Risk assessment is an inexact science. Successful risk assessment practitioners rely heavily on extensive and well-documented databases. In the case of chemicals entering the environment as a result of human activities, these databases generally include the chemical’s source and use; its physical, chemical, and metabolic properties; concentrations in field collections of abiotic materials and living organisms; deficiency effects, in the case of chemicals essential for life processes; lethal and sublethal effects, including effects on survival, growth, reproduction, metabolism, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, and carcinogenicity; proposed regulatory criteria for the protection of human health and sensitive natural resources; and recommendations for additional research when databases are incomplete
