Coming of Age—Risk Based Environmental Management. Elizabeth L. Anderson, Sciences International, Inc., King Street Station, 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314-2808
Health and environmental risk for toxic substances had its origins at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1976. Twenty years of experience have encouraged the evolution of a sophisticated science that challenges researchers to provide answers to complex questions, for example, the role of toxic substances in human disease causation, and in the balance and health of ecological systems. This paper will review these developments in light of the current widespread use of risk assessment as a management approach for regulation, corporate management, and in the judicial system. Case examples will be reviewed from each management category to reflect on the current and future scientific challenges for risk assessment’s next decade.