A RiskWorld news brief. E-mail comments to reed@tec-com.com.
December 13, 1996 -- The California Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed on line today their Memorandum of Understanding that seeks to harmonize state and federal risk assessment activities.
The joint agreement is an outgrowth of the 1996 report "A Review of the California Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Practices, Policies, and Guidelines," which recommended that the state "take the lead in initiating steps to assure consistency and cooperation with U.S. EPA and other federal counterparts." (See related RiskWorld news article.) It also is a result of U.S. EPA’s ongoing efforts to harmonize risk assessment both domestically and internationally.
The agreement is specifically between California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which is directed by Richard A. Becker, and U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, which is directed by Terry Harvey. The two organizations often conduct risk assessments on the same substances and develop risk assessment methods for the same purposes.
"Using the scientific expertise in both offices to address some of these complex issues will encourage the development of alternative approaches, promote peer involvement and peer review, and, generally, improve the science that ultimately supports the state and federal regulatory decision-making process," the California EPA stated in a press release.
Related Links
RiskWorld's November 19, 1996, news article " California EPA Releases Final Risk Report "
RiskWorld's October 25, 1996, article "California EPA's Chemical Risk Assessment Report Now Due November 1"
Members of the California EPA’s Risk Assessment Advisory Committee
California EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
California Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment
Story posted December 13, 1996.
Copyright © 1996 by Tec-Com Inc.