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Reference dose (RfD): the possible impact of hormesis
Author(s) -
Barnes D. G.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1263(200003/04)20:2<127::aid-jat643>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - hormesis , agency (philosophy) , risk analysis (engineering) , risk assessment , reference dose , toxicology , medicine , computer science , biology , computer security , epistemology , philosophy , oxidative stress
A fictitious US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator in the year 2005 is confronted with making a risk management decision on a chemical that exhibits an unambiguous hormetic effect in an animal system. Dose–response curves for average humans and sensitive humans are derived from the animal data. The question is posed: What should the reference dose (RfD) be in this case? A series of outstanding scientific and policy questions are discussed that have a bearing on the answer. The concept of the ‘regulatory dose (RgD)’ is revived to address, if not resolve, the issue.