ABSTRACT
Thus, toxicology is a very young discipline and has a limited number of truly trained disciples. Many scientists who are called toxicologists are trained in other fields and have become toxicologists through experience grafted onto their previous education. There have been attempts to limit this type of selfappellation by the use of certification exams, but only a small percentage of current "toxicologists" are certified. At present, the demand for toxicologists much exceeds the supply, so that there is not significant pressure on most to be certified. This means that scientists with a wide variety of expertise and backgrounds may be perceived as equally expert by the public and have equally significant effects on the public image of this science as well as public policy in this area. The differing levels of expertise have contributed to the apparent conflict and uncertainty in the scientific community regarding the toxic effects of a number of chemicals.
