Risk assessment and management principles

P.F. Ricci Environmental and Health Risk Assessment and Management. Principles... 

Gehring R, Baynes RE, Riviere JE, Application of risk assessment and management principles to the extralabel use of drugs in food-producing animals, J. Vet. Pharmacol. Ther. 2006 29,5-14. 

The process of risk assessment was first formalized (NRC, 1983) by the United States National Academy of Sciences through its National Research Council in 1983. The three stages of risk analysis are defined as risk assessment, risk management and risk communication (Figure 10). The important principle is the functional and organizational separation of exposure and risk assessment from risk management to avoid any non-science-driven influences on the assessment procedures. However, many interactive elements are essential for a systematic risk assessment and management process. 

Bartell SM (1996) Ecological/environmental risk assessment Principles and practices. In Kolluru R, Bartell SM, Stricoff S, and Pitblado R (eds.) Risk Assessment and Management Handbook for Environmental, Health, and Safety Professionals. New York McGraw-Hill. 

Hinwood, A.L. (1991). Principles for setting soil criteria approaches to soil guidelines-Environment. In The Health Risk Assessment and Management of Contaminated Sites, ed. El Saadi, O., and Langley, A., Proc. National Workshop on the Health Risk Assessment and Management of Contaminated Sites. Aug. 5-7,1991, South Australian Health Commission, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 87-92. 

Carry out risk assessment and management in accordance with good design principles. 

Risk management combines the risk assessment with economic, political, public opinion, and other considerations to determine a course of action. These judgments seldom satisfy everyone. The principles of toxicology form the foundation for the risk assessment and ultimately for the risk management decisions. Individual and community involvement in the decision-making process is a critical part of developing sound policies to minimize risks to people and the environment. 

Another approach to risk-based decision-making is the precautionary principle. The risk assessment and risk management approach used in the United States places a heavy reliance on the certainty of the data. The precautionary principle emphasizes that there is always some uncertainty and that decisions should be based on recognizing the possibility of harm. When in doubt, be cautious until adequate data are available to show that there is little potential for harm. Action to reduce exposure to hazardous agents should begin even if there is some uncertainty in the data. 

Previous sections of this Report have discussed concepts, precedents, and technical information that are important to development of NCRP s recommendations on a comprehensive and risk-based hazardous waste classification system. This Section discusses selected aspects of this background information that are critical to establishing the principles and framework for the recommended hazardous waste classification system. The topics discussed involve technical aspects of risk assessment and issues of risk management. 

Certain aspects of chemical science should be grasped before entering the domains of toxicology, risk assessment, and risk management. We need not dip into fundamental concepts and the lesson will be brief and of very limited scope. Many of the definitions and principles to be discussed are (or should be) well known by those who have passed through a high school chemistry course, even with relatively poor success, but we need to be reminded of them and keep them in mind, as matters of chemicals in the environment come under discussion later in the book. 

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