Risk assessment costs

Several tools can be used to evaluate the environmental consequences of an industrial ventilation project. Some of the most common methods used are covered in this chapter. The life cycle assessment tool is considered in detail, as it is a comprehensive and product-oriented approach that is covered by international standardization. Other tools, such as risk assessment, cost-benefit... 

The statutory provisions have failed to end the controversy over risk assessment. From the outset some environmental groups have argued that the risk assessment, cost-effectiveness provisions of the NCP are meant to apply only to government-financed clean-up under Section 104 and do not apply to private clean-up under Section 106 or to voluntary private clean-up (4 ). Instead, they advocated that private clean-up be handled on a separate track oriented towards Justice Department enforcement of complaints which would be based on a zero-exposure, zero-risk theory. 

Business Round Table, Toward Smarter Regulation (1995) James A. Barnes, Privatizing Politics, 27 Nat. J. 575 (1995) (combat message development) New Industry Group Calls for Expansion of Risk Assessment, Cost-Benefit Analysis Bill, 24 BNA OSHR1808 (1995) Cindy Skrzycki, In Regulatory Assault, GOP Has a Lot to Be Thankful For, WP, December 2,1994, at Di. 

Risk-Based Inspection. Inspection programs developed using risk analysis methods are becoming increasingly popular (15,16) (see Hazard ANALYSIS AND RISK ASSESSMENT). In this approach, the frequency and type of in-service inspection (IS I) is determined by the probabiUstic risk assessment (PRA) of the inspection results. Here, the results might be a false acceptance of a part that will fail as well as the false rejection of a part that will not fail. Whether a plant or a consumer product, false acceptance of a defective part could lead to catastrophic failure and considerable cost. Also, the false rejection of parts may lead to unjustified, and sometimes exorbitant, costs of operation (2). Risk is defined as follows ... 

Process Hazards Analysis. Analysis of processes for unrecogni2ed or inadequately controUed ha2ards (see Hazard analysis and risk assessment) is required by OSHA (36). The principal methods of analysis, in an approximate ascending order of intensity, are what-if checklist failure modes and effects ha2ard and operabiHty (HAZOP) and fault-tree analysis. Other complementary methods include human error prediction and cost/benefit analysis. The HAZOP method is the most popular as of 1995 because it can be used to identify ha2ards, pinpoint their causes and consequences, and disclose the need for protective systems. Fault-tree analysis is the method to be used if a quantitative evaluation of operational safety is needed to justify the implementation of process improvements. 

DATTA-BARUA Natural Gas Measurement and Control DEAN Lange s Handbook of Chemistry, Fourteenth Edition DESHOTELS, ZIMMERMAN Cost-Effective Risk Assessment for Process Design... 

A facility risk review (FRR) is intermediate between a qualitative HAZOP and a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) achieved by broad probability and consequence classifications. Although not a risk assessment, an FRR uses PSA to get optimum risk cost-benefit. 

In the North Sea this is often done with detailed quantified risk assessments and the calculation of an overall IRR or risk of total loss of structure. Mitigation measures are incorporated until it can be shown that risk levels meet a minimum criteria and the cost of further mitigation has such high cost to benefit ratios that further mitigation is no longer practicable. ... 

Consider the consequences of possible errors for risk assessment or for cost-benefit analysis when considering alternative ERS. 

The development of models incorporating biomarker assays to predict the effects of chemicals upon parameters related to r has obvious attractions from a scientific point of view and is preferable, in theory, to the crude use of ecotoxicity data currently employed in procedures for environmental risk assessment. However, the development of this approach would involve considerable investment in research, and might prove too complex and costly to be widely employed in environmental risk assessment. 

In recent times, the combinations of LCA with other assessment methods, for example, life cycle costing and risk assessment are gaining more and more importance. 

As probabilistic exposure and risk assessment methods are developed and become more frequently used for environmental fate and effects assessment, OPP increasingly needs distributions of environmental fate values rather than single point estimates, and quantitation of error and uncertainty in measurements. Probabilistic models currently being developed by the OPP require distributions of environmental fate and effects parameters either by measurement, extrapolation or a combination of the two. The models predictions will allow regulators to base decisions on the likelihood and magnitude of exposure and effects for a range of conditions which vary both spatially and temporally, rather than in a specific environment under static conditions. This increased need for basic data on environmental fate may increase data collection and drive development of less costly and more precise analytical methods. 

It is clear that patients with febrile neutropenia represent a heterogeneous group. Some patients are at lower risk and potentially could be treated as outpatients, thereby avoiding the risk and cost of hospitalization. The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) has validated a risk-assessment tool that assigns a risk score to patients presenting with febrile neutropenia7 (Table 96-3). Patients with a risk-index score of 21 or greater are identified as low risk and are candidates for outpatient therapy (discussed under Treatment ). 

Evaluating risk to process plant building occupants can be accomplished through detailed qualitative and/or quantitative risk assessment. However, because of the large numbers of buildings and varying plant situations involved, these types of studies could be costly and time-consuming if applied in all cases, and should be reserved for those situations for which cost-effective solutions cannot otherwise be identified. 

Where possible, it is preferable to demonstrate safety without the application of advanced risk assessment techniques such as QRA, which can be resource intensive, time consuming, and costly. The decision to proceed with QRA should be based on an estimate of the benefits to be derived from such a study. Management should evaluate the expected cost of improving safety against the cost of conducting a detailed QRA to determine if there is potential benefit to performing QRA. If the expected benefits of perform-... 

The need to decrease costs and reduce animal suffering for chemical risk assessment has ever more encouraged the use of methods alternative to the use of animals to predict toxicity. These alternative methods can be generally divided into two subgroups study of toxicity in laboratory tubes on small organisms (in vitro) and computational techniques (in silico). 

The use of computational techniques to predict toxicity, or in silico approaches, aims to decrease costs and reduce animal suffering for chemical risk assessment. 

Barata C, Alanon P, Gutierrez-Alonso S, Riva MC, Fernandez C, Tarazona JV (2008) A Daphnia magna feeding bioassay as a cost effective and ecological relevant sublethal toxicity test for environmental risk assessment of toxic effluents. Sci Total Environ 405(l-3) 78-86... 

Currently, physicians and patients determine the demand for pharmaceuticals and employers and insurers assume the risk and cost. As the price of new health care technologies escalates, payers will design and implement strategies to share risk and cost. Defined employer contributions, increased patient cost sharing, and benefit exclusions will be used to help control utilization and cost. In this environment, value-based assessments will be crucial to the adoption of any technological innovation. It is reasonable to expect public and private coverage for new therapies if evidence is provided regarding the costs and consequences of treatment. However, social and ethical dilemmas will certainly arise as therapies whose costs exceed their benefits are debated in the public arena. 

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