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Research Programs: Human Health Risk
Evaluating Public Health Outcomes
Human Health Risk
While EPA's regulatory and other risk management actions are taken with the goal of preventing or reducing adverse human health effects, historically, EPA generally has not retrospectively evaluated whether the intended benefits were realized once an EPA decision had been implemented. In recognition of this knowledge gap and as a means of demonstrating its accountability, the goal of this new research area is to enable EPA and others to gauge the actual public health consequences of EPA's regulations, programs, and other risk-management actions.
A clear understanding of the linkages between sources, environmental concentrations, exposure, and adverse effects is essential to determining the effectiveness of the implementation of a risk management decision. Thus, scientific achievements in the other three areas of human health research will further the objectives of this fourth research area. Research will also be undertaken to identify, improve, and develop effective tools, systems, methods and models for measuring, monitoring, and predicting public health outcomes. Research in this area will involve efforts in the physical and social sciences and will need to take into account economic and behavior aspects of decision making.
Due to the confounding influences of multiple factors (e.g., age at time of exposure, duration of exposure, and exposure to other pollutants) and to uncertainties in scientists' understanding of the linkages between sources of pollutants, exposure, dosage, and health effects, a research program to meet the goals of this fourth research area will take years or even decades to develop and fully implement. Additionally, its success will rely heavily on collaborations between EPA and its sister agencies such as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
