Risk assessments good practice principles

As a tool to make mutual acceptance of risk assessments possible, OECD has developed the concept of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). The OECD Principles of GLP are an integral part of the 1981 OECD council decision on the Mutual Assessment of Data (MAD) in the Assessment of Chemicals (revised 1997, Section 2.2.2). MAD also harmonizes procedures of GLP compliance monitoring, ensuring that preclinical safety studies are carried out according to the principles of GLP and that countries can have conftdence in the quahty and rigor of safety tests. 

Burmaster and Anderson (1994) have proposed 14 principles of good practice for using Monte Carlo techniques. They suggest that before an analyst undertakes a Monte Carlo risk assessment, the growing literature on probabilistic risk assessment should be thoroughly examined. Principles for a properly conducted Monte Carlo analysis have also been proposed by the USEPA (1997). 

Burmaster DE, Anderson PD. 1994. Principles of good practice for the use of Monte Carlo techniques in human health and ecological risk assessments. Risk Anal 14 447-481. 

Burmaster, D.E. and P.D. Anderson (1994). Principles of Good Practice for the Use of Monte Carlo Techniques in Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments, Risk Anal., 14, 477-481. 

Requirements 1 to 7 can be met by the application of either qualitative or quantitative hazard and risk analysis techniques as per part 5 of the Standard. The example to date has applied a quantitative analysis employing a number of techniques. In terms of qualitative assessment, an "unlikely failure but with "catastrophic outcome represents an extreme risk necessitating "necessary risk reduction and application of ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable), good practice and continuous risk reduction principles... 

Having established a SIL target it is insufficient merely to assess that the design will meet the Maximum Tolerable Risk target. It is necessary to establish whether further improvements are justified and thus the principle of ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) is called for as good practice. In the UK this is also arguably necessary in order to meet safety legislation ( all that is reasonably practicable is called for in the Health Safety at Work Act 1974). 

The typical risk properties are random and epistemic uncertainties (epistemic uncertainties = vagueness). If we want to manage risk, we must identify, analyse, assess it and after this to decide what we can do, in dependence on our possibihties—knowledge, staff, technical means and finance sources. For this, we must use a lot of different methods, tools and techniques and also principles of good practice (good engineering practice). 

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