd.ornl.gov/CRE/ rently tracks more than 260 regulatory lists in CRE_dose_tools.htrnl). This page leads to links 32 countries in North America, Western Europe, to numerous sources of exposure, toxicity, and and Asia Pacific. They plan to add Latin Ameri- risk based goals, as well as links to guidance can and Eastern European modules. For each documents for conducting risk assessment.These region of the world there is a database that are primarily from US government agencies. identifies regulations, advisory lists, directives, Another DOE site, the Office of Environmental legislation and compliance guides searchable by Policy and Guidance (http://homer.hsr.oml.gov/ chemical name, CAS number, molecular for- oepajriskj), also has numerous links to tools, mula, etc. An automatic update service is avail- models, and dose and risk assessmentdatabases, able by subscription. particularly for radionuclides. 138 J. Patter.wnetat. /Toxicology 173(2002)J23~4J

9.2. IPCS harmonization project 9.5. Risk AssessmentForum (RAF), (US) www.ipcsharmonize.org Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/ncea/raflindex.htmi The IPCS has taken the lead to globally harmo- nize approaches to the assessmentof risk from The RAF is a standing committee of senior exposure to chemicals. The project involves scien- EPA scientists established to promote Agency- tists and others from many countries and is fo- wide consensuson difficult and controversial risk cused on specific issue areas and within each assessmentissues and to ensure that this consen- strives to reach agreementon basic principles. The sus is incorporated into appropriate Agency risk issue areas include cancer, mutagenicity, repro- assessmentguidance. The RAF convenes EPA ductive and developmental toxicity, non-neoplas- risk assessmentexperts in a formal process to tic effect, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and study and report on issuesfrom an Agency-wide terminology. This site contains reports of meet- scientific perspective, resulting in guidance docu- ings and work of the harmonization project in the ments that become Agency policy. These docu- various issue areas. ments are frequently called 'purple books' due to the purple covers on RAF documents. In addi- 9.3. National CenterfiJr Environmental tion, EPA risk assessmentguidelines are available A.ssessment(NCEA), (US). Environmental at this site. Some RAF documents must be or- Protection Agency hnp:jjwww.epa.govjnceaj dered, others are available for downloading. See broader description under Section 2 above. EPA's risk assessmentguidelines for cancer, mu- 9.6. Toolsfor superfund human health risk tagenic effects, exposure assessment, chemical assessment,(US). Environmental Protection mixtures, developmental toxicity, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and ecological risk assess- Agency (EPA), http:ffli'ww.epa.govfsuperfundf programsfrisk f toolthh.htm ment are available. Also available at this site are risk tools such as benchmark dose software, cate- US EPA has developed guidance, policy, and gorical regression software, exposure factors pro- technical tools for use in Superfund human health gram, and the Integrated Model Evaluation risk assessments.Both general tooJs and tools System (IMES). Links to IRIS, ElMS, and other specific to the major steps of the risk assessment sources of information for risk assessmentare process are included, and most of the resources included. referencedcan be downloaded. Resourcesinclude, 9.4. OECD/IPCS databaseon hazard/risk general guidance/policies; planning, scoping and assessmentmethodologies problem formulation; hazard identification and http://www.oecd.org/ehs/RA/Risk-Assessment-meth dose-response assessment;exposure assessment; odologies.htm,http://applil.oecd.org/ehs/ipcs.nsf risk characterization; and risk management. (searchabledatabase)

This database is the outcome of a joint project of the OECD and the IPCS and includes extensive 10. Training listings and links to hazard/risk assessment methodologies for industrial chemicals and pesti- There are many web sites that include instruc- cides. Both human health and environmental tional materials for learning more about toxicol- methodologies are included. The site allows access ogy, pesticides, or risk assessment.Others sites to links through expanded listings as well as include documents or lay person descriptions of searching by specific criteria, including country or risk and exposure assessmentthat are useful re- organization, types of chemical, or area of sources.Below is a small sample of some of these assessment. resources. J. Patterson et aI. / Toxicology 173(2(X)2) 123-143 139

