Data Acquisition, Verification, and Monitoring

Input from this block is most critical at this stage. Basic research on the effects of stressors to ecosystems, improvement in test methods, molecular mechanisms, and improvements in modeling provide critical input to this stage of the risk assessment. 

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Schematic of the framework for ecological risk assessment (U.S. EPA1992). Especially important is the interaction between exposure and hazard and the inclusion of a data acquisition, verification, and monitoring component. Multivariate analyses will have a major impact on the selection or assessment and measurement endpoints and will play a major role in the data acquisition, verification, and monitoring phase.

As crucial as the above steps are, they are all subject to revision based upon the acquisition of additional data, verification that the endpoints selected do, in fact, perform as expected, and that the process has proven successful in predicting ecosystem risks. The data acquisition, verification, and monitoring segment of risk assessment is what makes this a scientific... 

Perhaps the most critical aspect of the analysis above is the realization that additional data or even a reformulation of the conceptual model is required. In this case the assessment process is rerouted to the data acquisition, verification, and monitoring stage. An iterative process can then occur to obtain a usable and hopefully accurate risk assessment. 

Risk assessment deals with data acquisition, verification and monitoring. The collection of data is required and the need for additional data may be identified at any point in the process. Verification and monitoring can help to determine the overall effectiveness of the framework approach, provide feedback concerning any need for future modifications, help to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of policy decisions and point out the need for new or improved risk assessment techniques (USEPA, 1992a). 

Other important companion activities to ecological risk assessment include data acquisition and verification and monitoring studies. New data are frequently required to conduct analyses that are performed during the risk assessment. Data from verification studies can be used to validate the predictions of a specific risk assessment as well as to evaluate the usefulness of... 

As mentioned before, the ecological risk assessment is characterized by a problem formulation process, analysis containing characterizations of exposure and effects, and a risk characterization process. Several outlying boxes serve to emphasize the importance of discussions during the problem formulation process between the risk assessor and the risk manager, and the critical nature of the acquisition of new data, verification of the risk assessment, and monitoring. The next few sections detail each aspect of this framework. 

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