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          Concise International Chemical Assessment Docments (CICADS) 

           Are the latest in a family of publications from the International
           Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) - a cooperative programme of
           the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour
           Organisation (ILO), and the United Nations Environment Programme
           (UNEP).  CICADs join the Environmental Health Criteria documents
           (EHCs) as authoritative documents on the risk assessment of
           chemicals.

           CICADs are concise documents that provide summaries of the
           relevant scientific information concerning the potential effects
           of chemicals upon human health and/or the environment.  They are
           based on selected national or regional evaluation documents or on
           existing EHCs.  Before acceptance for publication as CICADs by
           IPCS, these documents have undergone extensive peer review by
           internationally selected experts to ensure their completeness,
           accuracy in the way in which the original data are represented,
           and the validity of the conclusions drawn.

           The primary objective of CICADs is characterization of
           hazard and dose-response from exposure to a chemical. CICADs are
           not a summary of all available data on a particular chemical;
           rather, they include only that information considered critical
           for characterization of the risk posed by the chemical.  The
           critical studies are, however, presented in sufficient detail to
           support the conclusions drawn.  For additional information, the
           reader should consult the identified source documents upon which
           the CICAD has been based.

           Risks to human health and the environment will vary
           considerably depending upon the type and extent of exposure. 
           Responsible authorities are strongly encouraged to characterize
           risk on the basis of locally measured or predicted exposure
           scenarios.  To assist the reader, examples of exposure estimation
           and risk characterization are provided in CICADs, whenever
           possible.  These examples cannot be considered as representing
           all possible exposure situations, but are provided as guidance
           only.  The reader is referred to EHC 170 for advice on the
           derivation of health-based guidance values.

           While every effort is made to ensure that CICADs represent
           the current status of knowledge, new information is being
           developed constantly.  Unless otherwise stated, CICADs are based
           on a search of the scientific literature to the date shown in the
           executive summary.  In the event that a reader becomes aware of
           new information that would change the conclusions drawn in a
           CICAD, the reader is requested to contact the IPCS to inform it
           of the new information.































    See Also:
       Toxicological Abbreviations