Assessing health risks from pesticides, US OPPT's Approach to Exposure Assessment? EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs http:// (US) EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/riskassess.htm. Toxics http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/exposure/ Case studies in environmental medicine, (US) docsjexposurep.htm.http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg- exposurej docsj opptexpo.htm. istry http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/csem.html. Chemicals & Human Health, Toxicology Prob- lem Set, University of Arizona, Southwest Envi- 11. Professional societies,organizations, and ronmental Health Science Center http://www. discussiongroups biology.arizona.edu / chh / problem_sets / toxicology/toxicology .html. Several professional so<.,;etiesfocus on risk as- Health & Environment for the Lay Person, sessmentissues. The Society for Risk Analysis is Sciences International, Inc. http://www .sciences. solely devoted to risk assessmentand the Interna- com/la yperson/Defaul t. htm. tional Society of Exposure Analysis (ISEA) covers RAIS Tutorial and What Is Risk Assessment? all aspects of exposure analysis. The Society of Mini course Department of Energy (DOE), the Toxicology (SOT) has several specialty sections Center for Risk Excellence (CRE), and Bechtel devoted to risk assessmentissues. Other profes- Jacobs Company LLC http://risk.lsd.oml.gov/ sional societiesand organizations, most notably in CRE/tutorial.shtml (Tutorial), http://risk.lsd.ornl. the occupational field (e.g. American Industrial gov/minicourse/rap - whatisra.shtml (Mini course). Hygiene Association, and American Conference Principles of Environmental Toxicology Uni- of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) also ad- versity of Idaho http://www.ets.uidaho.edu/etox- dress risk assessmentissues. These are described fallOI/ . elsewherein this series. Reporting on risk, FACSNET http://www. A number of non-profit organizations and insti- facsnet.org/tools/ref- tutor/risk/index. php3 tutes focus on risk assessment.These groups gen- F ACSNET is an independent, nonprofit orga- erally conduct research and publish their results, nization in California operating this web site as . A frequently making their work available on their Free Site for Responsible Press@'.(If document is web sites. Several email-based discussion groups inaccessible via this direct link, go to http:/ / are also described below. www.facsnet.org / and first register as a user of this site). Toxicology for the Citizen, Institute for Envi- ll.l~ Professional societies ronmental Toxicology, Michigan State University http:/ / www.iet.msu.edu/Tox_for_Public/toxpub. 11.1.1. Decision analysis society htm. htlp: fffaculty.fuqua.duke.edufdaweb f Toxicology Tutor I, II, and III, (US) National The Society promotes the development and use Library of Medicine, SpecializedInformation Ser- of logical methods for the improvement of deci- vices (SIS) http://www.sis.nlm.nih.gov/toxtutor. sion-making in public and private enterprise, in- cfm. cluding models for decision-making under Understanding risk analysis. A Short Guide conditions of uncertainty or multiple objectives; For Health, Safety and Environmental Policy techniques of risk analysis and risk assessment; Making, Resources for the Future http:// experimental and descriptive studies of decision- www.rfT.org/misc_docs/risk_book.htm. making behavior; economic analysis of competi- Web site for Educators and Students, State of tive and strategic decisions; techniques for California's Office of Environmental Health facilitating decision-making by groups; and com- Hazard Assessment http://www.oehha.ca.gov/ puter modeling software and expert systems for education/risk/pagel.html decision support. The web site includes informa- What is an Exposure Assessment?What is tion on references, courses and syllabi, journals 140 J. Pallerson el al. / Toxicology 173 (2002) 123-143 and software, and employment and research provide opportunities to exchange information, opportunities. ideas, and methodologies for risk analysis and risk problem-solving. The Society publishes a 11.1.2. International Society of Exposure Analysis peer-reviewedjournal, Risk Analysis, which pro- (ISEA) http://www.iseaweb.org/ vides a focal point for new developments in risk ISEA was established in 1989 to foster and analysis for scientists from a wide range of disci- advancethe scienceof exposure analysis related to plines. The journal covers health risks, engineer- environmental contaminants, both for human ing, mathematical, and theoretical aspects of populations and ecosystems. The membership risks, and social and psychological aspectsof risk promotes communication among all disciplines such as risk perception, acceptability, economics, involved in exposure analysis, recommends expo- and ethics. The Society's newsletter and annual sure analysis approachesto addresssubstantive or meeting abstracts are available from the web site. methodological concerns,and works to strengthen the impact of exposure assessmenton environmental policy. ISEA's newsletters are available 