A flagship risk assessment: EPA reassesses dioxin in an open forum

Journal Article · · EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States)

OSTI ID:5640826

Preuss, P W; Farland, W H ^[1]

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1. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Research and Development

Every day brings new advances in toxicology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and other sciences that add to man's understanding of the interactions between human activity and the environment. Such advances have occurred with respect to scientific data on the effects of dioxin, one of the most prominent environmental health issues of the past decade. EPA began to assess the risks of dioxin in the early 1980s; these efforts resulted in a 1985 risk assessment that classified dioxin as a probably human carcinogen, primarily based on findings from animal studies available at that time. Two recent scientific advances caused scientists to consider reexamining this position. The first was an October 1990 meeting at the Banbury Center in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, at which some 30 prominent experts reached consensus as to the probable processes through which dioxin causes toxic effects in humans and animals. The second was the January 1991 publication of a major National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study of cancer mortality in US chemical workers exposed to dioxin. After much discussion, EPA concluded that scientists should proceed with a reassessment. EPA also concluded that since the question of dioxin's risk had been marked by considerable controversy for more than a decade, they should pursue a process that would achieve scientific consensus on this issue.

• OSTI ID: 5640826
• Journal Information: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States), Journal Name: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States) Vol. 19:1; ISSN 0145-1189; ISSN EPAJDB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
CARCINOGENESIS
DIOXIN
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
MAMMALS
MAN
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOGENESIS
PRIMATES
RISK ASSESSMENT
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES