(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly denotes otherwise:

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(1) “Dose-response assessment” means the quantitative determination of the potency of the toxic agent under study and the incidence of biological effects and disease in humans and biological models.

(2) “Exposure assessment” means the determination of what exposures to the toxic agent under study are anticipated or experienced by the population under study.

(3) “Hazard identification” means the quantitative determination of whether the toxic agent under study can cause adverse effects in individuals or populations under study.

(4) “Risk assessment” means the use of various databases to estimate the human health effects of exposure of individuals or populations to various hazardous substances and situations. The risk assessment process includes, but is not limited to, hazard identification, dose response assessment, exposure assessment and risk characterization. Risk assessment shall not include normal day-to-day activities conducted by state agencies mandated under federal or state laws or regulations. Specifically, activities such as environmental permitting shall not be considered to constitute a risk assessment activity, unless otherwise defined as such in state or federal regulation.

(5) “Risk characterization” means the determination of the estimated population incidence of the adverse effect anticipated following exposure to the toxic agent under study.

(b) The Department of Public Health shall be the lead agency responsible for the risk assessment of human health regarding toxic substances identified in all environmental media, including, but not limited to, food, drinking water, soil and air.

(c) Risk assessments shall be conducted or reviewed by the Department of Public Health after the need for such risk assessments has been established by the state agency responsible for regulation of the given contamination. Such decisions on the need for risk assessments shall be made in consultation with the Department of Public Health. Nothing contained in this section shall hinder or dictate the authority of any state agency to decide when a risk assessment is required.