Environmental chemical background in health risk assessments : how to deal with ?

Abstract : Purpose : quantitative health risk assessments in France are most often conducted as a part of impact studies of industrial facilities and polluted soil management policies. These assessments must take into account the chemical background of the study site, regardless of its origin (natural or human). Characterization of this background and its integration into these regulatory quantitative health risk assessments are left to the risk assessors' judgement. We seek to improve practices by proposing guidelines for this process. Method : interviews with professionals and bibliographic research permitted us to review the state of the art, to inventory the definitions of the term 'background', to examine the reasons and methods for assessing it, and to distinguish the respective responsibilities of assessors, companies, and government authorities. Results : one route to improvement would involve analysing the purpose of considering this background.