Human health risk assessment: selected internet and world wide web resources

Abstract

The world wide web (WWW) has become a valuable source of 24 hour-a-day access to information needed by human health risk assessors. Various web sites and other Internet resources provide information needed for human hazard identification, dose–response evaluation, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and risk management. Information on risk communication is also available. Substantial collections of information on multiple aspects of risk assessment are found in sites sponsored by RiskWorld, the (US) EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), the (US) National Library of Medicine's TOXNET, the (US) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). Also valuable are various web sites providing information on the physical and chemical properties of chemicals, the environmental fate and transport of chemicals, government regulations, and guidance and training for performing risk assessments. Several professional societies and other organizations have web sites addressing risk assessment issues and information, and there are Internet mailing lists for online help and for sharing information and perspectives. We classify selected web sites according to user needs and provide the reader with a collection of selected sites that can serve as entry points to risk assessment-related web resources.