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Science, hormesis and regulation

University of Tennessee, 808 McClung Tower, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0480, USA hdouglas{at}utk.edu

While hormesis is an intriguing scientific hypothesis, this paper argues that it is not yet an acceptable basis for policy-making. Two reasons are given for this assessment. First, although hormesis has suggestive explanatory power, it does not yet have the predictive successes that indicate a general reliability sufficient for policy-making. Second, the regulatory agenda for chemical exposures is usually focused, for good ethical reasons, on protecting people from involuntary and potentially harmful exposures, rather than focused on maximizing public health benefits.

Key Words: hormesis • regulatory agenda • explanatory power • prediction • value of life • mixtures • ethics • justice

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 27, No. 8, 603-607 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0960327108098493


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