Risk assessment national initiatives

Since 2007, the National Risk Assessment (nra),initially the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations hut now falling under the Ministry of Security and Justice, has concentrated on risk comparison. The NRA concerns itself with safety issues that could lead to social disruption (catastrophe potential). The NRA is used to make suggestions for the role of government and the means it should use in the interests of prevention, preparation and emergency assistance (referred to as capacity planning ). ... 

The health effects associated with radon, as well as sources and mitigation measures, are discussed in detail in several National Research Council reports (1988, 1991), in the book edited by Nazaroff and Nero (1988), and in the International Commission on Radiological Protection Report (1994). Initial risk assessments were based on data from underground miners who were exposed to relatively high levels of radon and its progeny. However, there has been considerable controversy over the extrapolation to lower levels in homes [e.g., see summaries by Nazaroff and Teichman (1990) and Peto and Darby (1994)]. 

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. 

Identification and prioritization of research needs at the international level would result in more focused and strategic research initiatives by both the pesticide manufacturers and the larger research community. For example, the USEPA National Exposure Research Laboratory has identified general areas of research needs in children s exposure assessments for environmental exposures (Cohen Hubal et al 2000). There is a requirement to develop harmonized priorities for research that would strengthen risk assessment methodologies for pesticides. This would need to be followed by an effective communication strategy so that funding bodies and the research community were informed about such priorities. 

Individual countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America, have adopted particular national strategies to augment the regional and international initiatives into the evaluation of the risk assessment of chemicals. As an example of a national approach, the United Kingdom in December 1999 published a... 

Existing chemical substances, especially those supplied in high volume, may be subject to review in one of the national or international evaluation programs, such as the OECD Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) scheme [7]. Existing data are reported initially, but new studies may be required subsequently to fill data gaps, especially if necessary for adequate assessment of the substance. The hazard and risk assessment could lead to risk management. 

National Nanotechnology Initiative, February 2007, p.3. Available at http //www.nano.gov/Understanding Risk Assessment.pdf. 

A survey of several European nations, (Wharton and Bagley 2004), revealed only one - Switzerland - uses an full quantitative risk assessment (QRA) approach for explosive storage applications. Other respondents relied on quantity-distance (QD) rules for the majority of stores and only use QRA when wanting to deviate from the QD rules. Consequently, the Swiss framework, which we follow here, is different to that applied in other nations. In the Swiss model (Bienz 2003), incidents occur as a result of a sequence of events, beginning with precursors and imdergoing initiation and escalation processes. 

In 1998, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) recognised that business and industry would play a crucial role in the global quest for sustainable development and, on that occasion, UNCSD made reference to the OECD Risk Assessment Programme on brominated flame retardants as a model example of a global, voluntary chemical industry initiative. 

Chapter 20, Applied Ergonomics Significance and Opportunity, and Chapter 21, On Quality Management and the Practice of Safety, address the design, engineering, and risk assessment aspects that are fundamental in those endeavors. Comments are included in Chapter 18, Prevention through Design The Standard, on the extensive involvement at the National Institute for Safety and Health (NIOSH) on its PtD initiative. 

The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) recommends that a fasting lipoprotein profile and risk factor assessment be used in the initial classification of adults. 

---