Board of Environmental Sciences

ENVS211 Research Philosophy Design & Methods

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Risk Assessment  and Management
Introduction

Hazard and risk: problems with terminology

One of the difficulties with the concept of risk is that it relates to common experiences for which a language has been developed across a diverse range of disciplines and activities.

 hazard - a property or situation that in particular circumstances could lead to harm.

risk - a combination of the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence.

 A complicating issue for environmental risk assessment :

 What constitutes harm to the environment?

Notes from the lecture are available here

Risk Assessment : - 4 Steps

• Step 1: Hazard Identification
• Step 2: Dose-Response Assessment.
• Step 3: Exposure Assessment.
• Step 4: Risk Characterization.

Associated Questions of Ethics

Alternative views

There are no agreed method for assessing nervous system damage, immune system damage, or damage to the genes

There is no practical way to evaluate the effects of exposure to several chemicals simultaneously.

Because everyone in the real world is exposed to multiple chemicals simultaneously, risk assessment is never describing the real world

Risk assessment pretends to determine "safe" levels of exposure to poisons, but in fact it cannot do any such thing. Therefore, risk assessment provides false assurances of safety while allowing damage to occur.