Risk assessment strategy, effective

In conclusion, understanding the biotransformation of pesticides is a useful tool in determining species dependent and mechanistic effects of these compounds in fish and helps to reduce uncertainty in ecological risk assessment strategies. 

A simple strategy involving a predetermined sequence of steps will assist in ensuring tirat a fire risk assessment is effective. Typical steps that can be followed are ... 

To identify the key toxicants impacting marine and freshwater ecosystems on a site and basin scale as a crucial basis for scientifically sound risk assessment and decision support on risk management, remedial action strategies and preventive policies for the mitigation of harmful effects. 

We conclude by illustrating how our understanding of these chemical processes in our clean and polluted troposphere and stratosphere plays a crucial role in generating the exposure portions of scientific health risk assessments. Such assessments provide the foundation for sound, health-protective and cost-effective strategies for the control of tropospheric ozone, particles, acids, and a spectrum of hazardous air pollutants (including carcinogens and pesticides)—as well as for the mitigation of stratospheric ozone depletion. 

The capacity of a chemical to cause harm is what the hazard identification stage of risk assessment is intended to identify - the hazards of a chemical are the adverse effects [harm] which [it] has an inherent capacity to cause (Article 2 of Directive 93/67/EEC). The identification of adverse effects on the health of humans and wildlife relies heavily on tests on laboratory animals. I have already discussed some of the many uncertainties that result from the use of animal tests. A key question is whether there are viable alternatives. Before proposing an alternative testing strategy I first consider animal tests as scientific experiments and ask whether they are good experiments, given what we want to find out. 

Lack of coherent national technically based strategies for risk assessment coupled with regulatory emphasis on inherent properties (hazard), regardless of the probability that adverse effects will actually occur (risk level)... 

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