Integration of Available Information for Probabilistic Assessments

Integration of available information is an iterative process that normally occurs throughout problem formulation (USEPA 1998). In general, for probabilistic assessments there will be a greater emphasis on obtaining information in quantitative rather than qualitative forms. In particnlar, probabilistic assessments require increased attention to obtaining information on 

For example, existing databases and risk assessment publications often omit statistical measnres of variability or nncertainty and sample sizes and rarely report the underlying data. These types of information are rarely used in deterministic assessments but are a fundamental reqnirement for probabilistic assessments. 

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