A. Definition
Environmental risk analysis identifies environmental risks; assesses their probability (likelihood) and consequences; identifies acceptable levels of risk; creates scenarios; and determines and communicates what actions should be taken to remove or reduce the risks.
B. Main Features
There are many types of risk associated with an activity - health risks; financial risks; ecological risks; technology risks; project risks; consumer/user risks; etc. Risks arise from hazards and may result from human error/accidents, equipment error, or natural causes. Affecting people, the environment, and possessions, risks can either be qualitative or quantitative. Environment risk analysis attempts to reduce and manage environmental risks associated with an activity or situation.
Environmental risk analysis can be broken into various components:
- Hazard identification - what are the hazards.
- Risk assessment - what are the likelihood (occurrence rate) and consequences (adverse impacts) of the risks. What actions exacerbate or reduce the likelihood.
- Risk evaluation - are the risks high, medium or low (what is the severity or magnitude); which risks have priority.
- Risk management - what level of risk is considered acceptable? Are the risks acceptable (tolerable)? If not, how will the risk be removed or reduced and managed.
- Risk communication - how will the risks and management options be communicated and to whom will they be communicated.
- Monitoring and feedback - assesses the success of implemented solutions; feeds results back into the decision making process.
The perceived level of risk varies between individuals, organisations, research institutions and governments. Obstacles to environmental risk analysis include lack of data on consequences and/or magnitude; lack of understanding of processes; potential for biased results and.
Environmental risk analysis is often used in other environmental tools and concepts such as environmental impact assessment, strategic risk assessment, life cycle assessment and environmental management systems. It is also used to aid decision making, set financial premiums and check the progress or effectiveness of existing policies and programs.
C. Case Studies and Examples
1. Activities with equal risk
David MacKenzie notes that the following activities all have equal risk: (a) drinking half a liter of wine; (b) spending three hours in a coal mine; (c) living two days in New York City; (d) traveling six minutes by canoe; (e) riding ten miles on a bicycle; (f) driving 300 miles in a car and (g) flying 1000 miles by jet.
2. Environmental Risk Assessment of a Dioxin Contaminated Sports Field
At the request of the community, an environmental risk assessment was conducted for a dioxin contaminated sports field in Germany. The study aimed to determine if the dioxins posed a threat to public health. Two dioxins used in the covering material of the sport fields were identified as hazards to both human and the environment. Rates of transfer for different transfer methods (eg, water, evaporation, clothing, wind) were calculated. Human uptake was also calculated for dermal and oral uptakes and inhalation. The study found that the dioxin contaminated sports field did not pose a threat to public health. Even so, contaminated areas were covered in plastic until the contaminated material could be removed and disposed of as a hazardous waste.
3. Offshore Oil and Gas Mining
An energy company approached the West Australian Government to drill two appraisal wells close to a sensitive marine environment of high conservation value that supports a wealth of marine habitats and wildlife. The formal environmental assessment required before the project began included an environmental risk analysis. The risk analysis looked specifically at the impacts of an oil spill on the adjacent marine environment. The analysis included (a) identification of potential incidents that could lead to an oil spill, as well as the likelihood and size of potential incidents; (b) determination of the transport, volume and fate of oil using computer models; (c) assessment of the consequences of potential oil spills and (d) development of managerial, operational and technical risk reduction measures to both avoid a spill in the first instance and to reduce the consequences of a spill. The government subsequently approved the project and introduced quantitative risk analysis as a standard feature of its environmental assessment process for oil and gas activities.
D. Target Sectors / Stakeholders
Governments, non-government organisations, research institutions, businesses, experts, decision makers, industry organisations and the community are primary stakeholders in the risk analysis.
E. Scale of Operation
Environmental risk analysis is applied to activities or projects.
F. Links
- Global Development Research Centre - Environmental Impact Assessment, Risk Assessment and Management
- RiskWorld
- MacKenzie, David - Environmental Risk Analysis
- Heidelore Fiedler, Otto Hutzinger, Christoph Laua, Peter Cikrytb, Jamshid Hosseinpour 1995 Case study of a highly dioxin contaminated sports field: Environmental risk ssessment and human exposure, Journal of Hazardous Waste, 43, 217-227
- Stejskal I. V. 2000 Obtaining Approvals for Oil and Gas Projects in Shallow Water Marine Areas in Western Australia using an Environmental Risk Assessment Framework Spill Science and Technology Bulletin 6(1), 69-76