Macphail, Robert – Environment, Behavior and Pollution: Quantifying Risk - This tutorial will describe past and current studies on behavior in the field of environmental toxicology, an area of inqury that has a remarkably longer history than generally recognized. Toxicology bears much in common with Pharmacology in that both fields investigate the effects of chemicals on living organisms, organs or tissues. Whereas pharnracology most often focuses on therapeutic or abused agents, environmental toxicology deals with a broader array of chemicals including atmospheric pollutants, water contaminants, pesticides, metals and a range of naturally occurring toxins. Numerous poisoning episodes have highlighted the diverse behavioral impacts of exposure to toxic chemicals. Given the limitations of epidemiological research, laboratory studies are needed for linking exposure (i.e., dose) and effect unequivocally. A much more challenging issue is using these data to then estimate the risk of an adverse (toxic) effect. This requires a Cocoon the variability in response to chemical exposure. Examples will be provided of both traditional approaches for estimating risk, and some newer approaches that specifically incorporate variability in response. The implications for understanding the effects of environmental pollutants on the health of humans (and other animals) will be explored.