Main description:

History of Risk Assessment in Toxicology guides the reader through the historical narrative of the evolution of risk assessment thinking in human and environmental practices. Risk assessment concepts are used in many different professional practice areas. In the health and environmental practices of risk assessment, the critical issue is often what chemical concentration in air, water, food, or a solid substance is acceptable, or considered not to result in any adverse effect.

The book reviews examples from early scientific and health studies to showcase the foundations of risk assessment. The book also explores the development of risk assessment as practiced by major regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reveal how risk assessment has evolved in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Modern technology has created opportunities in silicon in vitro, computational modeling, omics, and big data techniques to assess the toxicity of chemicals, while traditional approaches to risk assessment are being challenged with new and innovative approaches. Finally, current issues being debated and tested in risk assessment are outlined with possible future avenues suggested.

Contents:

1. Prehistory of Risk Assessment, case studies in Hazard Identification, Exposure Characterization, and Risk Characterization 2. Risk Assessment in the 20th Century Part I: Early lessons in Food Safety 3. Risk Assessment in the 20th Century Part II: The History of OSHA: Early lessons in Chemical Safety 4. Risk Assessment in the 20th Century Part III: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Early lessons: pollution and environmental disasters 5. Risk Assessment goes Global: Review of the spread of risk assessment practices in North America, Europe, and Asia 6. Risk Assessment in the 21st Century: New Technologies and techniques