The Approach of Human Health Risk Assessment from Pesticides

The process and practice of human health risk assessment from pesticides was discussed. Human health risk assessment process is used as a decision-making tool for pesticide registration and review in many countries and international organizations. The process of human health risk assessment contains four steps: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment and risk characterization. Hazard identification is to answer what health effects can be caused by the pesticides. Dose-response assessment is to answer what are the health effects at different exposure levels. Exposure assessment is to answer how much of the pesticides are people exposed to through food, drinking water, and various non-agricultural uses. Exposure assessment includes dietary risk assessment, occupational exposure assessment and reesidntial exposure assessment. Risk characterization is to answer what is the extra risk of health problems likely to result from a pesticide in the exposed population.