Introduction to regulatory science

Decades of industrial growth have led to an increasingly complex array of manufactured products and by-products to which the public and natural environments are exposed.

The health and environmental risks of such exposures have prompted government agencies to regulate and oversee the safety of the materials that the public uses and interacts with, from food and drug products to objects in the surrounding environments.

Explorations of scientific and societal foundations for regulation have prompted the development of a new field.

The term 'regulatory science' was coined by Alan Moghissi, an editor of this book. Several leaders in regulatory science have contributed to these pages, providing a multidisciplinary overview of the new field and a guide to critical and emerging topics. This introductory work should allow readers to establish a broad understanding of scientific and legislative considerations underlying the rapidly evolving discipline.