Benchmark Dose Tools

EPA's Benchmark Dose Software (BMDS) collects and provides easy access to numerous mathematical models that help risk assessors estimate the quantitative relationship between a chemical dose and the test subject’s response.

A specific focus of BMDS is estimating a statistical benchmark dose (BMD). The BMD is a chemical dose or concentration that produces a predetermined change in the response rate of an adverse effect, such as weight loss or tumor incidence.

The BMD is a range, rather than a fixed number. For example, the benchmark dose (lower confidence limit) (BMDL) can be regarded as a dose where the observable physical effect is less than the predetermined benchmark response (BMR).

BMD methods are used by the U.S. EPA and throughout the world for dose-response analyses to support chemical risk assessments and regulatory actions. The primary BMD tools developed by the U.S. EPA for this purpose are the applications BMDS and Categorical Regression (CatReg).

BMDS is consistent with the EPA Risk Assessment Forum's Benchmark Dose Technical Guidance Document (U.S. EPA, 2012) and the technical guidance for choosing the appropriate stage of a Multistage model for cancer modeling.