Chemical Risk Assessment

Chemicals are a vital part of our daily life. They provide society with a wide range of benefits, such as increased agricultural and industrial productivity.

As a result of their manufacture, use or disposal chemicals also have the potential to cause ill-health and damage the environment. Naturally occurring substances can be as harmful as man made materials and can also be a potential risk.

The effective management of human exposure to a variety of chemicals has become a very important public health issue. The Health Protection Agency, in conjunction with other agencies, carries out and reviews environmental health risk assessments and plays an important role in reviewing the risks to public health from the chemical substances around us.

This section explains the work that the HPA is doing in this area.