An NGO Perspective on Risk Assessment and Scientific Research

Concerns over risk assessment have been raised by Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and the environmental community for decades. In considering proposals for research in this area, it is important for both scientists and policymakers to consider the following points: (1) risk assessment as a method of policymaking is increasingly inaccessible to meaningful public participation, (2) the lack of fundamental toxicological data constrains the application of risk assessment methods more than any other factor, and (3) the importance of individual susceptibility in risk assessments must be tempered by the lack of control over individual exposures.