The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) conducts human health risk assessments as part of its mission to ensure the protection of workers and public health in the state. The risk assessments identify potential health hazards posed by pesticides, characterize dose-response relationships, and estimate exposure to characterize potential risks to humans. Over the last decade, advances in methods of scientific and technical analysis have led to improvements in the risk-assessment process that have made them more rigorous, transparent, and useful to risk managers. In light of the advances, the California legislature asked DPR to arrange an independent peer review of the agency's risk-assessment practices to ensure that they are scientifically and technically credible.

Review of California's Risk-Assessment Process for Pesticides examines DPR's processes of hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response analysis, and risk characterization to determine whether they are consistent with best practices. This report also evaluates the methods used for setting priorities among pesticides for risk assessment and identifies possible options for improving efficiency and productivity. Recommendations of this report will help to make the process more transparent and defensible.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE TO REVIEW CALIFORNIA'S RISK-ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR PESTICIDES
• BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
• OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Summary
  • SETTING PRIORITIES AMONG PESTICIDES
  • RISK-ASSESSMENT METHODS AND PRACTICES
  • California Data to Inform Priority-Setting and Risk Assessment
• 1. Introduction
  • THE COMMITTEE'S TASK AND APPROACH
  • ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Setting Priorities Among Pesticides for Risk Assessment
  • CALIFORNIA'S PRIORITY-SETTING PROCESS
  • COMMITTEE'S EVALUATION
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Risk-Assessment Practices for Pesticides
  • BEST PRACTICES IN RISK ASSESSMENT
  • CALIFORNIA'S RISK-ASSESSMENT PRACTICES
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. California Data to Inform Priority-Setting and Risk Assessment of Pesticides
  • PESTICIDE-EXPOSURE INFORMATION
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A Biosketches of the Committee to Review California's Risk-Assessment Process for Pesticides
  • Appendix B Department of Pesticide Regulation Risk-Assessment Guidance Documents
  • Appendix C Technical Recommendations for Department of Pesticide Regulation Risk Assessments
  • Appendix D Pesticide Toxicity Estimates of the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the US Environmental Protection Agency Used to Generate Bottom Histogram of Figure 3-3

This project was supported by Agreement 13-C0026 between the National Academy of Sciences and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.