| Summary: | Toxicology plays a major role in the assessment of health and environmental hazards associated with the many substances that are used or encountered by military personnel and the general public. More than 75,000 chemical substances are currently manufactured or used in commerce in the United States, and almost 1,000 more are introduced into commerce each year. In response to many requests from the DOD for toxicological studies, the NRC in 1947 convened the Committee on Toxicology (COT) -- with expertise in toxicology, epidemiology, occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, and chemistry -- to provide scientific information and expert advice on difficult questions involving toxicology and risk assessment. One of the oldest scientific bodies of the NRC, COT was created to be a US counterpart of the Commission de Toxicologie of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and to represent the US professions of toxicology and industrial hygiene in international forums. COT's mission is to conduct independent, authoritative studies on issues in toxicology for the Army, Navy, Air Force, NASA, EPA, and other governmental agencies
|
|---|