Risk assessor choosing

Problem formulation. This part of risk assessment is critical because of the selection of assessment and measurement endpoints. The ability to choose these endpoints generally relies upon professional judgment and the evaluation of the current state of the art. However, a priori selection of assessment and measurement endpoints may prevent the risk assessor from consideration of unexpected impacts. 

If you are not offered the services of a risk assessor/lead paint inspector by a public health agency, or if you are concerned about the kind of service they are able to offer, you can hire a private risk assessor/lead paint inspector. Some individuals who call themselves CONSULTANTS also serve this function. Choose a risk assessor/lead paint inspector very carefully, paying special attention to the training he or she has received and his or her experience in investigating the source of lead exposure of a child with an elevated blood lead level. For a discussion of how to choose a lead paint inspector/risk assessor, see Chapter 11. 

HOW TO CHOOSE A LEAD PAINT INSPECTOR OR RISK ASSESSOR... 

Exposure assessment is often an iterative process that begins with numerous simplifying assumptions. For example, the assessor might initially assume that no degradation or advective transport occurs, or that all of the substance is bioavailable. Such assumptions produce a worst-case estimate of exposure. If that estimate would not present a significant risk, then no further exposure assessment may need to be done. Alternatively, the assessor may choose to refine his assumptions, perhaps by collecting additional data to quantify more accurately some aspect of the compound s fate and transport, or by incorporating a probability distribution for the values of critical parameters (e.g., Monte Carlo simulation). He may also choose a more sophisticated model to perform the mass balance. 

Preferencial risk assessment enables the assessor to implement subjective conditions into an otherwise objective process of risk evaluation. Therefore, it enables the assessor to have a partial influence on the assessment process by preferring certain coefficients to others. This part of the process is important, since every subject perceives certain risks from a different point of view, which subsequently leads to discussion among all stakeholders and to choosing the most suitable security measures. 

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