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Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2012 Jun;9(6):1997-2019. doi: 10.3390/ijerph9061997. Epub 2012 May 25.
Conventionally, in its decision-making, the U.S. EPA has evaluated the effects and risks associated with a single pollutant in a single exposure medium. In reality, people are exposed to mixtures of pollutants or to the same pollutant through a variety of media, including the air, water, and food. It is now more recognized than before that environmental exposure to pollutants occurs via multiple exposure routes and pathways, including inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. Moreover, chemical, biologic, radiologic, physical, and psychologic stressors are all acknowledged as affecting human health. Although many EPA offices attempt to consider cumulative risk assessment and cumulative effects in various ways, there is no Agency-wide policy for considering these risks and the effects of exposure to these risks when making environmental decisions. This article examines how U.S. courts might assess EPA's general authority and discretion to use cumulative risk assessment as the basis for developing data in support of environmental decision-making, and how courts might assess the validity of a cumulative risk assessment methodology itself.
传统上，美国环保署在决策中评估单一暴露介质中单一污染物的影响和风险。实际上，人们会接触到污染物的混合物，或者通过多种介质（包括空气、水和食物）接触到相同的污染物。现在人们比以往任何时候都更认识到，人们通过多种暴露途径和途径接触污染物，包括吸入、摄入和皮肤吸收。此外，化学、生物、放射性、物理和心理压力源都被认为会影响人类健康。尽管许多美国环保署办公室试图以各种方式考虑累积风险评估和累积效应，但在做出环境决策时，并没有一个机构范围内的政策来考虑这些风险以及接触这些风险的影响。本文探讨了美国法院如何评估美国环保署的一般权力和自由裁量权，以使用累积风险评估作为制定数据的基础，以支持环境决策，以及法院如何评估累积风险评估方法本身的有效性。
