Quantifying uncertainty in a risk assessment using human data

Fayerweather, WE; Collins, JJ; Schnatter, AR; Hearne, FT; Menning, RA; Reyner, DP

HERO ID

11426

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

1999

Language

English

PMID

10765448

HERO ID 11426
In Press No
Year 1999
Title Quantifying uncertainty in a risk assessment using human data
Authors Fayerweather, WE; Collins, JJ; Schnatter, AR; Hearne, FT; Menning, RA; Reyner, DP
Journal Risk Analysis
Volume 19
Issue 6
Page Numbers 1077-1090
Abstract A call for risk assessment approaches that better characterize and quantify uncertainty has been made by the scientific and regulatory community. This paper responds to that call by demonstrating a distributional approach that draws upon human data to derive potency estimates and to identify and quantify important sources of uncertainty. The approach is rooted in the science of decision analysis and employs an influence diagram, a decision tree, probabilistic weights, and a distribution of point estimates of carcinogenic potency. Its results estimate the likelihood of different carcinogenic risks (potencies) for a chemical under a specific scenario. For this exercise, human data on formaldehyde were employed to demonstrate the approach. Sensitivity analyses were performed to determine the relative impact of specific levels and alternatives on the potency distribution. The resulting potency estimates are compared with the results of an exercise using animal data on formaldehyde. The paper demonstrates that distributional risk assessment is readily adapted to situations in which epidemiologic data serve as the basis for potency estimates. Strengths and weaknesses of the distributional approach are discussed. Areas for further application and research are recommended.
Doi 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1999.tb01129.x
Pmid 10765448
Wosid CCC:000084295700005
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English