General questions

Question 1

What are the 7 stages of the environmental health risk assessment?

Answer 1

1. Issue identification - people’s concerns
2. Hazard identification- potential health problem by dose
3. Dose-response assessment - dose received, toxicity date
4. Exposure assessment for revelant population
5. Risk characterisation - quantify risk for action
6. Risk management - reduce, remove, accept
7. Risk communication - early, uncertaintly

IHDERRR - If Hangry Dear Enters Run Run Run

Question 2

What is an environmental health risk assessment?

Answer 2

The process of estimating the potential impact of a chemical, biological, physical, or psychosocial hazard on a specified population at a specified time for a specified time frame.

Question 3

What environmental health risks do EHRAs cover?

Answer 3

• chemical pollutants and contaminants in air, water, soil and food
• pathogenic microbiological contaminants in food / water
• radiation sources
• electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
• climate and climate change

Question 4

What is involved in the issue identification?

Answer 4

Identification of key issues amenable to risk assessment

Question 5

What is involved in the hazard assessment?

Answer 5

The collection and analysis of relevant data.

Hazard identification - identify chemicals of potential concern (COPC)

Dose-response assessment - identify relevant toxicity data

Uncertainty analysis for both hazard identification and dose-response assessment steps

Question 6

What is involved in the exposure assessment?

Answer 6

• Cocenptual site model
• Analysis of hazard locations
• Identification of exposed populations
• Identification of potential exposure pathways
• Estimation of exposure concentration and intakes for each pathway
• Uncertainty analysis for exposure assessment step
• Site visit

Question 7

What is involved in risk characterisation?

Answer 7

• Characterise potential for adverse health effects to occur
• Evaluate uncertainty
• Summarise risk information - matrix that includes likelihood and severity

Question 8

What is involved in the risk management step?

Answer 8

• Define the options and evaluate the environmental health, economic, social and political aspects of the options
• Make informed decisions
• Take actions to implement the decisions
• Reduce, remove or accept the risk
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the action taken

Question 9

What are the major exposure media?

Answer 9

• Air - indoor, outdoor
• Soil and dust - inhalation, ingestion (kids)
• Food - animal products, vegetables
• Water (drinking, recreational, food)

Question 10

What are the major exposure routes?

Answer 10

• Inhalation
• Ingestion
• Dermal
• vertical

Question 11

What is a hazard?

Answer 11

An agent that has capacity to cause harm

Question 12

What is the NOAEL?

Answer 12

No Observed Adverse Effect Level - highest dose at which no adverse effect is observed.

Question 13

What is the LOAEL?

Answer 13

The lowest dose at which an adverse effect occurs

Question 15

What is the framework for an EHRA?

Answer 15

Introduction - BPUF

Preliminaries - TCRRRETM

Team - PHP, EHO, Epi, PO, Tox, Admin, Comms

Stakeholders - IE CCPRING - community, clinicians, industry, EPA, government departments

Issue ID - key health issue, key community issue, immediate control measures

Hazard Assessment

1. Hazard ID - COPC, tox info, susceptible people,

2. Dose-Response - threshold v non-threshold, NOAEL, LOAEL

Exposure Assessment - site visit, CSM, population, pathways (human, media), dose calculations

Risk Characterisation - hazard assessment + exposure assessment, risk matrix (likelihood, severity)

Risk Management - remove, reduce, accept; weight options by environmental health, social, economic, political factors

Risk Communication - hazard x outrage; early open honest clear; uncertainty; goals, message, messenger, medium, channels; report up