This document, drawn up by the Health Council's Committee on the Derivation of Health-Based Recommended Exposure Limits, forms one such methodological advisory report. It discusses the use of the ‘benchmark dose' or BMD method in deriving healthbased recommended exposure limits. This method is an alternative to the approach generally employed in the Netherlands and elsewhere, in which either animal experiments, studies with volunteers or epidemiological research are used to determine the highest level of exposure which does not lead to adverse health effects (the No Observed Adverse Effect Level, or NOAEL). An ‘uncertainty factor' is then applied to allow for the differences between experimental animals and humans, differences in sensitivity between human individuals, and research data deficiencies. The resulting exposure value becomes the health-based recommended exposure limit. ..."

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