Epidemiology for risk assessment: The US Environmental Protection Agency quality considerations and the Matrix

•Epidemiology studies can provide crucial data for human health risk assessment (RA).•These can be designed to enhance their value for RA using agency guidance.•We describe EPA approaches for evaluating epidemiology studies for risk assessment.•Elements that could enhance the use of human data are suggested in the Matrix tool.•This paper can be used as a foundation for epi/agency communication and education.