Toxicology in Australia: a key component of environmental health.

Managing public concerns relating to chemical exposures can consume substantial public health resources, particularly as the scientific basis around these issues is often contentious. Toxicology remains underrecognized as a public health discipline in Australia, although Australian toxicologists are making significant contributions from academia, government, and the commercial sector toward assessing the level of risk and protecting the community from environmental hazards. Internationally, the growth of environmental toxicology and the promotion of sound science in risk assessment as a basis for making regulatory decisions have been, to some extent, driven by the outcomes of the 1992 UNCED Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio Summit) and its Chapter 19 Agenda 21 activities.

Good Evaluation Practice: a proposal of guidelines.

The intention of this proposal is to describe principles for Good Evaluation Practice (GEP) of toxicological and risk evaluations with the aim to improve the quality, reliability, and transparency of any evaluation in toxicology. The GEP has been outlined in the same way as the principles for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) to facilitate its introduction and compliance. The main characteristic of GEP is transparency.