Many health risk assessment (RA) activities are being performed worldwide, especially by government health agencies in the United States. For simplicity, these RA activities can be subsumed under the four categories listed below.

The first group consists of all those health risks, of which mitigation relies on an individual’s own initiative or a medical organization’s effort, rather than on some government interventions. This group is typically assessed or considered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The second category deals with those health risks that are subject to regulatory control and are related primarily to environmental contamination or to product use. This group is typically considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other regulatory agencies include the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and DHHS’s Food and Drug Administration.

The third category differs from the second group only in that the risks in the former are due to exposures occurring in a workplace. This type is subject to the regulatory control of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The fourth category includes all those health risks created or aggravated by development policies or programs (DPP) or industrialization, especially in developing countries. DPP and industrialization are ironically supposed to improve the public’s economic conditions and their living standards.