The public sector provides rewarding career opportunities for professional
toxicologists. Public sector toxicologists evaluate diverse data on chemica
ls, assess the risks for exposed populations and assist in the articulation
of policies for management of those risks. The latter aspects require exte
nsive experience in the regulatory field, awareness of national/internation
al policies and developments, and ability to communicate risk to politician
s and the general public. Education of toxicologists for the public sector
must reflect the broad general and specialist knowledge required. (C) 2000
Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.