The FQPA 10X safety factor: How much is science? How much is sociology?

On August 3, 1996, the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) was signe d into law. The FQPA instructed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, i n making its "reasonable certainty of no harm" finding, that in "the case o f threshold effects,...an additional tenfold margin of safety.....shall be applied for infants and children to take into account potential pre- and po stnatal toxicity and completeness of data with respect to exposure and toxi city to infants and children." The law further states that "the Administrat or may use a different margin of safety.......only if, on the basis of reli able data, such margin will be safe for infants and children." This paper d escribes how the Office of Pesticide Programs of the U.S. Environmental Pro tection Agency proposes to implement this legislative mandate in its 1999 d raft.