Health risk assessment definition

Envlroiunental testing Is a critical element In this process since It enables the qualitative and quantitative determination of toxic chemicals In the environment and the definition of environmental pathways which may lead to human exposure This paper briefly reviews the overall process of health risk assessments and the particular role which environmental testing plays Recent efforts to assess environmental health risks In relation to Love Canal Illustrate both the usefulness and the limitations of environmental testing In risk assessment ... 

We are working with the Food Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Health to study the contamination of OCPs and PCBs in local fish and chickens. This project is in line with our current effort to assess the health risk arising from consumption of food contaminated with POP chemicals. The health risk assessment of POPs through dietary intakes project involved analyses of OCPs and PCBs in various foodstuff, initially raw materials which will be extended to cooked food. Unfortunately, we do not currently have the capability to analyze PCDD/PCDF in our laboratory but there are two high resolution mass spectrometers in the country that are capable of analyzing PCDD/PCDF. National and international collaborations will definitely improve the country capacity to monitor POPs not only those listed in the Stockholm Convention but other toxic chemicals found in the environment. 

Health risk assessment in humans has been variably defined by different disciplines and subdisciplines (NAS/NRC, 1983, 2009). These definitions broadly settle on a meaning which seeks to describe, within the available evidence, a process for the quantitative determination of toxicity risks in proportion to the extent of actual exposure among those likely to sustain such exposures from either having predisposing characteristics or being more likely to be at elevated risk. The definition is as sparse as it is limited. For example, risks of harm to health by various environmental contaminants, in environmental reality, range considerably as to (1) the nature of the effects... 

The use of human health risk assessment versus use of the Precautionary Principle through REACH depends, to some extent, on the nature of the risk and associated regulation and the stage of some economically useful substance s life cycle. The Precautionary Principle by definition is most relevant and applicable to ante hoc control over new substances prior to their marketing and entry into the environment or for assessment of new uses for existing substances already released into human environments. Sequenced and compartmentalized risk assessment methods extant in the United States by definition are post hoc tools for dealing with ongoing or potential risks from substances already in the human environment. 

The definitions of method detection and quantification limits should be reliable and applicable to a variety of extraction procedures and analytical methods. The issue is of particular importance to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and also pesticide regulatory and health agencies around the world in risk assessment. The critical question central to risk assessment is assessing the risk posed to a human being from the consumption of foods treated with pesticides, when the amount of the residue present in the food product is reported nondetect (ND) or no detectable residues . 

Regulatory officials nevertheless act on the basis of such hypothetical risks ( hypothetical definitely does not mean imaginary it means that the risk estimates are based on certain scientific hypotheses and that they have not been empirically tested). Such actions are in part based on legal requirements (Chapter 11) and in part on the prudence that is a traditional feature of public health policies. The scientific information, assumptions, and extrapolation models upon which risk assessments are based are considered sufficiently revealing on the question of human risk to prompt risk-control measures. To put off such actions until it is seen whether the hypothesized risks are real - to wait for a human body count - is considered to be an unacceptable course. 

Looking forward with hope to the continued development and use of the risk assessment framework, and of those scientific disciplines that supply the data and knowledge necessary for its use, I propose the following, perhaps overly grand, definition of risk assessment, in an attempt to ensure its applicability not only to the types of problems that have been the principal subjects of this book, but to all those of public health concern. 

Definitive data are obtained with rigorous analytical methods, such as EPA-approved methods or other standard analytical methods. For the data to be definitive, either analytical or total measurement error must be determined. Definitive data, which are analyte-specific and have a high degree of confidence in analyte identity and concentration, are used for decisions that have consequences for human health and the environment, such as site closure, risk assessment, and compliance monitoring of water effluents and air emissions. Definitive data may be generated at a field (mobile) laboratory or at an off-site (fixed-base) laboratory. 

Pharmacies are affected by these rules in two ways. Pharmacies, by definition, deal with PHI (e.g., a prescription itself is PHI). If the pharmacy uses a computer, the information is then electronic and is known as ePHI (Barlas, 2004). HIPAA protects all individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral (DHHS, 2003). This covered information includes demographic data, including the individual s physical or mental health (past, present, or future) the health care provided to the individual and payment information and common identifiers (e.g., name, address, birth date, and Social Security Number) that can be used to identify the individual. Pharmacies must have numerous policies and procedures in place to be in compliance with the HIPPA mandates. These include conducting risk assessments, appointing security and privacy officers to ensure compliance, and implementing policies and procedures to detect and prevent security violations. 

Ultimately, the risk characterization results in a statement of the potential susceptibility of children for specific effects from specific exposures to environmental agents. This statement forms the basis, together with other considerations, on which regulatory or management decisions will be made. Often, the risk manager is not a specialist in children s health thus, it is imperative that the risk characterization be clear, definitive, and unencumbered by scientific terminology that may be misunderstood or misinterpreted. The risk assessor must effectively communicate what is known, what is not known, and what is questionable, in order for the risk assessment to be appropriately factored into the overall risk management process. 

Identifying a hazard is only a small part of the risk assessment process. Hazard must be differentiated from risk. Assessing risk involves an analysis of the likelihood that adverse effects to human health or the environment after exposure to a chemical may occur. For risk management, exposure assessments therefore play equal (if not more) important parts as evaluations of hazard. The following sections discuss how toxicology, exposure assessments, and risk characterisations contribute to the central scientific definition of risk as probability versus consequence [93-95]. 

Biomarkers are defined as any cellular or molecular indication of toxic exposure, adverse health outcome or susceptibility (NAS, 1987). From this definition, three distinct biomarkers are evident, that of exposure, effects of exposure, and host susceptibility. As more extensively discussed by Maier et al. (2001), this field has progressed to a point where application to risk assessment is possible. For example, biomarkers of effects, exposure, and host susceptibility can give insights into mode of chemical action. These insights are likely to better inform the hazard... 

Human health assessment The CSTEE notes that, QS referring to food uptake by humans and drinking water abstraction, the WFD report is based on a recent EU risk assessment report. The conclusion that these quality standards are far higher than the standards needed to protect the aquatic community and are therefore not integrated into the definition of the is supported by the CSTEE. 

In 1983 an important report [1] appeared which defined hazard and risk. It emanated from the United Kingdom s Royal Society, and resulted from a study group concerned with risk assessment for engineering and health risks. Definitions of hazard and risk were further elaborated by a Working Party of the United Kingdom s Institution of Chemical Engineers... 

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