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9.2: Risk Assessment and Management

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    Risk assessment is a scientific process used by federal agencies and risk management decision-makers to make informed decisions about actions that may be taken to protect human health by ascertaining potential human health risks or health hazard associated with exposure to chemicals in the environment. Some of the real-world examples of risk assessment includes: establishment of national ambient air quality and drinking water standards for protection of public health (e.g. ozone, particulate matter in outdoor air; chromium, chloroform or benzene in water); establishment of clean-up levels for hazardous waste site remediation; development of fish consumption advisories for pregnant women and general population (e.g. PCBs, mercury); assessment of risks and benefits of different alternative fuels for sound energy policy development (e.g. oxygenated gasoline, biodiesel); and estimation of health risks associated with pesticide residues in food. The estimated risk is a function of exposure and toxicity. The regulatory risk assessment follows a four-step paradigm using qualitative and/or quantitative approaches. In quantitative risk assessment using either deterministic or probabilistic approaches, the risk estimates pertaining to an exposure scenario is particularly useful when comparing a number of exposure or risk reduction measures among one another as an optimization protocol to determine the best economically viable option for protection of public health and the environment. The four steps of risk assessment are i) hazard identification; ii) toxicity (or dose-response) assessment; iii) exposure assessment; and iv) risk characterization, which are described below in detail. The emphasis is given in documenting the resources necessary to successfully perform each step.

    1. In the hazard identification step, a scientific weight of evidence analysis is performed to determine whether a particular substance or chemical is or is not causally linked to any particular health effect at environmentally relevant concentrations. Hazard identification is performed to determine whether, and to what degree, toxic effects in one setting will occur in other settings. The evidence comes from human but also animal studies.
    2. Toxicity or dose-response assessment takes the toxicity data gathered in the hazard identification step from animal studies and exposed human population studies and describes the quantitative relationship between the amount of exposure to a chemical (or dose) and the extent of toxic injury or disease (or response). Generally, as the dose of a chemical increases, the toxic response increases either in the severity of the injury or in the incidence of response in the affected population.
    3. The magnitude of exposure is determined by measuring or estimating the amount of an agent to which humans are exposed (i.e. exposure concentration) and the magnitude of dose (or intake) is estimated by taking the magnitude, frequency, duration, and route of exposure into account. Exposure assessments may consider past, present, and future exposures.
    4. In the last step, a hazard quotient (HQ) as an indicator of risks associated with health effects other than cancer and excess cancer risk as the incremental probability of an exposed person developing cancer over a lifetime, are calculated by integrating toxicity and exposure information.

    The improvement in the scientific quality and validity of health risk estimates depends on advancements in our understanding of human exposure to, and toxic effects associated with, chemicals present in environmental and occupational settings. Risk assessments are important for informed regulatory decision-making in environmental sustainability and to ensure that costs associated with different technological alternatives are scientifically justified and protest public health. Risk assessment helps federal agencies and risk management decision makers arrive at informed decisions about actions to take to protect human health from environmental hazards. Although significant uncertainties remain, this risk assessment methodology has been extensively peer-reviewed, is widely used and understood by the scientific community, and continues to expand and evolve as scientific knowledge advances.

    Risk management (Figure below) is distinct from risk assessment, and involves the integration of risk assessment with other considerations, such as economic, social, or legal concerns, to reach regulatory decisions regarding the need for and practicability of implementing various risk reduction activities.

    fig 8.4.1.jpg

     

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Risk Assessment and Management

    Finally, risk communication consists of the formal and informal processes of communication among various parties who are potentially at risk from or are otherwise interested in the threatening agent/action. It matters a great deal how a given risk is communicated and perceived: do we have a measure of control, or are we subject to powerful unengaged or arbitrary forces?

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    9.2: Risk Assessment and Management is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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