[Concise International Chemical Assessment Document (CICAD): a new chemical safety series in IPCS, internationalizing national reviews].

The Concise International Chemical Assessment Document or CICAD is a new chemical safety document series. It was launched by the IPCS in 1995, based on the decision of the International Forum on Chemical Safety in 1994, to internationally assess safety of 500 additional chemicals by the year 2000. The strategy to achieve this ambitious goal is to internationalize existing national assessment documents by rearranging contents of them into a standardized format, succinctly describing critical data, and adding international assessment process so as to be prepared efficiently, concisely and reliably. Critical review of document drafts by competent experts and input from countries including developing ones is required in the preparation. The author wishes to establish a framework to develop national reviews of chemical risk assessment domestically, while cooperating with this international programme.