About Risk Assessment Support
Why Risk Assessment is Important
EPA assesses the risks of chemicals and pollutants as part of making regulatory and other decisions that affect human health and the environment. While assessments vary depending on the specific problem being analyzed, most EPA assessments consist of several basic steps.
A detailed description of the risk assessment process, along with more resources and information, can be found at EPA's Risk Assessment Portal.
Risk Assessment Forum
EPA's Risk Assessment Forum (RAF), promotes consensus on risk assessment issues and develops agency risk assessment guidelines, white papers, tools, and trainings. The RAF was established to:
- Promote Agency-wide consensus on difficult and controversial risk assessment issues and
- Ensure that this consensus is incorporated into appropriate Agency risk assessment guidelines.
RAF products are intended to guide the entire agency, rather than any specific program. RAF guidelines and products undergo extensive internal and external review prior to adoption.
The Science and Technology Policy Council (STPC) reviews, finalizes, and approves products developed by the Forum.