Readers of this book will be able to:

1. Understand the need to assess environmental health risks in the context of regulatory decision-making.
2. Know the risk assessment framework/paradigm that is a key feature of decision making in regulatory agencies like EPA, FDA, and OSHA.
3. Know the four steps in risk assessment and be able to apply them to simple and more complex environmental health problems.
4. Comprehend the differences between science (facts), policy (values), and science policy (judgments), and understand their respective roles in risk-based decision making.
5. Discern the interrelationships and interactions between research, risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication in the context of regulatory decision making.
6. Be familiar with the science policies used by EPA to conduct risk assessments and appreciate their utility and limitations.
7. Be familiar with emerging methods (e.g., benchmark dose, monte carlo analysis) incorporating variability and uncertainty into data analysis and risk estimates.
8. Understand how risk assessments are used to make decisions about risk management.
9. Learn the importance and difficulty of effective risk communication.
10. Realize the challenges confronting regulatory decision-makers who must decide about tradeoffs between the economic and social costs of government intervention versus the corresponding gains in protection of people and environmental quality.
11. Understand the unique aspects of microbial risk assessment of food and how this risk model differs from chemical hazards risk assessment
12. Be able to apply the knowledge, skills, and understanding gained to enhance their role as public health professionals.