ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION-DEVELOPMENTAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RISK ASSESSMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS In 1962, Silent Spring was published. In this carefully researched book, Rachel Carson discussed the indiscriminate use of pesticides and their resulting impacts on the environment, wildlife, and human health (1). This book initiated a revolution of public opinion on environmental conservation, which played a significant role in the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 under the Nixon administration (2). At its inception, the EPA subsumed duties previously held under the purview of other diverse Federal entities and was initially organized into offices for the regulation of water quality, air pollution, pesticides, radiation, and solid wastes. Although primarily involved in pollution control in its initial activities, the agency and its functions have evolved over the years. In part, this included a burgeoning focus on human health risk assessment, which continues to the present.
