Risk from genotoxic substances in the environment

Although various governments and statutes provide formulaic guidelines to help drive the risk assessment process, application of these guidelines to complex environmental exposures can be an intractable exercise. Consequently, risk assessments for mixtures of substances in the environment often diverge from the more doctrinaire approaches. This paper attempts to 1) provide an introduction to recent developments in U.S. guidelines using the 1996 EPA Proposed Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment as an example and 2) identify and resolve some of the unique concerns that have evolved from risk assessments of environmental mixtures, especially with regard to the field of genetic toxicology. Deleterious health effects from genetic damage include cancer, birth defects, cardiovascular disease, and aging. The proper characterization and management of genetic risks not only protects human health, but the environment as well, ensuring species vigor and diversity by protecting the gene pool