11.1.6. Society of Toxicology (SOT) from this web site, as are announcements for http://www.toxicology.org/ upcoming ISEA meetings. SOT is an organization of scientists who practice toxicology in many areas, including risk as- 11.1.3. International Union of Toxicology sessment. The Society holds annual meetings, publishes journals and a member newsletter, and (IUTOX) http://www.toxicology.org/iutox IUTOX's members include over 30 societies sponsors continuing education courses. The soci- around the world. Its purpose is to foster interna- ety addressestoxicological issues of risk assess- tional scientific cooperation among national and ment issues through several of its specialty other groups of toxicologists and promote world- sections. wide acquisition, dissemination, and utilization of toxicology knowledge. The IUTOX web site provides links to the sites of all available member 11.2. Other organizations societies. A number of other organizations not mentioned previously host web sites that are useful to 11.1.4. Risk Assessment& Policy Association those working in the field of risk assessment. (RAP A) http:ffwww.fplc.edufafjiliationsfafforg. These include non-profit organizations and indus- hIm (select RAPA) try trade groups. RAPA's goals are to promote multidisciplinary researchon the theory and practice of risk assessment and management, and to foster intellectual 11.2.1. American Chemistry Council (ACC; exchange. RAP A also seeks to encourage public formerly the Chemical Manufacturers involvement in risk assessmentand management, Association) http://www.cmahq.com to examine the use of risk assessmentin legisla- The ACC is the voice of the US Chemical tive, regulatory and other policy deliberations, Industry. The ACC representsthe chemical indus- and to study the use of risk analysis in decision try on public policy issues,coordinates the indus- making. The web site provides accessto issuesof try's research and testing programs [e.g. the RAPA's official journal, Risk: Health, Safety & Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI)), and ad- Environment. ministers the industry's environmental, health, and safety performance improvement initiative, 11.1.5. Societyfor Risk Analysis (SRA) known as Responsible Carelli. Members include http:ffwww.sra.org corporations in the chemical and chemical-using SRA is a multi-disciplinary group designed to (e.g. consumer product) industries. J. Pattersonet a/.jToxic%gy /73(2002) 123",/43 1141

11.2.2.European Center for Ecotoxicologyand models,and links to numeroussources of infor- Toxicologyof Chemicals(ECETOC) mation relatedto food safety.There are links to http://www.ecetoc.org/entry.htm databasesand sourcesof information useful for ECETOC's focus includes the manufacture, food safety risk assessments.Scientists from the processing,handling, and useof chemicals.ECE- University of Maryland's Veterinary Medicine TOC also cooperateswith governmentalagencies Departmentand the US Food and Drug Admin- and other organizationsconcerned with the ef- istration's Center for Food Safety and Applied fects of chemicalson health and the environ- Nutrition have createdand operatethe clearing- ment. house, which is the responsibilityof the Joint Institute for Food Safetyand Applied Nutrition, 11.2.3. European ChemicalsBureau (ECB) a collaboration betweenthe University of Mary- http://ecb.eijrc.it 1 land and the US Food and Drug Administration. Through its Existing Chemicals work area, the European Bureau (ECB) conducts data collec- 11.2.5. Harvard Centerfor Risk Analysis tion, priority setting, and risk assessmentof ex- (HCRA) http://www.hcra.harvard.edu isting chemicals following Council Regulation HCRA attempts to provide a 'big picture' view (EEC) 793/93. Risk assessmentdocuments of Ex- of public health by comparing and ranking a isting Chemicals are available in the Existing wide range of hazards, analyzing the results of Chemicals section of the ECB web site, along dealing with those hazards in various ways, and with information about The International Uni- developing sound scientific data identifying pol- fonn Chemical Inforn1ation Database (IUCLID), icy choices that are most likely to achieve the the European Union System for the Evaluation greatest health, safety, and environmental of Substances (EUSES), and The Harmonized benefits with the most efficient use of finite re- Electronic Data Set (HEDSET). Through its sources. The Center's current research programs New Chemicals work area, the ECB is responsi- focus on the areas of motor vehicle safety, medi- ble for notification of new chemical substancesto cal technology, environmental health, food, agri- be placed on the European Market, and includes culture, and children's health. The Center has a risk assessmentfor new chemicals. EUSES was newsletter entitled Risk in Perspective;which dis- developed from USES (Unifonn System for the cussesresults of research