How to Assess & Manage Environmental Risk

Environmental risk refers to the harmful exposures and conditions in the home, workplace and natural environment. Common risks include air pollution, water contamination, toxic chemicals and unsafe construction. The assessment and management of risk depends on the conditions of the environment, the populations who are exposed and ecological sensitivity. The Environmental Protection Agency provides guidelines for risk assessment and management, and divides the process into broad central objectives, in order to protect and maintain human health and the environment.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify the nature of the risk. Environmental risk assessment first requires determining the characteristics of the risk under consideration. The nature of the risk depends on its source and location, such as toxic run-off in a water source, rapid deforestation or poor ventilation in a factory.

• 2

  Determine the ecological consequences of the risk. Environmental risks pose direct and indirect harms to the natural world. An assessment should evaluate all the different ways in which the risk affects plant and animal life, as well as ecological resources. Agricultural pesticides, for example, not only impact plant life and soil fertility, they also leech into waterways and affect nearby animal and insect life.

• 3

  Determine the human health consequences of the risk. Environmental risks pose dangers not only to ecological systems, but to human health as well. Evaluate the conditions to determine how human health may be endangered. Also, consider which populations are most affected by the risk. Risks to children, workers or the elderly will all require different strategies for risk management and intervention.

• 4

  Eliminate the risk. The best option for risk management is to eliminate the source of possible harm altogether. Elimination can be achieved by removing the risk from places in which it causes harm, such as by containing the release of toxic fumes that pollute that air. Alternatively, elimination can be achieved through substitution. Substitution entails replacing one harmful substance or process with one that poses fewer hazards to environmental and human health. In agriculture, the use of natural, as opposed to chemical, pesticides is an example of substitution.

• 5

  Design an intervention. Based on the characteristics of the risk and whether elimination or substitution is possible, design an intervention strategy to manage the risk. This strategy can include orchestrated environmental clean-up efforts, policy reforms and public education campaigns.

• 6

  Implement the strategy. Environmental risk management requires putting intervention strategies into practice. This process can be difficult, depending on the scope of the risk, and generally requires the coordination of different experts, agencies and private institutions.

• 7

  Communicate the problem and solutions. Global warming and contemporary industrial activities pose many harms to the environment and public health, which are shared across numerous regions and populations. Socially responsible risk management will communicate the problems it addressed and resolved so as to prevent future risk and aid in managing other similar circumstances.