Objectives: In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated the NexGen project to develop a new paradigm for the next generation of risk science.
Methods: The NexGen framework was built on three cornerstones: the availability of new data on toxicity pathways made possible by fundamental advances in basic biology and toxicological science, the incorporation of a population health perspective that recognizes that most adverse health outcomes involve multiple determinants, and a renewed focus on new risk assessment methodologies designed to better inform risk management decision making.
Results: The NexGen framework has three phases. Phase I (objectives) focuses on problem formulation and scoping, taking into account the risk context and the range of available risk management decision-making options. Phase II (risk assessment) seeks to identify critical toxicity pathway perturbations using new toxicity testing tools and technologies, and to better characterize risks and uncertainties using advanced risk assessment methodologies. Phase III (risk management) involves the development of evidence-based population health risk management strategies of a regulatory, economic, advisory, community-based, or technological nature, using sound principles of risk management decision making.
Conclusions: Analysis of a series of case study prototypes indicated that many aspects of the NexGen framework are already beginning to be adopted in practice.
1McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 2Risk Sciences International, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 3Institute for Chemical Safety Sciences, The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; 4National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
Recommended Citation:
Daniel Krewski,1,2 Margit Westphal,et al. A Framework for the Next Generation of Risk Science[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2014-01-01,Volume 122(Issue 8):796