Risk Assessment for Environmental Chemicals

Abstract Probabilistic methods are increasingly used in risk assessment, to represent uncertainty and known variability in factors such as exposure and toxicity. Risk assessment follows a five‐step process involving hazard identification, dose‐response assessment (with the development of reference doses and cancer slope factors), exposure assessment (with consideration of exposure pathways and dose estimation), risk characterization, and the analysis of variability and uncertainty. The distinction between assessment and management is discussed.