HVB 32502

Environmental health risk assessment

Lecture 1

The objectives
To understand the concept of risk assessment
To understand the vital terminologies
associated with risk assessment
To understand the process involves in risk
assessment

Introduction
Risk assessment?
Environmental health risk assessment (EHRA)?

Risk Assessment the 5 steps

What are the hazards?
Who is doing what, where & when? (WWW)
AND
Who else might be affected by what is done?
What is the degree of risk?
What do we need to, or can we, do to control
(eliminate/minimise) exposure to the risk?
How will we monitor the work/people?

Risk Assessment
The systematic evaluation of the likelihood of an adverse
effect arising from exposure in a defined population
A systematic process for describing and qualifying the risks
associated with hazardous substances, action or events.
A step in a risk management process

The Risk Management Process consists of

a series of steps that, when undertaken in sequence,
enable continual improvement in decision-making.

TERMINOLOGIES
Health : A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948)

Health impact: Overall effects, direct or indirect of

activities on the health of populations

HAZARD
VS
RISK

HAZARD
The potential to cause harm. Harm
including ill health and injury,
damage to property, plant, products
or the environment, production
losses or increased liabilities.

The likelihood that a specified undesired event will occur

due to the realisation of a hazard by, or during work
activities or by the products and services created by
work activities.

Almost
certain
Likely

Possible

How likely?

Where do our risks fit on the spectrum?

How bad?

Unlikely
No effect

Moderate

Severe

Hazardous
properties

Potential
severity

Physical form;
Quantity
Activities

Potential of
Exposure

Risk of
Harm

HEALTH RISK

Types Of Risk Assessment

Human Health Risk Assessment - The characterization
of the probability of potentially adverse health effects
from human exposures to environmental hazards.
Ecological Risk Assessment A process that estimates
the likelihood of undesirable ecological effects occurring
as a result of human activities.

TERMINOLOGIES
Health impact assessment: A combination of
procedure, methods and tool by which a policy,
program or project may be judged as to its
potential effects on the health of the population
and the distribution of those effects within the
populations (European Centre for health policy,
1999)

Risk analysis
QUANTITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

1)Describe the element of the qualitative and quantitative risk analysis

2)Describe the pros and cons of the qualitative and quantitative risk analysis