This document presents selected results of GAO’s Web-based Survey of EPA Risk Assessment Practices. The purpose of this survey was to collect information on the how EPA’s efforts since 1994 to improve the risk assessment process have affected the preparation of human health risk assessments. We surveyed EPA risk assessors on topics such as guidance documents, training, research collaboration, and peer review. We sent the survey to 270 risk assessors in the Office of Research and Development, and the program offices of Air and Radiation, Pesticides, Pollution Prevention and Toxics, and Water. We received 221 completed surveys for a response rate of 82 percent.

A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology is contained in our report Human Health Risk Assessment: EPA Has Taken Steps to Strengthen Its Process, but Improvements Needed in Planning, Data Development, and Training GAO-06-595 (Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2006). We administered this survey from October 2005 to January 2006 in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.

Instructions for Viewing this Survey

How to View The Survey

• This site provides a copy of the survey instrument and links to responses for each question. Below is information that will help you understand how this site is constructed.
• Click on the Survey Results link located in the lower right of this screen. To read to the bottom of the screen, you may need to use your scroll bar on the right side of this screen.
• The first screen in the survey is an introduction and general information that was sent to and viewed by recipients of the survey. There are no survey results to view on this screen. This screen is for information only and you may by-pass it by clicking on Next located at the bottom of the screen in the lower right.
• The survey may have links to allow respondents to bypass inapplicable questions (skip patterns). While these were active links during the data collection period, they have now been disabled.
• When a respondent wrote a narrative response to a question, we do not provide information on this site. As appropriate, we may have included some information about these narratives in the full report. A link to this report appears at the top of this screen.

How to View the Responses for Each Question

• To view the responses to each question, click on the question number (Links to survey questions will look like this: 1., etc.).
• After viewing the responses to each question, click on the "x" in the upper right corner of your screen to close that window and return to the questionnaire.

How to Return to a Page That You Previously Visited

• To return to the last screen you viewed, click the Previous button on the lower right corner of the screen.
• Click the Next button to advance to the next screen.

How to Make the Font Larger on Your Screen

• You can make the font larger by changing your browser setting. For example, on Internet Explorer you can change the font size by going to View and selecting Text Size.