Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is the attempt to characterize the probability that potentially adverse health or environmental affects will occur from exposure to environmental hazards. It generally provides a characterization of the types of health or environmental effects expected, an estimate of the probability (risk) of occurrence of the effects, an istimate of the number of cases with these effects, and suggested acceptable concentrations of toxicants in air, water, soil, or food. Formal recognition of the term risk assessment developed out of a research program by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to quantify the likelihood of environmental releases of radiation from nuclear power plants.

Risk assessment is composed of four tasks: hazard identification, dose-response, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.1

References

1. Taken from an article written by Robin K. White and Renee A. Shaw at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Compiled by

Keith Cunningham kc3@cec.wustl.edu Last updated 12/10/94.