AdapTM

Climate Change Management

through Mitigation and Adaptation

Environmental Risk Assessment and Management

SECCM – SEMESTER 1
FA L L 2 0 1 9

(12 – 22) NOVEMBER 2019

 Environmental Risk Assessment

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Introduction
Eventual goal of the environmental toxicology is ecological risk assessment

(ERA)

Developed as a management tool to aid in making environmental decisions.

Estimates risk of producing new product, releasing a pesticide or effluent into

the environment, etc.

 Introduction
EPA/630/R-95/002F
An ERA is the process for evaluating how April 1998
likely it is that the environment may be
impacted as a result of exposure to one
or more environmental stressors such as Guidelines for
chemicals, land change, disease, invasive
species and climate change. Ecological Risk Assessment

is to enable risk managers to make

informed environmental decisions.
(Published on May 14, 1998, Federal Register
63(93):26846-26924)
Conducted to transform scientific data
into meaningful information about the
risk of human activities to the Risk Assessment Forum
environment. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC

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 Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment

Previously …. risk assessment seen only as hazard

assessment & fate

Currently … need to go beyond and predict

probability of ecological effects of chemical or action
 How Does EPA Conduct an Ecological Risk
Assessment?

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 Schematic of Framework
ERA includes three primary
phases:
1. Problem formulation

2. Analysis

3. Risk characterization
 Outline of Phases of an ERA
Planning & Scoping: EPA begins the process of a Ecological risk assessment with planning and research.

1. Problem formulation: Information is gathered to help determine what, in terms of plants and animals, is at risk and what needs to be
protected.
◦ Beginning of dialogue between risk managers and risk assessors.
◦ Selection of assessment endpoints (what is important?)
◦ Risk assessors evaluate goals
◦ Prepare the conceptual model
◦ Develop an analysis plan.

2. Analysis phase: The determination of what plants and animals are exposed and to what degree they are exposed, and if that level of exposure
is likely or not to cause harmful ecological effects.
◦ Assessors evaluate exposure to stressors and the relationship between stressor levels and ecological effects.

3. Risk characterization: Assessors estimate risk through integration of exposure and stressor-response profiles,
◦ Includes two major components: risk estimation and risk description.
◦ "Risk estimation" combines exposure profiles and exposure-effects.
◦ "Risk description" provides information important for interpreting the risk results and identifies a level for harmful effects on the plants
and animals of concern.

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 Planning an Ecological Risk Assessment
Risk assessors will typically ask the following questions when planning a human health
risk assessment:
Who/What/Where is at risk?
Individual, General population, Life stages, highly exposed based on geographic area)
What are the environmental hazards of concern?
Chemicals , Microbiological or biological (disease)
Where do these environmental hazards come from?
Point Sources: for example, smoke or water discharge from a factory)
Non Point Sources: (for example, automobile exhaust; agricultural runoff)
Natural sources
How does exposure occur?
Pathways : Air, Surface Water, Groundwater, Soil, Solid Waste, Food
Routes (related human activities that lead to exposure)
◦ Ingestion (both food and water)
◦ Contact with skin
◦ Inhalation
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 Planning an Ecological Risk Assessment
Risk assessors will typically ask the following questions when planning a human health
risk assessment:
What does the body do with the environmental?
Absorption — does the body take up the environmental hazard
Distribution — does the environmental hazard travel throughout the body or does it stay
in one place?
Metabolism — does the body break down the environmental hazard?
Excretion — how does the body get rid of it?
What are the ecological effects?
Example of some ecological effects: changes in reproductive rates, tumors, effects on the
nervous system, and mortality.
How long does it take for an environmental hazard to cause a toxic effect? Does it matter
when in a lifetime exposure occurs?
How long?
Acute (right away or within a few hours to a day), Sub-chronic (weeks or months),
Chronic (a significant part of a lifetime or a lifetime (for humans at least seven years).

Timing: Is there a critical time during a lifetime when a chemical is most toxic?

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Phase 1: Problem Formulation

A key component of the Problem Formulation stage is defining an

assessment endpoint to determine what ecological entity is
important to protect.
Identification of an ecological entity: which can be: A species,
fish eaters, An ecosystem.
Determine what specific attribute(s) of the entity is potentially
at risk and important to protect. This provides a basis for
measurement in the risk assessment.
A Conceptual model is developed to provide a visual
representation (a map, flow chart, or schematic) of
hypothesized relationships between ecological entities and the
stressors to which they may be exposed, These models include
information about:
Source, Stressors, Receptors, Potential exposure and Predicted effects on an
ecological entity (the assessment endpoint)

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 ‫‪Conceptual Model‬‬
‫نموذج تصوري لموقع تقييم المخاطر البيئية‬
 ‫‪Conceptual Model‬‬
‫نموذج تصوري لموقع تقييم المخاطر البيئية‬
 Conceptual Model
‫نموذج تصوري لموقع تقييم المخاطر البيئية‬

Source of Risk
Exposure Pathways
Vapors & Particulates
Dermal / inhalation

Exposure Pathways
Dermal / inhalation
Phase 2: Analysis
The goal of the analysis phase is to provide the ingredients necessary for determining or
predicting ecological responses to stressors under exposure conditions of interest.
◦ What plants and animals are exposed?
◦ What degree they are exposed?
◦ Dose that level of exposure is likely or not to cause harmful ecological effects?
Calculations used may include:

hazard quantity: (e.g., the ratio of chemical contaminant concentration to a selected

screening benchmark) to quantify risk; and

levels of exposure to a stressor (e.g., chemical contaminant) by a selected plant or animal

(receptor), such as:
◦ Area use: the proportion of the site that is in the area an animal typically uses during
normal activities (home range).
◦ Food ingestion rate: how much food is consumed by an animal over a specific period of
time (typically, one day);
◦ Bioaccumulation rates: the process by which chemicals are taken up by a plant or animal
either directly from exposure to a contaminated medium (soil, sediment, water) or by
eating food containing the chemical;
◦ Bioavailability: how easily a plant or animal can take up a particular contaminant from
the environment;
◦ Life stage: childish, adult, etc.

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Phase 3: Risk Characterization
Final stage of an ERA
During risk characterization, the assessor uses the results of analysis to
estimate the risk posed to ecological entities.
The assessor then describes the risk, indicating the overall degree of
confidence in the risk estimates, summarizing uncertainties and
interpreting the adversity of ecological effects.
When estimating ecological risk, factors considered include:
 Is the risk acute or chronic?
 What is the severity of effects?
 What is the time over which they occur?
 Is the risk to one species or many species?
 How many organisms are at risk?

Composed of two parts:

 Risk Estimation
 Risk Description A Report from risk assessor to risk manager

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 Discussion between Risk Assessor and Risk Manager
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.

A Report from risk assessor to risk manager

Risk manager may take information and perform a risk/benefit analysis

 is the economic benefit worth the environmental cost?

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Risk Management
Manage risk taking environmental, social, economic effects into account

Management usually implemented in the form of policy and legislation

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.

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Monitor Results

Usually need to implement an on-going

monitoring plan to determine if
management objectives are being met

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