Exposure-based prioritization of chemicals for risk assessment

Manufactured chemicals are used extensively to produce a wide variety of consumer goods and are required by important industrial sectors. Presently, information is insufficient to estimate risks posed to human health and the environment from the over ten thousand chemical substances currently in use and the hundreds more that are introduced each year. The vast majority of chemicals in products with wide commercial use are not measured in the environment, and potential for human exposure is not quantified. Regulatory agencies in North America and Europe have increased calls to address exposure to these chemicals. New, more reliable approaches are needed to characterize thousands of environmental chemicals on the basis of both hazard and exposure in a rapid and efficient manner, and to prioritize chemicals based on potential risk. Various approaches for prioritization based on exposure potential are summarized and compared. Knowledge gaps and research needed to facilitate rapid exposure-based prioritization for chemical evaluation are highlighted. Published by Elsevier Ltd.