science in ACf ION

BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS

SEPA

www.epa.gov/ord

HUMAN HEALTH
RESEARCH PROGRAM
www.epa.gov/hhrp

HUMAN HEALTH RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS REPORT
FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS

Issue:

Since its formation in 1970, EPA
has made great progress in making
the environment cleaner and safer.
However, today's environmental
issues are much more complicated
than those of 20 to 30 years ago.
More than ever, there is a need to
look to the future, anticipate
potential threats to human health
and establish scientifically
defensible approaches for
addressing them.

Science Objective:

EPA's Human Health Research
Program (HHRP) in the Office of
Research and Development is
building a strong foundation for
risk assessment by improving
understanding of exposure to
environmental contaminants and
their potential health effects.
Human health research addresses
high-priority research gaps
articulated by EPA's regulatory
programs and regional offices.

The recently released Human
Health Research Contributions
Report summarizes the critical
research HHRP scientists
conducted over the past five years
to protect public health. The
report highlights the program's
key accomplishments which have
advanced our risk assessment
capabilities in four main areas:

•	Biological (mechanistic)
research

•	Cumulative risk research

•	Susceptible subpopulation
research

•	Tools for evaluating risk
management decisions

Application and Impact:

The research program has made
significant contributions to a
number of problem-driven
research areas and contributed to a
more systematic understanding of
the physical and biological
processes that underlie how
humans can be affected by
environmental stressors.

We have developed broadly
applicable research tools for
analyzing and using information in
science-based decision making,
and developed methods, models,
and data used by risk assessors
and managers to improve the risk
assessment process.

The Human Health Research
Contributions Report, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC,
EPA/600/R-07/011, 2007.

To view the report on the Web,
visit the HHRP Web site at

http ://www. epa. gov/hhrp.

For print copies, contact the
National Service Center for
Environmental Publications,
1-800-490-9198.

September 2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Research and Development

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