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. 2004 Feb;112(2):238–256. doi: 10.1289/ehp.6182

A framework for assessing risks to children from exposure to environmental agents.

George Daston 1, Elaine Faustman 1, Gary Ginsberg 1, Penny Fenner-Crisp 1, Stephen Olin 1, Babasaheb Sonawane 1, James Bruckner 1, William Breslin 1, Tara J McLaughlin 1
PMCID: PMC1241835  PMID: 14754580

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increasing focus in environmental risk assessment on children as a potentially susceptible population. There also has been growing recognition of the need for a systematic approach for organizing, evaluating, and incorporating the available data on children's susceptibilities in risk assessments. In this article we present a conceptual framework for assessing risks to children from environmental exposures. The proposed framework builds on the problem formulation-->analysis-->risk characterization paradigm, identifying at each phase the questions and issues of particular importance for characterizing risks to the developing organism (from conception through organ maturation). The framework is presented and discussed from the complementary perspectives of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics.

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Selected References

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