projects. Evaluation of Substances) as an update which would be fully in line with the package of amal- gamated Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) 11.2.6. international ConsumerProducts Health for new and existing chemicals. USES is an inte- and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) grated modeling system that uses a single frame- http://www.icphso.org/ work for comparing the potential risks of ICPHSO is dedicated to the health and safety different substancesreleased to multiple environ- issues related to consumer products manufac- mental media (water, soil, and air) and multiple tured and marketed in the global marketplace. human exposure pathways (inhalation, ingestion, ICPHSO includes a broad range of health and and dennal). EUSES can be used for indirect safety professionals and interested consumers, human exposures,and for consumer product and and sponsors workshops to inform and educate worker exposures. manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, and others of their product safety responsibili- 11.2.4. Food safety risk analysis clearinghouse ties. Also, ICPHSO provides a forum for the http://wwwfoodriskclearinghouse.umd.edu/ exchange of ideas and sharing of information The food safety risk analysis clearinghouse among government, industry, trade organiza- web site is a resource for those professionals tions, legal representatives, academia, standards involved risk analysis as it pertains to food writers, consumer advocates, and interested indi- safety. The site includes data, tutorials, tools, viduals. 142 J. Patterson et oJ. I Toxicology 173 (2002)123-143

11.2.7. International Life SciencesInstitute (ILSI) below. For most mailing lists, one can usually http: Ilrsi.i/si.org I obtain more information (e.g. how to subscribe) ILSI is a nonprofit, worldwide scientific re- by sending an e-mail to the listserver addresswith searchfoundation seeking to improve the well-be- 'info' and/or 'help' in the body of the message. ing of the general public through the pursuit of Other Internet-based mailing lists of possible in- sound and balanced science.Its goal is to further terest to risk assessorsand others have been re- the understanding of scientific issues relating to cently summarized in a book chapter (Wexler et nutrition, food safety, toxicology, risk assessment, al., 2000). and the environment. The ILSI Risk ScienceInsti- tute (RSI) advances and improves the scientific 11.3.1. CHEMRANK basis of ecological and human health risk assess- htlp: j jesc.syrres.comjenvchem.htm ment through an international program of re- This mailing list is for information and discus- search, working groups, conferences and sion about chemical ranking and scoring, and workshops, publications, seminars, and training currently has over 200 subscribers. This mailing programs. Information on ILSI researchactivities list can be joined via the web site. and publications is available on the web site. 11.3.2. R/SKANAL 11.2.8. Toxicology Excellencefor Risk e-mail: [email protected] Asses's'ment(TERA) http:ffwww.tera.org This mailing list was created by the Columbia- TERA is an independent non-profit research Cascadeschapter of the Society for Risk Analysis and education organization dedicated to the best and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. It has use of toxicity data in risk assessment.TERA 's several hundred members from numerous coun- mission is to protect public health by developing tries, and has helped provide feedback for numer- and communicating human health risk assessment ous risk assessment-relatedquestions. values, improving risk methods through research, 11.3.3. Risk-com and educating the public and others on risk as- e-mail: [email protected] sessmentissues. TERA develops risk values; im- A mailing list focussing on risk communication proves methods for human health risk assessment Issues. through the Research program; sponsors expert peer review of risk values, methods and research 11.3.4. RISKSCI through the Independent Peer Review program; email: [email protected] provides technical support, training courses, and This mailing list was created in mid-2000 and is risk communication to diverse groups through the intended to contain discussion of scientific and Education program; compiles and distributes peer technical issuessurrounding the various aspectsof reviewed risk values to the international user com- risk assessment,risk management and risk community through the International Toxicity Esti- munication. In addition, the policy implications mates for Risk (ITER) database; and facilitates of risk analysis can be discussed. improved risk assessmentand management decisions among industry and government through 11.3.5. TOXLIST informed and neutral guidance. e-mail: [email protected] This list is intended to contain discussionsand 11.3. Internet mailing lists other information related to toxicology.

