Risk Assessment and Risk Management

The likelihood that death, injury or illness may occur from exposure to a hazard

The contact over time and space between a person and one or more biological agents

Systematic process for describing and quantifying risks associated with hazards that include substances, processes, actions or events.

Physical, Chemical, Biological, Psychological, Ergonomic

Machinery, noise, radiation, fire, lighting

Pesticides, VOCs, pesticides, organic pollutants

Viruses, bacteria, fungi, food, organic dust

Workloads, shift work, poor communication, job insecurity, hazardous working conditions

vibration, manual handling, repetitive/forceful movements

Identifies hazards, assesses effects and estimates population attributable risks

Company records, Observation, External information

Active movement of air through an air sampling pump

The collection of airborne gases and vapours as a rate controlled by diffusion

Atmospheric samples collected within the breathing zone of a worker

Average airborne concentration of a particular substance calculated over an 8-hour working day

Provides guidelines for control of short-term exposures for 15mins, no more than 4 times a day.

Crucial information to identify hazardous substances e.g. manufacturer and statement of nature of hazard

Information about chemical composition of substance e.g. boiling and melting point, pH level

Concentration levels that should not be exceeded

Aspects of human health such as quality or life determined by phys, chem, bio, psy factors in the environment

Economic conditions, availability and access, social influences, personal circumstances, lifestyle, environmental & biological factors

job availability, distribution of incomes, business activity

childcare, housing, public transport

income, education and employment status

social contact, social support and peer pressure

Sexual behaviour, smoking and alcohol

Air, water and soil quality

Age, gender and genes

Biological, Chemical, Physical, Psychological and Social

The evaluation of a workplace for potential hazards that a worker may encounter

THe process in which hazards within a workplace are identified within a system, procduerde or equipment

Combination of information obtained from hazard identification, dose-response assessment and exposure assessment

Estimation of magnitude, duration and freq. or human exposure and number of people exposed via pathways

Amounf of agent absorbed and measure by concentration and time

Describes the relationship between amount of substance organism is exposed to, dose, effect and response

Effect levels, NOAEL, LOAEL and Dose-response curve

amount of chemical administered per 100g/1kg of the body weight of animal

Lethal concentration. Concentration of chemical in air that kills 50%

Designation toxic dose. Tosic dose for 50% of tested animals

Highest observed concentration with no detectable adverse effects recorded

Lowest exposure level in which there are differences in freq. or severity of adverse effects

Estimate probable relationship between dose and response. Allows for predictions.

1. General info for chemicals 2. Sources of exposure 3. Exposure routes & pathways 4. Measured concentrations 5. Exposed human populations

Source medium: medium where the initial contamination occurred. Contact medium: medium through which the receptor contacts the contaminant.

Measures an indivdual's exposure to contaminants

non-response error, indirect/direct method: incorrect calibration and incorrect technique, sampling error

Transparency, clarity, consistency, reasonableness

Non-carcinogens: threshold effect assumed, carcinogens: no threshold effect assumed

dentify environmental health risks and create a practical action plan to address key environmental health issues within a target population.

Identifies/addresses underlying social, environmental and economic impacts ofdevelopment that have a direct and indirect impact on health

Social disruption, employment, personal security

Protect people, property and environment, remove/minimise risk and prevent risk from occurring in first place

Benefits, Acceptable levels of risk/risk perceptions, uncertainty and stakeholders

Allows for more flexibility regarding control measures used

the degree of risk in a particular situation can be balanced against the time, trouble, cost and physical difficulty of taking measures to a

No feasable control measures can be put in place to reduce . risk

Document what control measures will be put in place to reduce risk further

Obtain more information or obtain specialist advice

Some methods are more efficient than others but a combination usually provides a safer environment