A RiskWorld news article by associate editor Amy Charlene Reed, e-mail reed@tec-com.com.
December 30, 1996 -- A joint agreement between the California Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding risk assessment activities is expected to eliminate duplication of research efforts, identify joint projects, and harmonize guidelines.
Published on line this week, the memorandum of understanding is between California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, directed by Richard "Rick" Becker, and U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, directed by William "Bill" Farland.
"This will be a two-way exchange of risk assessments, risk assessment methodology development, and exposure evaluation. Not only will we gain from the U.S. EPA’s expertise, but also they will benefit from ours," Becker said, noting that of the 50 states, California has the largest in-house staff of risk analysts.
Two areas in which the California EPA plans share its expertise with the U.S. EPA are the benchmark dose approach toward noncancer risk assessment and stochastic risk assessments, a methodology that is embodied in the agency’s multimedia, multipathway models that examine exposure holistically.
Examples of areas that Farland expects the two organizations to target include health effects of diesel exhaust, hazard identification of chemicals that impact human development and reproduction, and cancer risk assessment. "One of the things we’re looking at is the evolution of the process of cancer risk assessment," he said. "We’ll have the opportunity to look at case studies of our new cancer risk guidelines as California puts them into effect."
While the two organizations have long shared risk information in several of these areas on an informal basis, the agreement is expected to expand joint activities by formalizing their commitments to peer involvement and peer review.
"In light of potentially decreasing resources, we have to develop better ways to work together in the areas of toxicology and risk assessment," Becker said. "One thing I would like to stress is that harmonization doesn’t mean that we will always arrive at the same value at the end of an assessment. It means that there is a willingness to share expertise and work jointly to avoid duplication."
The joint agreement takes a step toward fulfilling the first recommendation 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." The agreement also is a result of U.S. EPA’s ongoing efforts to harmonize risk assessment both domestically and internationally.
"We have a number of activities underway to harmonize the way risk assessment is done," Farland said. "One of the largest is an international effort with the World Health Organization’s International Program on Chemical Safety."
The two organizations will begin outlining a work plan at their first meeting in January and expect to issue quarterly reports on their progress.
Related Links
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment
Full text of the 1996 report "A Review of the California Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Practices, Policies, and Guidelines"
RiskWorld news article on the 1996 report "A Review of the California Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Practices, Policies, and Guidelines"
Story posted December 30, 1996.
Copyright © 1996 by Tec-Com Inc.