Chemical risk assessment involves several key steps: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.
Hazard Identification: This step involves identifying the potential effects a chemical might have on health, such as carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, or neurotoxicity. Dose-Response Assessment: This phase examines the relationship between the extent of exposure and the severity of adverse effects, often depicted in dose-response curves. Exposure Assessment: This step determines how, when, and where exposure to a chemical occurs and evaluates the frequency and duration of exposure. Risk Characterization: This is the final step where data from the previous stages are integrated to provide an estimate of the risk, often expressed as a probability.
