The contributors provide a rich overview of the strengths and limitations of using risk assessment methods in the occupational health arena.This book brings together a distinguished group of experts in occupational health and risk assessment who express diverse views on the usefulness of risk assessment in the protection of worker health. Representatives from regulatory agencies, labor, industry, and academia consider both policy and technical issues, providing a rich overview of the strengths and limitations of using risk assessment methods in the occupational health arena.Both policy and technical issues are explored. Several contributors focus on the policy implications of regulatory agencies' increasing reliance on risk assessment to guide occupational and environmental risk reduction strategies. Others consider specific methodological issues relating to the application of state-of-the-art scientific developments to the evaluation of occupational risks. Chapters are organized to consider specific aspects of the field including current applications of risk assessment methods by federal regulatory agencies; approaches to improving the use of epidemiological data in risk assessment; the use of animal bioassay data to predict occupational risks; potential uses of cutting-edge scientific data on toxicological mechanisms, toxicokinetics, and biomarkers in risk assessment; specific issues including ethics, values, and sociopolitical aspects of the process, and a concluding chapter discussing future directions to the evaluation and regulation of risks to worker health and safety. Given the range of policy and technical issues explored, this collection will be invaluable to professionals as well as academics in the fields of occupational health and environmental risk assessment.

One-liner: A major examination of the strengths and limitations associated with the use of risk assessment in occupational health.

IllustrationsForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsQuantitative Risk Assessment: A Tool to Be Used Responsibly by J. Donald MillarIntroductionRisk and the Workplace by C. Mark Smith, Karl T. Kelsey, and David ChristianiCurrent Applications of Risk Assessment Methods in the Development of Occupational RegulationsRisk Assessment and Occupational Standard Setting by C. Mark Smith, Karl T. Kelsey, and David ChristianiThe Role of Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Assessment in the Development of Occupational Health Standards by Lawrence Reed, Leslie Stayner, Heinz Ahlers, and Ralph ZumwaldeThe Application of Risk Assessment in the Development of Health Standards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration by Charles Adkins and Ronald S. RatneyRisk Assessment in Context: A Case Study of Risk Assessment for the Use of Diesel Powered Equipment in Underground Coal Mines by James L. WeeksMethods and Strategies for the Use of Epidemiologic Studies in Risk AssessmentEpidemiology and Risk by Richard MonsonMethods for Modeling Epidemiologic Data for Quantitative Risk Assessment by Leslie Stayner and Randy SmithEpidemiology in Occupational Health Risk Assessment by M. Jane TetaIssues in Using Human Data in Risk Assessment for Occupational Disease: Non-Cancer Endpoints by Ellen A. Eisen and David H. WegmanQuantitative Examples of Continuous Exposure Measurement Errors That Bias Risk Estimates Away from the Null by James A. Deddens and Richard W. HornungAnimal Bioassay Data in the Assessment of Risks to Worker HealthAnimal Bioassays and Predictive Toxicology by Garreth M. GreenSetting Priorities among Possible Carcinogenic Hazards in the Workplace by Lois Swirsky Gold, Georganne Backman Garfinkel, and Thomas H. SloneThe Use of Laboratory Animal Carcinogenicity Data in Occupational Risk Assessment by David P. RallAssessment of Carcinogenic Risks in the Workplace by Lauren ZeiseStatistical Issues in Developmental Toxicology by Paul J. Catalano and Louise M. RyanUse of Scientific Data on Mechanisms of Toxicity, Toxicokinetics, and Biomarkers to Assess Occupational RisksMechanistic Toxicology and Risk Assessment by C. Mark SmithThe Use of Scientific Information in the Workplace Standard Setting Process by James D. WilsonCarcinogen Identification and Occupational Health by Robert J. MoolenaarThe Role of Genomic Analyses in Occupational Cancer Risk Assessment by J. K. Wiencke and K. T. KelseyUse of Mechanistic Data in Occupational Health Risk Assessment: The Example of Diesel Particulates by Dale Hattis and Ken SilverSpecial Issues in Occupational Risk Assessment: Values, Politics, Ethics, and UncertaintySociopolitical and Economic Aspects of Risk Assessment by Charles LevensteinLimits of Epidemiological Evidence and Uncertainty Analysis in Occupational Risk Assessment by James M. RobinsRisk Assessment Methodology: Objectivity and the Hired-Gun Assessor by Robert AlmederValue Judgements and Risk Assessment by Nicholas A. AshfordConclusions: Strengths and Limitations of Risk Assessment Approaches to Occupational Health and Recommendations for the FutureImportant Issues in Occupational Health Risk Assessment and Risk Management: Comments and Recommendations by C. Mark Smith, Karl T. Kelsey, and David C. ChristianiThe Recent Practice of Risk Assessment in the Occupational Environment Incorrectly Discounts Hazards of Chemical Exposures to Workers and the Public Health by Franklin E. MirerRisk Assessment in the Occupational Standard Setting Process: Some Thoughts and Perspectives on Problems and Potential Solutions by Gerard F. EganFuture Directions in Occupational Risk Assessment by Richard W. NiemeierFuture Directions in Reducing Occupational and Environmental Risks: A Warning Against Overreliance on Risk Assessment Approaches by Nicholas A. AshfordReferencesIndex