Online discussion groups help members answer questions about human health risk assessment-re- 12. Conclusions lated topics, and are a way to share information and perspectives.A number of discussion groups The web has become a valuable source of im- are available via the Internet 'mailing lists' noted mediate accessto information needed for human J. Patterson et al. / Toxicology 173 (2002) 123-143 143 hazard identification, dose-response evaluation, References exposure assessment,risk characterization, and risk management, along with information on risk Bandurraga, M., 2000a. An overview of US chemical and perception and risk communication. Some web environmental control laws and regulations and helpful information resources. In: Wexler, P., Hakkinen, P.J., sites contain substantial collections of information Kennedy, G.L. Jr, Stoss, F.W. (Eds.), Information Re- on more than one aspect of risk assessment,for sources in Toxicology, third ed. Academic Press, San example: RiskWorld, the US EPA's Environmen- Diego, pp. 413-423 Chapter 12. tal Information Management System (ElMS) and Bandurraga, M., 2000b. Regulation of chemicalsin the US. In: National Center for Environmental Assessment Wexler, P., Hakkinen, P.J., Kennedy, G.L. Jr, Stoss, F.W. (Eds.), Information Resources in Toxicology, third ed. (NCEA) sites, the (US) National Library of Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 425-431 Chapter 13. Medicine's TOXNET site, the (US) Agency for Brinkhuis, R.P., 2001. Toxicology infonnation from US gov- Toxic Substancesand DiseaseRegistry (ATSDR) ernment agencies.Toxicology 157,25-49. site, and the International Programme on Chemi- Cowan-Ellsberry, C.E., Irwin, M.J., Lally, C.C., 2000. cal Safety (IPCS) site. Overview of international activities. In: Wexler, P., Hakki- nen, P.J., Kennedy, G.L. Jr, Stoss, F.W. (Eds.), Infonna- Also valuable to risk assessorsare various web tion Resources in Toxicology, third ed. Academic Press, sites providing information on the physical and San Diego, pp. 559-563 Chapter 22. chemical properties of chemicals, the environmen- Hakkinen, P.J., Stoss, F.W., Behrendt, B., Wexler, P., 2000. tal fate and transport of chemicals, government Organizations. In: Wexler, P., Hakkinen, P.J., Kennedy, regulations, and guidance and training for per- G.L. Jr, Stoss, F.W. (Eds.), Infonnation Resources in Toxicology, third ed. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. forming risk assessments.Several professional so- 439-489 Chapter 15. cieties and other organizations have web sites Kehrer, J.P., Mirsalis, J., 2001. Professional toxicology soci- addressingrisk assessmentissues and information, eties: web based resources.Toxicology 157, 67-76. and there are Internet mailing lists for online help NAS, 1983. Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: and for sharing information and perspectives. Managing the Process.National Academy Press,Washing- ton, DC. It is expected that many additional risk assess- NAS, 1994. Scienceand Judgement in Risk Assessment.Na- ment-related web sites will be created in the fu- tional Academy Press, Washington, DC. ture, providing valuable information for use Poore, L.M., King, G., Stefanik, K., 2001. Toxicology infor- around the world. These new sites will also mation resourcesat the Environmental Protection Agency. provide information from additional regulatory Toxicology 157, 1123. Sharpe, J.F., Eaton, D.L., Marcus, C.B., 2001. Digital toxicol- agencies, professional societies, and other ogy infonnation tools: education, training, case studies, organizations. and tutorials. Toxicology 157, 141-152. South, J.C., 2001. Online resourcesfor news about toxicology and other environmental topics. Toxicology 157, 153-164. Wexler, P., Hakkinen, P.J., Stoss, F.W., 2000. Internet and Ackno""edgements other digital resources. In: Wexler, P., Hakkinen, P.J., Kennedy, G.L. Jr, Stoss, F.W. (Eds.), Infonnation Re- The authors wish to thank the members of the sources in Toxicology, third ed. Academic Press, San RISKANAL discussion group and the RAIS Diego, pp. 287-332 Chapter 6. users group who responded to our request to Wright, L.L., 2001. Se-arching fee and non-fee toxicology nominate favorite web sites. We received dozens information resources: an overview of selected databases. Toxicology 157, 89-110. of suggestions,many of which have been included Wukovitz, L.D., 2001. Using Internet search engines and here, and welcome suggestionsfrom readers about library catalogs to locate toxicology information. Toxicol- additional useful web sites. ogy 157, 121-139.