Viewpoint: Closing the Exposure Gap

摘要

Since the 1980s, great progress has been made in environmental risk characterization. The National Academy of Sciences' "red book" introduced the sequence from hazard identification to exposure to effects that has ably served as a guidepost for structuring research and providing credible information for environmental decisions in both the public and private sectors. Arguably, of the Academy's recommendations, exposure assessment has been the most eclectic and elusive component. Understanding how humans and ecosystems are exposed to chemicals is fraught with complexities and uncertainties. The uncertainties propagate through the risk assessment process. Indeed, exposure assessment is often the rate limiting step in risk assessment.