Letters to the editor Excluding exposure data of very poor quality is a core principle for regulatory risk assessment
article
In a recent issue of this journal, Money and Margary (2002) proposed some thoughtful guidelines for exposure assessment in regulatory risk assessment. Their structured approach acknowledges that currently available exposure data are of very variable quality (Northage and Marquart, 2001). We firmly underline their plea for a hierarchy in available exposure information sources, with a higher weight assigned to data with a lower level of uncertainty. The level of confidence an assessor has in the available exposure information should play an important role in the resultant risk assessment process. Moreover, the classification of data into different uncertainty categories should aid the assessor when conflicting exposure results are reported. Hence, a transparent system quantifying heterogeneity in data quality is crucial if one wants to arrive at consistent risk assessments.
Topics
TNO Identifier
953615
ISSN
00034878
Source
Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 46(6), pp. 559-560.
Pages
559-560