Evaluating uncertainty to strengthen epidemiologic data for use in human health risk assessments.

Background: There is a recognized need to improve the application of epidemiologicdata in human health risk assessmentespecially for understanding and characterizing risks from environmental and occupational exposures. Although there is uncertainty associated with the results of most epidemiologicstudies, techniques exist to characterize uncertainty that can be applied to improve weight-of-evidence evaluations and risk characterization efforts.Methods: This report derives from a Health and Environmental SciencesInstitute (HESI) workshop held in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to discuss the utility of using epidemiologicdata in risk assessments, including the use of advanced analytic methods to address sources of uncertainty. Epidemiologists, toxicologists, and risk assessors from academia, government, and industry convened to discuss uncertainty, exposure assessment, and application of analytic methods to address these challenges.Synthesis: Several recommendations emerged to help improve the...