[The European Union Risk Assessment on Zinc and Zinc Compounds: The Process and the Facts, Integrated Environmental Assessment Management], 2005; Vol. 1(4): 301-319
Newswise — Zinc naturally exists in the environment and is an essential element for organisms, including humans. The range between the minimum concentration of zinc needed to supply an organism's requirements and the maximum concentration above which zinc is considered toxic is known as the "window of essentiality." This "window" makes smaller invertebrates more susceptible to zinc toxicity because they do not have the capacity to adjust to zinc exposure to the same extent as larger organisms.
The EU increasingly is using risk assessment to evaluate industrial chemicals and other substances used in consumer products sold in member countries. At issue in this and other assessments is the acceptable level of uncertainty in the evaluation process. In this case, the study's researchers accounted for the scientific realities of zinc's natural and essential qualities and melded them with pragmatic realities. More than any other previous EU risk assessment, this zinc assessment "contains a number of elements reducing and, to some extent, quantifying uncertainty," implying that further information or testing is needed.
The study considered multiple stakeholders and provides valuable information for these groups, including risk assessors, managers and nongovernmental organizations. Though the study showed no likely health risks for consumers, the increasing popularity of zinc as a dietary supplement could warrant future monitoring of its use.
To read the entire study, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/ieam-01-04-06_301..319.pdf
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management is the quarterly journal of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. For more information, please visit http://www.setac.org.
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