EARTH SUMMIT+5 Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21 New York, 23-27 June 1997 PROGRAMME FACT SHEETS

	Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents (CICADs)
	Responsible Organization(s)	International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS)
	Description	CICADs are risk evaluations of chemicals developed using national or regional evaluations as supporting background documents or in parallel with the production of national or regional evaluations. The source documents must meet agreed standards on quality criteria and be of known provenance. Key studies are presented in sufficient detail to allow the reader to evaluate the content. A section on risk characterization is included as well as practical information on medical and administrative issues.
	Issues addressed	To expand and accelerate international assessment of chemicals as the basis for risk management decision-making.
	Objectives	To use available national documents of adequate quality as a basis for developing comprehensive international risk assessments.
	Results achieved	Twenty-one chemicals, including five pesticides, are currently being evaluated.
	Lessons learned	Chemical risk evaluation activities are demanding on the limited expert resources available; the CICAD programme increases the participation of national governments in the production of international peer reviewed evaluations, thus increasing the expertise available while distributing the cost share of resources needed over a larger base.
	Financing	World Health Organization (WHO), Governments.
	Contact	Dr. M. Mercier Director, IPCS, World Health Organization 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Tel. (41-22) 791-3589 Fax. (41-22) 791-4848