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00 EEF 6 Environmental Risk Assessment

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12 views17 pages

00 EEF 6 Environmental Risk Assessment

Uploaded by

ahmadhasonah2002
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Environmental

Risk Assessment
(ERA)
HU-Spring Semester, 2023
What is ERA?
• Qualitative and quantitative valuation
of environmental status

• Components of ERA

❑ human health risk assessment;


❑ ecological risk assessment.
When to conduct
risk assessment
• ERA should be conducted when
– it is determined that a management decision,
project or activity
• may have consequences to either
–humans or
–the environment.
ERA addresses 3 questions
1. What can go wrong with the project?

2. What is the range of magnitude of these


adverse consequences?

3. What can be done and at what cost to reduce


unacceptable risk and damage?
Purpose of performing ERA

➢ to learn about the risks


– To determine the likelihood of the
occurrence / non-occurrence of
adverse ecological effects as a result
of exposure to hazard/ pollution
sources

➢ to reduce the risk


– take actions: e.g. …………..
What do we mean by
Hazards
1. chemicals toxic to humans, animals, and plants;
2. materials that are highly flammable or explosive;
3. mechanical equipment, the failure of which would
endanger persons and property;
4. structural failure (e.g., dam or containment vessel);
5. natural disasters leading to technological hazards;
6. ecosystem damage (e.g., eutrophication, soil erosion).
Environmental risks in the sea

Framework for
Environmental
Risk
Assessment
Team work in ERA
• Interaction among risk assessors, risk managers,
and interested parties all phases of an ERA is
critical to ensure that the results can be used to
support a management decision.

• Because of the diverse expertise required


(especially in complex ecological risk
assessments), risk assessors and risk managers
frequently work in multidisciplinary teams.
Impact characteristics

• Can be biological, physical, chemical


• Characterized by
– intensity (conc. or dose)
Temporal
– duration aspects
– frequency
– timing
– scale Spatial aspect
Risk (Impact) Classification
1 → Type biophysical, social, health or economic
2 → Nature direct or indirect, cumulative, etc.
3 → Magnitude or severity high, moderate, low
4 → Extent local, regional, trans-boundary or
global
5 → Timing immediate/long term
6 → Duration temporary/permanent
7 → Uncertainty low likelihood/high probability
8 → Reversibility reversible/irreversible
9 → Significance unimportant/important
Impact Prediction
• Forecast of the potential effects in terms of-
1. Magnitude,
2. The affected feature/resource/population,
3. Action causing the effect,
4. Timescale and duration of the effect,
5. Level of uncertainty in the forecast,
6. Proposed mitigation/enhancement measures,
7. Significance
• The effects must be recorded in terms of-
1. Short term /Long term
2. Direct/Indirect/Synergistic
3. Cumulative/Increase or Reduce with time
Environmental Affected Components
Physical components:
– Land
– Air
– Water
– Energy

Bio-components:
– Nature
– Culture
– People
– Access
Exposure analysis
• Determine environmental
concentration
– end of pipe
– how much toxic stuff is
there?

– Non-point sources can be


more difficult
• Where to measure?
• When to measure?
1. Risk estimation:
The Quotient Method
Quotient = Expected environmental concentration
Concentration producing an unacceptable
environmental effect (RfD)
RfD: Reference Dose

Quotient Risk
>1 Potential of high risk
~1 Potential risk
<< 1 Low risk
Example: Is there an unsafe risk associated with a 70 kg adult eating 15 g fish every day that
contains 1 mg/kg of methylmercury? Methylmercury has been shown to cause developmental
neuropsychological impairment in human beings. The RfD for methylmercury is 1 × 10-4
mg/kg-day.
Examples of information about hazards
1. potential release of hazardous chemicals
(rate and amount);
2. accidental fires and explosions;
3. transport and fate of pollutants in the environment;
4. exposure to toxins (who, how many, how much);
5. dose-response predictions based on animal tests;
6. failure of mechanical equipment or structures;
7. human behavior (errors by workers, public reaction);
8. natural hazards (earthquake, tsunami, typhoon);
9. alterations in drainage patterns, water table,
vegetation, microclimate.
Uncertainties
1. lack of understanding of important cause-effect
relationships, lack of scientific theory;
2. weaknesses in available data; data gaps;
3. natural variation in environmental parameters;
4. assumptions on which estimates are based;
5. novelty of the project.

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